Cover | Table of Contents | Worksheet 1 - My Business Concept in 200 Words or Less

My Business Concept in 200 Words or Less

Answer the questions below. You can submit the results to someone by e-mail, and you will also be able to view and/or print a completed version with both questions and answers.

Would you like to send the completed form to yourself or someone else by e-mail? If so, please provide the following:

Your name:
Your e-mail address:
Address you wish to send the results to:

What is your product or service? (be specific)
Who are your customers? (business or professional status, education and economic level, age, gender, geography, lifestyle. If your customers are other businesses, how big are they? What do they sell? What else do they buy?)
Who are your competitors? (local, regional, national; direct and indirect)
What are your plans for marketing and selling your products or services?
What are your key competitive advantages?
Our product or service is new because
Our product or service is better because
We've targeted this market because
We can offer a combination of products and/or services that satisfy customers' needs better because

You will develop these responses more fully on Worksheets 4, 5, 6 and 7.

START-UP COSTS

To get a general idea of what it will take to start your business, complete the following brief summary of start-up costs. Have you overlooked any of the basic requirements for operating a new business? Find out more by talking to other businesses about their start-up costs.

Facilities
$	Rent or purchase costs
$	Improvements (remodeling, signs, etc.)
$	Deposits (utility, water hook-up, etc.)
$	Other (emergency repairs, etc.)
Equipment
$	Furniture and fixtures
$	Manufacturing equipment
$	Computers and software
$	Telephones
$	Cars and trucks
$	Other
Materials and Supplies
$	Materials for manufacturing
$	Office supplies
$	Start-up inventory
$	Other
Fees and Other Costs
$	Professional Services (lawyer, accountant, other consultants)
$	Licenses and Permits
$	Professional Memberships
Cash Requirements
$	Salaries from to (dates)
$	Operating expenses
$	Unanticipated costs

$	TOTAL Start-Up Costs

If you are unable to answer these questions, it's in your best interest to go back to the drawing board and develop your concept further. But if you can describe your concept clearly and have considered basic start-up costs, you're ready to begin the next step: gathering information to test your concept.