It should be noted that there is no special software required to use these templates. All business plans come in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel format. Each business plan features:

• Excecutive Summary
• Company and Financing Summary
• Products and Services Overview
• Strategic Analysis with current research!
• Marketing Plan
• Personnel Plan
• 3 Year Advanced Financial Plan
• Expanded Financial Plan with Monthly Financials
• Loan Amortization and ROI Tools
• FREE PowerPoint Presentation for Banks, Investors, or Grant Companies!

1.0 Executive Summary

The purpose of this business plan is to raise $100,000 for the development of a flower shop while showcasing the expected financials and operations over the next three years. The Flower Shop, Inc. (“the Company”) is a New York based corporation that will provide arrangements of flowers and delivery services customers in its targeted market. The Company was founded in 2009 by John Doe.

1.1 Products and Services

The Flower Shop will operate a moderately sized retail location that will provide an extensive variety of flowers and floral arrangements. The business will also generate substantial income from providing large scale floral arrangements for weddings, funerals, and other major events. The business’ secondary revenue center will come from delivery services provided to customers. The third section of the business plan will further describe the services offered by the Flower Shop.

1.2 The Financing

Mr. Doe is seeking to raise $100,000 from as a bank loan. The interest rate and loan agreement are to be further discussed during negotiation. This business plan assumes that the business will receive a 10 year loan with a 9% fixed interest rate.

1.3 Mission Statement

The Flower Shop’s mission is to become the recognized local leader in its targeted market for flower arrangement and delivery services.

1.4 Mangement Team

The Company was founded by John Doe. Mr. Doe has more than 10 years of experience as a florist. Through his expertise, he will be able to bring the operations of the business to profitability within its first year of operations.

1.5 Sales Forecasts

Mr. Doe expects a strong rate of growth at the start of operations. Below are the expected financials over the next three years.

1.6 Expansion Plan

The Founder expects that the business will aggressively expand during the first three years of operation. Mr. Doe intends to implement marketing campaigns that will effectively target individuals and event planners within the target market.

2.0 Company and Financing Summary

2.1 Registered Name and Corporate Structure

Flower Shop, Inc. The Company is registered as a corporation in the State of New York.

2.2 Required Funds

At this time, the Flower Shop requires $100,000 of debt funds. Below is a breakdown of how these funds will be used:

2.3 Investor Equity

Mr. Doe is not seeking an investment from a third party at this time.

2.4 Management Equity

John Doe owns 100% of the Flower Shop, Inc.

2.5 Exit Strategy

If the business is very successful, Mr. Doe may seek to sell the business to a third party for a significant earnings multiple. Most likely, the Company will hire a qualified business broker to sell the business on behalf of the Flower Shop. Based on historical numbers, the business could fetch a sales premium of up to 4 times earnings.

3.0 Products and Services

Below is a description of the floral arrangement and delivery offered by the Flower Shop.

3.1 Sales of Flowers and Floral Arrangements

The primary source of revenue for the business will be the direct sale of flowers and floral arrangements for both walk in customers and customers that are planning large scale events. At the onset of operations, Management will source several vendors that can provide the Flower Store with a variety of flowers for the Company’s floral arrangements. As stated in the executive summary, the business will generate substantial revenues from the sale of flowers for major events such as weddings, anniversaries, corporate events, and funerals. The business will have substantial spikes in revenues during holiday months and in the month of May, when many proms are held. Mother’s Day is also held in May, and will also provide the business with significant sales during that time.

3.2 Delivery Services

The Company will also generate secondary revenues from delivery services provided in conjunction with the floral arrangements. Mr. Doe expects that this aspect of the business will generate 20% of the Company’s aggregate income. Delivery services are expected to generate contribution margins of 30%.

4.0 Strategic and Market Analysis

4.1 Economic Outlook

This section of the analysis will detail the economic climate, the florist industry, the customer profile, and the competition that the business will face as it progresses through its business operations. Currently, the economic market condition in the United States is in recession. This slowdown in the economy has also greatly impacted real estate sales, which has halted to historical lows. Many economists expect that this recession will continue until mid-2009, at which point the economy will begin a prolonged recovery period.

4.2 Industry Analysis

Within the United States, there are approximately 24,000 companies that provide floral arrangements and sales of flowers on a retail level. In each of the last five years, aggregate revenues have exceeded $7 billion dollars. The industry employs 125,000 people and provides annual payrolls in excess of $1.9 billion dollars. This is a mature industry, and the expected future growth rate is expected to equal that of the general economy. However, recent advances in Internet technology have allowed florists to operate with greater economic efficiency as orders can now be placed over the internet through major flower brokers (such as Teleflora and 1800flowers.com) and routed to local florists to fulfill the order. As such, the industry as a whole may see an increase in its baseline profitability due to these technological advances.

4.3 Customer Profile

In this section of the analysis, you should describe the type of customer you are seeking to acquire. These traits include income size, type of business/occupation; how far away from your business is to your customer, and what the customer is looking for. In this section, you can also put demographic information about your target market including population size, income demographics, level of education, etc.

4.4 Competitive Analysis

This is one of the sections of the business plan that you must write completely on your own. The key to writing a strong competitive analysis is that you do your research on the local competition. Find out who your competitors are by searching online directories and searching in your local Yellow Pages. If there are a number of competitors in the same industry (meaning that it is not feasible to describe each one) then showcase the number of businesses that compete with you, and why your business will provide customers with service/products that are of better quality or less expensive than your competition.

5.0 Marketing Plan

The Flower Shop intends to maintain an extensive marketing campaign that will ensure maximum visibility for the business in its targeted market. Below is an overview of the marketing strategies and objectives of the Flower Shop.

5.1 Marketing Objectives

• • Establish relationships with event and wedding planners within the target market.

• • Implement a local campaign with the Company’s targeted market via the use of flyers, local newspaper advertisements, and word of mouth advertising.

• • Develop an online presence by developing a website and placing the Company’s name and contact information with online directories.

5.2 Marketing Strategies

Mr. Doe intends on using a number of marketing strategies that will allow the Flower Shop to easily target men and women within the target market. These strategies include traditional print advertisements and ads placed on search engines on the Internet. Below is a description of how the business intends to market its services to the general public. The Flower Shop will also partner with major online portals such as 1800flowers.com, FTD, and TeleFlora.com (all of which have expansive online ordering websites). The business will also develop strategic partnerships with other smaller online flower brokerages so that the Company can receive orders from anywhere in the country that need to be delivered within the Company’s local market. Finally, Mr. Doe intends to develop ongoing relationships with event and wedding planners (as well as funeral directors) that will outsource their client’s flower needs to the Company. Over time, this will become an invaluable method of generating revenue for the Flower Shop.

5.3 Pricing

In this section, describe the pricing of your services and products. You should provide as much information as possible about your pricing as possible in this section. However, if you have hundreds of items, condense your product list categorically. This section of the business plan should not span more than 1 page.

6.0 Organizational Plan and Personnel Summary

6.1 Corporate Organization

6.2 Organizational Budget

In this section of the business plan, you should write a two to four paragraph biography about your work experience, your education, and your skill set. For each owner or key employee, you should provide a brief biography in this section.

7.0 Financial Plan

7.1 Underlying Assumptions

• • The Flower Shop will have an annual revenue growth rate of 16% per year.

• • The Owner will acquire $100,000 of debt funds to develop the business.

• • The loan will have a 10 year term with a 9% interest rate.

7.2 Sensitivity Analysis

In the event of an economic downturn, the business may have a decline in its revenues. However, the Flower Shop will earn substantial margins on the sales of flowers from walk in customers and from customers holding large scale events. As such, the business will be able to remain cash flow positive and profitable despite moderate declines in revenues.

7.3 Source of Funds

7.4 General Assumptions

7.5 Profit and Loss Statements 

7.6 Cash Flow Analysis

7.7 Balance Sheet

7.8 General Assumptions

7.9 Business Ratios

Expanded Profit and Loss Statements

Expanded Cash Flow Analysis