1.0 Executive Summary
The purpose of this business plan is to raise $100,000 for the development of a retail vitamin and supplement store while showcasing the expected financials and operations over the next three years. The Supplement Store, Inc. (“the Company”) is a New York based corporation that will provide a diverse selection of vitamins and dietary supplements to customers in its targeted market. The Company was founded by John Doe.
1.1 Operations
The Company will offer an expansive line of nutrition and dietary supplements to the targeted market’s community. This expansive inventory will provide customers with their dietary needs for weight loss, body building, toning, and general health. In the future, the Company may expand the inventory further to include fitness related items such as apparel and specialized dietary supplements. The Supplement Store will generate significant gross margins on all items sold through the Company’s retail location. The third section of the business plan will further describe the services offered by the Supplement 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
The Supplement Store’s mission is to become the recognized leader in its targeted market for providing customers with the vitamins/supplements they need to live healthy lifestyles.
1.4 Management 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. Management may also develop an online sales platform that would allow the business to generate sales from outside of the Company’s retail location.
2.0 Company and Financing Summary
2.1 Registered Name and Corporate Structure
Supplement Store, Inc. The Company is registered as a corporation in the State of New York.
2.2 Required Funds
At this time, the Supplement 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 Supplement 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 Supplement Store. Based on historical numbers, the business could fetch a sales premium of up to 4 times earnings.
3.0 Operations
Below is a description of the products offered by the Supplement Store.
3.1 Vitamin and Supplement Products
The Supplement Store will offer an expansive variety of products including dietary, nutrition, and food supplements for people who enjoy body building, engage in workout routines or people that are seeking to improve their general heath. Dietary supplements, protein powers, creatine, and thermogenic consumable goods are the primary products of the Company. The business provides goods from a number of well known and reputable dietary supplement manufacturers. The Company intends to offer its inventories with specific products for men, women, kids, senior citizens, sports, and diet.
4.0 Strategic and Market Analysis
4.1 Economic Outlook
This section of the analysis will detail the economic climate, the supplement industry, the customer profile, and the competition that the business will face as it progresses through its business operations.
Currently, the economic climate is moderate. The economy is undergoing a transition period due to changes in global trade policy. At this time, interest rates have remained steady due to appropriate and measured policies by central banks. While there has been volatility, this is expected to subside as the economy adapts to these changes.
However, supplement stores typically operate with a strong degree of economic immunity as the people that consumer dietary supplements and vitamins consider these goods to be essential to their lives.
4.2 Industry Analysis
Within the United States there are approximately 7,500 companies that specialize in the sale and distribution of dietary supplements to the general public. Each year, these businesses aggregately generate more than $10 billion dollars of revenue and provide jobs for almost 100,000 Americans. For the last five years, annual payrolls have exceeded $2 billion dollars a year among these individuals. The industry has experience solid growth over the last ten years are more people are becoming concerned with their health and fitness. This growth corresponds to the increase in capital stock and general wealth of the American public. Studies have show that as a person’s wealth increases their proclivity towards a healthier lifestyle also increases. As such, the industry has grown at an average annual rate of 8% per year for each of the last five years. This trend is expected to continue, and then taper off as the market normalizes and the industry becomes consolidated. Currently, this industry has a number of fragmented market agents that will most likely be rolled up as time progresses.
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 Supplement 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 Supplement Store.
5.1 Marketing Objectives
- Establish relationships with dieticians and nutritionists that will refer their patients to the Supplement Store’s location.
- Implement a local campaign with the Company’s targeted market via the use of flyers, local newspaper advertisements, and word of mouth.
- 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 Supplement Store 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 Supplement Store will also use an internet based strategy. This is very important as many people seeking local product stores, such as vitamin shops, now the Internet to conduct their preliminary searches. Mr. Doe will register the Supplement Store with online portals so that potential customers can easily reach the business. The Company will also develop its own online website. The Company will maintain a sizable amount of print and traditional advertising methods within local markets to promote the vitamins and dietary supplements the Company is selling.
6.0 Organizational Plan and Personnel Summary
6.1 Corporate Organization
6.2 Organizational Budget
7.0 Financial Plan
7.1 Underlying Assumptions
- The Supplement Store 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
The business’s revenues are moderately sensitive to the overall economic environment. The products that the Supplement Store is selling are non-essential goods that are purchased with discretionary income. As such, in the event of an economic recession, the business may experience decreases in its overall profitability as our customers will have less expendable money. However, the people that purchase these goods primarily treat supplements as essential goods, and only in the event of a severe economic decline does Management expect that the overall revenues of the business will decrease.
7.3 Source of Funds
7.4 General Assumptions
7.5 Profit and Loss Statement
7.6 Cash Flow Analysis
7.7 Balance Sheet
7.8 Breakeven Analysis
7.9 Business Ratios
