Strategic Planning

Business plans as thesis usually consist of two parts. The first one deals with market research and is basically a separate research project, second – a plan to set up a company based on the data including those assembled in the first part.

In the following outline, chapters One, Two, and Three form the First part. Chapter 5 is the second, business plan part.

Please, carefully read the outline and fill out the timeline after it.

Table of Contents

1. Abstract – this part is the last to write, after the work is completed. It is a summary of the whole research, in a nutshell demonstrates what you set out to do, how you did it, and what result you received.
2. Acknowledgements – customary to mention people who helped you in your work
3. Abbreviations – explanation of all the abbreviation (especially industry specific) that you will use in your research
4. Chapter One: Introduction – The purpose of this section is to set the stage for the marketing research part of the thesis.

1. General Description of the Study – context of the study, valuable information about the market that we will be reading about;
2. Background - here you can also outline your rationale for deciding to start this particular business. What was your thought process? What gave you a feeling that this is a good idea?
3. Statement of the Problem – what is the problem that your research is planning to solve? Most likely, you don’t have enough information about the market that you plan to operate. Explain as briefly as possible which problem will the results of your research solve.
4. Research Questions – outline specific questions that your research will answer. Try to first think of as many questions as possible, then select those that are actually important for your objective – writing a business plan.
5. Purpose of the Study – why the study is significant? Why establishing the company is important? What will that contribute?
6. Limitation of the Study – What problems did you meet during your study? Were you able to find all the necessary data? What research tools you had to implement not according to the rules? Why? How did you solve this problems?

1. Chapter Two: Literature Review – This chapter shows that you know what are you talking about, that you have already read everything other people wrote about the subject.

1. Market specific literature – What do other researches say about a specific market that you plan to operate in? What are the specific challenges identified in literature?
2. Industry specific literature – are there any books, articles, reports about the industry you plan to operate in? What information are they providing that is useful to you?
3. Possible comparisons – Perhaps, the problem similar to yours has already been observed somewhere else, in a different market, perhaps, in a different country. What was the experience there? How was it different?

1. Chapter Three: Market Research

1. Research methodology – is it descriptive, exploratory, or causal research? What is the main purpose of data collection?
2. Research design – Experiment (establishes cause and effect relationship), cross-sectional study (collects a body of data about certain variables at one moment in time – surveys are included in this design), longitudinal study (same as cross-sectional only repeated over time to show dynamics), case study (an intense investigation of one single company, person, community, etc. that uses information from all different spheres of case’s operations), comparative analysis (two phenomena are compared in order to identify main characteristics of each).
3. Hypotheses to test (if you plan to do a survey, experiment, longitudinal study, or comparative analysis)– What are you going to be testing with your ? Provide 3 testable, specific statements. E.g., “large retailers will be interested in our new ice-cream”).  If you are using a questionnaire, it has to be constructed in order to test these hypotheses.
4. Data collection methods – How are you planning to collect data? Describe the process of sample selection, sample size determination, distribution of questionnaire.
5. Results of Survey – briefly summarize the results of your research activity.
6. Analysis – explain what do these results mean for your research and for your business plan. Where your hypotheses proven supported or rejected? How will that affect your business plan?

1. Chapter Four: Business Plan

1. Vision – a very brief statement about what would your company ideally like to accomplish. What is the role of your company in the world? Use verbs, start with TO (“to be the most customer-oriented company on the planet” (Amazon). Try to concentrate more on the customer than on a particular product, or service. It gives more flexibility in the future if the company will need to change its focus.
2. Mission Statement – HOW, BY WHAT are you planning to achieve what you have proposed in your vision?
3. Objectives – goals for the company. Include both financial and general development goals. Use several time horizons – e.g., 1 year, 3 years, 5 years.
4. Company Summary – what will the company specifically do, what will be it’s legal status, what will be its name, when it will start operations, etc.
5. Management – who’s the team behind the company? What expertise does management have? What is the organizational structure of the company?
6. Industry Analysis

1. PEST Analysis - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEST_analysis
2. Five-Forces Model of Competition - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_five_forces_analysis

1. Company Analysis

1. SWOT Analysis - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis
2. Competitive Profile Matrix - http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/competitive-profile-matrix-cpm.html

1. Market Segmentation – specifically, which segment of the market you  will serve. Try to include as many details about your segment as possible.
2. Strategy and implementation

1. Market positioning – What will you offer to your clients? Cost-benefit analysis of your offering and that of your competitors might be useful. What benefits do you provide? Why your product will attract customers? “Product” in marketing mix. How will your company/product be positioned on this sort of diagram - http://www.learnmarketing.net/perceptualmap.gif
2. Pricing strategy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter's_generic_strategies#Focus_strategies. Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pricing_strategies. Explain your choices. “Price” in marketing mix. What is the price for the client?
3. Distribution strategy – how will your product be delivered to customers? “Place” in marketing mix.
4. Marketing and Promotional strategy – How will you be able to motivate consumers to switch to your product or service? “Promotion” in marketing mix.

1. Financial Projections – where you will get money? Include: proforma income statement, projected balance sheet, projected cash flow, break-even analysis for the first year, revenue forecast, revenue vs. net profit comparison over 5 years,  expected revenue for 5 years, expected net profit for 5 years. Business ratios: debt to equity ratio (5 years), total debt to assets ratio (5 years), return on Investment (ROI) (5 years),  total assets turnover (5 years).
2. Key success factors – overall, what are the main things to succeed for your business?
3. Key risk factors – overall, what bears the most risk for the success of your business?
4. Long term Strategy – briefly, what do you plan to do with the business if it is successful?
5. Exit Strategy – In which situations and how can a company be dissolved?  

1. Conclusion – final thoughts to conclude the thesis.
2. Bibliography – source you referenced in your work.

Timeline: