Table of Contents for Online Business Planning

Below you will find the complete table of contents for Online Business Planning.  Click here to buy the book from Amazon.com today.

Introduction

• Why do you need a business plan?
• How can the Internet improve your business plan?
• Using this book
• Organization of the book

Part I: Creating a business plan

Chapter 1: Overview of your business plan

• Questions to be answered in your business plan
• How long should your business plan be?
• Elements of a business plan
• The first three or four pages of your business plan
• Cover sheet
• Executive summary
• Statement of purpose
• Table of contents

Chapter 2: Description of business

• What business are you in?
• Additional considerations for your description of business
• Business form
• Mission and vision statements
• Goals and objectives

Chapter 3: Products and services

• Product and service benefits
• Financial performance 

Chapter 4: Industry and market analysis

• Industry structure
• Industry growth rate
• Technology
• Barriers to entering and exiting an industry
• Market size and growth
• Market trends
• Product and service characteristics
• Flow of products and services
• Cost structure

Chapter 5: Customers

• Customers and market segmentation
• Retaining existing customers
• Market size and share 

Chapter 6: Market research

• Secondary market research
• Primary market research
• Researching customer loses
• Length of the survey or questionnaire
• Tips to increase your response rate
• A budget for market research
• Interviewing executives

Chapter 7: Competition

• Studying the competition
• Segmenting the competition
• Customer benefits offered by the competition

Chapter 8: Marketing strategy

• Why the low-price strategy is unappealing
• Pricing strategies
• Promotion and advertising
• Location
• Distribution channels
• Marketing budget and timeline

Chapter 9: Management and personnel

• Description of the management team
• Functional responsibilities
• Organization structure
• Functional organization
• Division organization
• Matrix organization
• Management salaries
• Personal net worth statement
• Personal income requirement - per month
• Outside resources
• Personnel 

Chapter 10: Finances

• Balance sheet
• Income statement
• Sales forecast
• Estimating expenses
• Cash flow statement
• Breakeven analysis
• Financing requirements
• Capital equipment list
• Financial ratios
• Profitability ratios
• Liquidity ratios

Chapter 11: Sample business plan

Part II: Create a better business plan using the Internet

Chapter 12: Overview of the Internet resource guide

• How to use these Internet chapters
• The dynamics of the Web and additional help
• Recommended sites 

Chapter 13: Business plan outlines

• Business plans
• Creating an effective business plan
• Business plan for a start-up business
• How to develop and use a business plan
• Writing an effective business plan
• Planning fundamentals
• Additional planning resources

Chapter 14: Legal structures for business

• Legal formation of your business
• Advantages and disadvantages of Incorporating
• Lawyer referral services
• Law links
• Business taxpayer information
• State tax information
• Additional legal resources

Chapter 15: Business types and industry research

• SIC code list
• Introduction to standard industrial classification codes
• North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
• How NAICS will affect data users
• Industry profiles
• How to learn about an industry or a specific company
• Additional business type and industry research resources

Chapter 16: Product and service benefits

• Describe your products/services and how they are produced
• Take this simple test
• Competing products and services
• Poland Spring
• Cadillac
• Mr. Coffee
• Nexxus
• Innovation ... the key to success
• What is a patent?
• Additional product and service resources

Chapter 17: Purchasing a franchise

• Self Test #1 - Determine if you are suited to franchise ownership
• Franchises most frequently inquired about
• Franchise UPDATE online library
• The Executives' Guide to Franchise Opportunities
• Business opportunity 500
• Franchising's fine print
• State offices administering franchise disclosure laws
• American Bar Association's forum on franchising
• Additional franchise resources

Chapter 18: Growth opportunity

• Business Week's hot growth companies
• Inc. 500 fastest-growing private companies
• The 200 best small companies in America
• Hottest 100 new small business
• Fortune 500 largest companies in the U.S.
• Key industrial and services clusters
• Outlook trends tables
• Economic forecasts
• Additional growth opportunity resources

Chapter 19: Market research

• Marketing research tips
• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Inc. Magazine archives
• On-the-cheap market research
• What's the best source of market research?
• Are you missing out on new markets?
• How to write good survey questions
• Six ways to test your business idea
• Sample size calculator
• Latest news from the research industry
• Additional resources for market research

Chapter 20: Market segmentation

• Product's positioning vital to getting noticed
• Buyer identification and behavior
• Tips to help you create a planning roadmap
• Where to look for leads
• Ford's marketing goof
• Current releases of regional and local labor statistics
• 250 highest and lowest per capita incomes
• U.S. Gazetteer
• Additional market segmentation sources

Chapter 21: Competition

• Know your competition
• Competitive edge
• Checking out the competition
• Outsmarting the competition
• Competitive intelligence success stories
• Survey on business intelligence in U.S.
• Additional competitive resources

Chapter 22: Pricing

• Pricing tips
• How to price your products and services
• Inc. Magazine archives
• Benchmark: Make the price right
• Plan for profitable pricing
• Pricing gets easier
• You get what you pay for
• Are your prices right?
• Pricing your service for profits
• Naming your price
• Articles and case studies on pricing
• Additional pricing resources

Chapter 23: Advertising

• Promotion, advertising, and public relations
• Advertising ideas
• Advertising checklist
• Advertising media
• An even dozen ideas to make your ads produce more results
• The main reason I use classified ads!
• Successful promotion strategies
• What is meaningful content?
• Additional advertising resources

Chapter 24: Location

• Store location: "Little things" mean a lot
• How To: Find The Perfect Location
• Saturation analysis
• New plant report
• Site Selection Magazine/IDRC
• Empowerment zones and economic communities
• Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
• Environmental guidelines for the planning of projects
• Find a mortgage
• Switchboard directory
• Define your community
• Additional location resources

Chapter 25: Management and personnel

• Entrepreneur's quiz
• HR Magazine
• Compensation and benefit survey information
• Employee or contractor?
• Creating an ownership culture
• Your Christmas leadership message
• Recruiting and retaining employees
• Additional management and personnel resources

Chapter 26: Training

• Training industry trends
• Ranges of average training expenditure as a percentage of payroll
• Why should you train your workers?
• What is Human performance technology?
• What are the top five work values?
• Training Technology Resource Center (TTRC)
• Additional training resources

Chapter 27: Benefits

• Simple IRAs; Questions and Answers
• Advanced plan design questions and answers
• BenefitsLink's message boards
• Important tips to save time and money in filing W-2s
• Employer costs for employee compensation
• Employee benefits in small private industry establishments
• Total salary increase budget survey
• Additional employee benefit resources

Chapter 28: Financial statements

• Recordkeeping in small business
• Edge Online financial management
• Preparing a Cash Flow Forecast
• Maximizing your relationship with your CPA
• Find a CPA
• State CPA societies
• ADP tax calculator
• Additional financial statement resources

Chapter 29: Loan information

• Financing your business
• Obtaining an SBA loan: five helpful hints
• Does my business qualify for an SBA loan?
• Finance 101
• Loan application
• SBIR proposal preparation
• Lenders Interactive Services
• Additional sources for obtaining loans

Chapter 30: Venture capital

• Growth company guide to investors, deal structures, and legal strategies
• Initial public offering
• A venture capital primer for small business
• How to raise venture capital
• National venture capital survey
• Venture capital firms
• Additional venture capital resources

Directory of resources

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