OVERVIEW

Forbes Magazine writes that ninety per cent of startup businesses fail and the ten per cent that don’t generally have the following problems: products or services no one needs, failure to work on the details that make their business viable, poor cash flow and financing for growth, and synergy on their team sufficient to overcome challenges. Dunham Associates’ business plans promise to investigate the market viability of products or services, to clarify detailed aspects of business that need attention, to quantitatively project cash flow and financing needs (see below), and, if the plan is made by many people, to build synergy for the company’s fulfillment.

The successful business plan really starts with a mission or vision statement. Cisco, for instance, boldly promises to: “Shape the future of the Internet by creating unprecedented value and opportunity for our customers, employees, investors, and ecosystem partners.” It may then clarify the funding requirements and capitalization plan and summarize highlights of any existing business. It then investigates the market for the company’s services and the sources of supply of its people and raw materials. SWOT analysis—Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats- come into play as we assess reasons for a company’s success.

A profit projection may be part of your business plan or could be produced separately. Imagine that you expect revenues to rise thirty per cent and sales to increase 15 per cent per year, advertising costs to go up $3,000 per year, rent to rise by five per cent and labor to increase in proportion with sales. Then throw in state and local taxes and calculate depreciation of assets and you begin to see how complicated projections can become. Accountants know what assumptions are realistic because they look at numbers from different businesses all day. We also can create made-to-order spreadsheets to adjust your plans intermittently to your businesses’ changing needs and resources.