CHAPTER 1: BUSINESS PLAN BASICS -- offers an overview of the business planning process...including:

• what is a business plan?
• getting the most benefit from your business plan
• understanding the three types of business plans
• startup plan versus full business plan versus internal plan
• avoiding common business plan errors

CHAPTER 2: UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTS OF A BUSINESS PLAN -- leads you through the essential questions you will need to answer (in detail) through your business plan...including:

• traits of a successful entrepreneur
• who is your business and what does it sell?
• what problem do you solve?
• what is the implementation plan?
• where is your business and what customers will it serve?
• how will you market your business?
• how much money do you need to get started?
• pulling it together

CHAPTER 3: GETTING STARTED -- helps you make the important initial decisions about how your plan will be laid out and your purpose in creating this plan...including:

• formatting your plan
• disclaimers
• using graphics
• supporting materials
• defining your mission statement and objectives

CHAPTER 4: PREPARING YOUR COMPANY OVERVIEW -- takes you through the process of providing a basic level of information about who you are and what your company is all about...including:

• identifying your company and business type
• current and potential funding sources
• describing strategic alliances
• choosing a legal entity
• your history and present situation

CHAPTER 5: DESCRIBING YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE -- outlines the aspects of your company's services and products that should be detailed in your business plan...including:

• what your business sells
• features and benefits
• a unique selling proposition
• filling human motivations and needs
• the 4 P's of positioning
• why people buy
• outlining production processes

CHAPTER 6: PRESENTING YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE -- discusses how you will set up the framework of your company, who will be involved, and the roles each party will play...including:

• describing your organizational structure
• creating an organizational chart
• introducing your organizational team
• describing employee benefits
• employee non-compete agreements

CHAPTER 7: DESCRIBING YOUR MARKETPLACE -- examines other people who will be a part of your business on both ends of the spectrum...including:

• defining your market segment
• customer types, demographics, and motivations
• analyzing your industry
• participants, your market, and market trends
• steps to a usable industry analysis

CHAPTER 8: CRAFTING YOUR MARKET STRATEGY -- takes a look at how you will market your company and provide the kind of service that will maintain a loyal customer base...including:

• choosing the tools for your market strategy
• positioning your company
• ways of acquiring new customers
• strategies for retaining existing customers
• monetizing customers for greater profits
• creating a public relations plan
• describing your sales strategy

CHAPTER 9: LISTING YOUR DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS -- describes how you will get your products and services to customers and how you will handle disruptions to your company functioning...including:

• your real-world presence and physical operations
• seven potential distribution channels
• considering channel conflict
• your digital presence
• e-commerce essentials and your digital storefront
• planning for disaster

CHAPTER 10: DESCRIBING YOUR COMPETITION -- asks you to examine those companies and individuals that are competing for your customer base...including:

• the competitive environment
• identifying your competition
• barriers to competition
• competitive research resources

CHAPTER 11: DESCRIBING YOUR BUSINESS RISKS -- outlines some issues to consider that may put your business in danger...including:

• listing your business risks
• your risk management strategy
• insurance considerations

CHAPTER 12: CREATING YOUR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN -- takes a look at the responsibilities and expectations for each phase of your business...including:

• five steps in the startup phase
• six issues to address in the first year
• outlining the three to five year plan
• using a Gantt chart

CHAPTER 13: WRITING YOUR FINANCIAL PLAN -- shows you how to project your company's profits and put together realistic figures on what it will take to run your business...including:

• presenting persuasive financials
• financial, revenue, expense, and cost of goods assumptions
• writing the pro forma
• six figures to consider
• projecting personnel costs
• organizing your financial statements
• income statements, cash flow, and balance sheets
• will your company make money?

CHAPTER 14: PRESENTING YOUR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY -- leads you through the process of creating an executive summary for your business plan...including:

• what is an executive summary and what purpose does it serve?
• organizing your executive summary
• sample summaries
• summarizing your marketing and promotions plan
• summarizing the financial elements of your plan

CHAPTER 15: PRESENTING YOUR PLAN -- helps you to put together a smashing presentation for sharing your business plan with potential partners and investors...including:

• creating the elevator pitch
• preparing your plan
• power tips for using PowerPoint
• presenting your plan to investors and management
• six questions to ask when working with venture capitalists

APPENDIX A: SAMPLE BUSINESS PLAN -- provides a complete sample business plan for you to use as a model when creating your own

APPENDIX B: SAMPLE ELEMENTS -- offers a sample of each of the crucial financial supporting elements of your business plan

APPENDIX C: REFERENCES AND RESOURCES -- offers a list of useful websites, newsletters, and organizations that may be able to assist you in putting your business plan together...including:

• financial information
• technology solutions
• legal information
• tax information
• National Association For The Self-Employed
• minority business information
• women's business information
• general business information

APPENDIX D: FUNDING YOUR BUSINESS -- helps you to locate potential funding for your startup company...including:

• outlining your use of funds
• different funding sources
• creating an exit or payback strategy