Small Business Management

For this assignment, you will be required to create a business plan for an existing small business,

The goal of the business plan will be to make improvements with respect to the strategic planning, change/risk management, and financial planning of the business.

First, you must identify an existing small business to use for the project. A ‘small business’ is one that employs fewer than 50 people. After you’ve selected the business to use for the plan, begin research so you can create a small business plan that is geared towards making improvements in the business.

The business plan that you create should have a dedicated section for each of the following issues:

Executive SummaryWhile this should be the first section of your plan, it is usually written last. This section provides an overview of the business as it is now and what its goals are for the future.Business DescriptionThis section describes the business and identifies its location(s) and types of products or services that it sells.Mission and Vision of the BusinessThe mission statement explains the company’s current objectives and its overall purpose. The vision statement discusses where the company sees itself heading in the future.Market, Products, and ServicesThis section discusses the analysis and selection of the target market(s), as well as the products or services to be sold.Organization and ManagementIn this section, you should address the legal structure of the business, the organizational chart, responsibilities of key persons in the management of the company, and any licenses or permits that are required for operation.Marketing & Sales StrategyIn this section, you should give details of the strategy to market and sell the products and services, using the 4P’s of the marketing mix.Financial ManagementThis section should use research-based estimates to create a projected balance sheet, a projected income statement, and a projected cash flow statement. Any ideas for securing additional capital should also be included in this section.

Your small business plan should be 2,500-3,000 words long.

The Internet has many resources that can provide information to complete this assignment. Company and industry websites and social media pages can help you ascertain information about the products and services sold, as well as targeted markets and strategies for promotion and sale of goods and services. The Small Business Administration’s website at sba.gov also provides a wealth of information on business plans and research.

Formatting & Sources

Please write your paper in the APA format. As part of your research, you may refer to the course material for supporting evidence, but you must also use at least three credible, outside sources and cite them using APA format as well. Please include a mix of both primary and secondary sources, with at least one source from a scholarly peer-reviewed journal. If you use any Study.com lessons as sources, please also cite them in APA (including the lesson title and instructor’s name).

Primary sources are first-hand accounts such as interviews, advertisements, speeches, company documents, statements, and press releases published by the company in question.Secondary sources come from peer-reviewed scholarly journals, such as the Journal of Management. You may use like JSTOR, Google Scholar, and Social Science Research Network to find articles from these journals. Secondary sources may also come from reputable websites with .gov, .edu, or .org in the domain. (Wikipedia is not a reputable source, though the sources listed in Wikipedia articles may be acceptable.)