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 vinyl record store while showcasing the expected financials and operations over the next three years. The Vinyl Record Store, Inc. (“the Company”) is a New York based corporation that will provide sales of vinyl record inventories as well as a limited café service within its retail location. The Company was founded in 2009 by John Doe.

1.1 Products and Services

As stated above, the primary revenue source for the business will come from the sale of vinyl records, which Management will acquire in bulk from estate sales and people looking to sell their vinyl record collections. Management expects that it will acquire these inventories at prices that are 35% of their retail value. The business will also carry lines of music related t-shirts and posters. The second revenue stream of the business will come from the sale of coffee products that will be sold within the Vinyl Record Store. This business model is akin to that of Borders or Barnes and Noble for people that want to browse, but not necessarily purchase a record or other item. It is very common for vinyl record enthusiasts to spend hours in these types of retail stores. The third section of the business plan will further describe the services offered by the Vinyl Record Store.

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

Management’s mission is to develop the Vinyl Record Store into a premier local location that features a huge inventory of vinyl records, a quality café, and a forum for the local music community.

1.4 Mangement Team

The Company was founded by John Doe. Mr. Doe has more than 10 years of experience in the retail management industry. 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 within the target market.

2.0 Company and Financing Summary

2.1 Registered Name and Corporate Structure

Vinyl Record Store, Inc. The Company is registered as a corporation in the State of New York.

2.2 Required Funds

At this time, the Vinyl Record Store 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 Vinyl Record Store, 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 Vinyl Record Store. Based on historical numbers, the business could fetch a sales premium of up to 4 to 6 times the previous year’s earnings depending on the strength and regularity of the Company’s income.

3.0 Products and Services

Below is a description of the vinyl records and café products offered by the Vinyl Record Store.

3.1 Sales of Vinyl Records

As stated in the executive summary, the Company’s primary purpose is to acquire inventories of vinyl records from estate sales, new music retailer divestitures, and people simply seeking to sell their vinyl record collections. The Company will pay approximately 30% to 35% of the resale value of the records to the seller. At the onset of operations, Management intends to have approximately 10,000 records within its inventory. At this time, Management is sourcing specialized software that will allow the business to easily categorize its inventories of vinyl records while concurrently acting as a point of sale system.

3.2 Café Operations

One of the most common trends in the music (especially vinyl record) retailing industry is to maintain a section of the retail location that services coffee and small food products. Barnes and Noble and Borders have both capitalized heavily on this trend as people who come to the store to browse, but not necessarily to buy, will often purchase a beverage or small snack while looking at merchandise. This is especially true among vinyl record enthusiasts who will regularly spend hours within a store browsing through new and used vinyl records.

4.0 Strategic and Market Analysis

4.1 Economic Outlook

This section of the analysis will detail the economic climate, the record and music retailing 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

In the United States, there are approximately 8,150 businesses that operate as retailers of music, DVDs, vinyl records and music oriented apparel. Among these business, aggregate revenues have exceed $20 billion dollars in each of the last five years. The growth rate of this industry has been tremendous with the increase in the number of artists recording music in the country. As such, the market for music and its associated retailers has increased significant over the last five years. Approximately 7% of these businesses (and sales) are geared towards vinyl records. The retail music retailing industry employs more than 66,000 people and provides annual payrolls of $2 billion dollars per year.

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 Vinyl Record Store 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 Company.

5.1 Marketing Objectives

• • Establish relationships with companies that specialize in the liquidation of vinyl record inventories.

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

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5.2 Marketing Strategies

Management intends on using a number of strategies that will create immediate visibility of the Vinyl Record Store at the onset of operations. Foremost, Mr. Doe intends to source a highly visible retail location that will ensure that the business receives a significant amount of visibility from vehicles and passers-by. During the first two months of operation, the Company will have grand opening materials that will be prominently displayed as part of the Vinyl Record Store’s signage. The Company will also regularly host open microphone nights, musician visits, and other community events. This will ensure a significant amount of foot traffic to the business, which will further drive both sales of vinyl records and café sales. At the onset of operations, Management will distribute flyers and circulars to local music venues and bars. Finally, Mr. Doe will develop and register a website that will showcase the Company’s location, relevant contact information, inventory of vinyl records, and scheduling of community events hosted by the Vinyl Record Store. In time, this website may feature functionality that would allow customers to order a vinyl record in stock in an e-commerce capacity. This could substantially increase the volume of the business. The website will also provide information regarding the sale of record inventories to the Vinyl Record Store.

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 Vinyl Record Store will have an annual revenue growth rate of 10% 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

The Company’s revenues are moderately sensitive to changes in the general economy. During times of economic recession, customers will have less discretionary income. However, going to a vinyl record store (especially among vinyl record enthusiasts) is a form of entertainment for many people, and by providing coffee beverages (at a very low pricing point), the Company will be able to maintain profitability despite deleterious changes in the economy.

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