Answer the following questions.

1. Why is an executive summary such an important part of any business plan?

2. How can you present an overview for the project detailed understanding for a business plan reader?

3. How can you prove the quality of the managerial team?

Complete the sentences.

1. Every successful business plan should include...

2. The executive summary briefly sets...

3. Section "Market Description and Analysis" profiles three key areas: ...

4. Section "Marketing Strategy" should clearly specify...

5. The object of the section "Research and Development" is to explain...

6. Graphs or charts help...

7. The quality of the management team determines...

8. Most companies require multiple stages of...

9. Start-up plans need to detail...

Find an appropriate word for each blank space. In all sections the initial letter of each word is provided.

1. They have already indicated their new о… status.

2. The e… summary briefly sets forth the contents.

3. Do you know the c …status of this international company?

4. The specialists outlined the need for service in today's m …and its advantages.

5. You have made the serious mistake - you have not described market c...

6. I have not selecteds… data on sales and units.

7. We would like you to disclose all present c… as to equipment and facilities.

8. In the eyes of the investors, the quality of the managementt… often determines the potential success of the company.

9. Some investors prefer that the company openlya… risks and problems.

10. Most companies require multiple stages of f...

Discuss the following questions. Support your opinion with arguments.

1. Do you agree that a goal setting is an important part of business planning?

2. What are the primary barriers for planning and how can they be overcome?

12. Write an essay to disclose the role of a good business plan as:

- a strategic vision of your company;

- the most important communication tool;

- a document to obtain capital and investments;

- a tool for planning, measuring and improving performance;

- a basis for sound decision-making;

- a way to motivate employees.

Analyze the following business plan. Speak about its structure and give your ideas as for its success.

The Watertower Café

Executive Summary

The Watertower is a full-service restaurant/cafe located in the Sweet Auburn District of Atlanta. The restaurant features a full menu of moderately priced "comfort" food influenced by African and French cooking traditions, but based upon time honored recipes from around the world. The cafe section of The Watertower features a coffeehouse with a dessert bar, magazines, and space for live performers.

The Watertower will be owned and operated by The Watertower LLC, a Georgia limited liability corporation managed by David N. Patton IV, a resident of the Empowerment Zone. The members of the LLC are David N. Patton IV (80%) and the Historic District Development Corporation (20%).

This business plan offers financial institutions an opportunity to review our vision and strategic focus. It also provides a step-by-step plan for the business start-up, establishing favorable sales numbers, gross margin, and profitability.

This plan includes chapters on the company, products and services, market focus, action plans and forecasts, management team, and financial plan.

1.1 Objectives

Sales approaching and surpassing $1.9 million by the end of the first year.

Targeting and maintaining a net profit of at least 14% by the second year.

To cultivate monthly sales to reach $167,000 by the end of the fourth month of operation, and $220,000 monthly by the end of the first year of operation.

1.2 Mission

The Watertower concept is built upon the success stories of Atlanta's many casual dining and coffeehouse venues. Located in the Sweet Auburn District of Atlanta adjacent to the Studioplex on Auburn residential loft development, The Watertower will provide accessible and affordable high quality food, coffee-based products, and entertainment to the thousands of residents and hotel visitors located within a five-mile radius. In time, The Watertower will establish itself as a "destination" of choice to the many residents of the greater Atlanta metropolitan area, as well as numerous out-of-town visitors.

The establishment will provide a "complete, high-quality" evening experience for those searching for something that is rapidly becoming popular among Atlanta diners. Not only will patrons be able to dine on "comfort" food based upon time honored recipes from the world over, they will do so in a facility containing ample patio space for a favorite pastime of Atlanta's residents: alfresco dining. Patrons will also have the option of enjoying coffee, desserts, and live entertainment in The Watertower's coffeehouse or, a relaxed game of bocci in the gardens located adjacent to the patio space.

The cafe's aim is simple. It will provide a completely sophisticated, sensual, yet casual dining and/or coffeehouse experience for the many Atlantans and visitors who frequent the city's casual dining spots and entertainment venues. It will be an affordable venture for patrons, one that will encourage them to return on many occasions. The menu will feature hearty fare of the type that is frequently out of the reach of the typical young professional...out of reach because time frequently prevents her/him from cooking hearty meals like those featured on our menu.

Finally, and quite significantly, The Watertower will provide a much needed neighborhood-based retail food operation that is currently unavailable to the southern end of Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. Not only is it projected that the business will generate 21 new jobs, the partnership responsible for creating The Watertower will generate additional revenue specifically dedicated to assisting the Historic District Development Corporation in its efforts to bring affordable housing, new jobs, and commercial activity to the Old Fourth Ward.

1.3 Keys to Success

The keys to success in this business are:

Product quality: Food, coffee-based beverages, and entertainment are our products. They must be of the high quality and value.

Service: Our patrons are paying to have a good time. Their experience will suffer if service is not of the highest caliber. Each member of the staff will be courteous, efficient, and attentive.

Marketing: We will need to target our audience early and often. While the business is located in a central and accessible location, many people will have to be re-introduced to the neighborhood surrounding the Martin Luther King National Historic Site and Auburn Avenue.

Management: We will need to have a firm grasp on food, beverage, and labor costs. The dining/entertainment/coffeehouse experience must be delivered in a fashion that will not only inspire repeat business, but encourage word-of-mouth recommendations to others. Proper inventory, employee management, and quality control is key.

Company Summary

The Watertower is a bistro and coffeehouse facility located in a renovated house immediately adjacent to the Studioplex on Auburn residential loft development. The Watertower derives its name from an historic 200+ foot tall watertower located on the grounds of the restaurant, and immediately across the street from the main entrance of the Studioplex facility. Architecturally, this watertower will serve as a beacon/locator for our facility as it towers over the southern end of the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood and the eastern end of the Sweet Auburn residential and business district.

The facility is bordered by Auburn Avenue to the south and Irwin Street to the north. Residential live/work townhouses are planned for construction across the street from, and adjacent to, The Watertower on Irwin Street.

2.1 Company Ownership

The Watertower is a privately held limited liability corporation wholly owned by David N. Patton IV(80%) and the Historic District Development Corporation (20%).

2.2 Start-up Summary

The start-up costs for The Watertower cafe can be found in the chart and table below.

Since the business property is located in an enterprise zone, property taxes on the property are abated for the initial years covered by the business plan. The owner/general manager will be responsible for maintaining insurance that will cover the loss of the building and all of its contents, as well as insurance covering business interruption and death or injury to himself.

2.3 Company Locations and Facilities

The Watertower will be located in a newly renovated facility designed by the architectural firm of Richard Rauh & Associates, Atlanta, GA.

The facility will be divided equally between the cafe/restaurant function and the coffeehouse/entertainment function. The restaurant will feature dining room seating for approximately 100 patrons and flexible indoor/outdoor patio seating for an additional 40 patrons. The cafe/coffeehouse will provide a full-service dine-in and carry-out coffee-based beverages, as well as a dessert bar. The coffeehouse/cafe portion of the business will also contain a full-service bar, a small entertainment stage, and niche magazines and newspapers available for purchase. The coffeehouse will maintain ample indoor/outdoor seating under a covered patio space shared with the restaurant.

The facility's perimeter will feature a simple garden and bocci courts which will provide comfortable waiting areas during the warm weather months.

Finally, an historic 200+ foot watertower forms the centerpiece of the grounds immediately adjacent to the proposed business. This watertower, constructed in 1906, features extraordinary cathedral-like interior space. It is our hope that our construction plans will support dramatic lighting of the tower after sundown, creating a rather visible nighttime landmark for northeast Atlanta.

Products

The Watertower is a cafe/restaurant/coffeehouse venue that sells moderately-priced food to an upscale casual dining market. The venue features brewed coffee and espresso-based beverages, granita ices, fruit smoothies and juices, and other beverages typically associated with a coffee shop. A dessert bar will serve a range of freshly prepared desserts, as well as baked goods associated with breakfast.

Luncheon offerings contain both carry-out and dine-in menu selections, while evening hours will accommodate full-service dining and Spanish tapas (appetizer) service, a full-service bar and light, weekend, live entertainment.

Reflecting a target niche market, a limited selection of out-of-town newspapers, as well as art, architecture, cinema, design and lifestyle magazines will be sold. Additionally, the venue will feature art and products made by Studioplex artists, providing a cross-selling opportunity.

3.1 Product Description

The Watertower's menu will feature a selection of pan-ethnic dishes influenced by African and French cooking traditions. Whether South American, Caribbean, Mediterranean or African-American, the menu items will have an identifiable African origin and/or influence.

Generally, the dishes will offer variations on "country" cooking themes. Braised and smoked meats and poultry, seafood, and vegetarian offerings will change seasonally.

Dinner items will only be available in the dining room section of the establishment. Standard appetizer/tapas offerings will be available in the coffee shop and patio area through the late evening.

Specialty coffees, espresso-based drinks, desserts and pastries, and light sandwiches will be available in the coffee shop.

Niche-magazines and newspapers will be readily available for purchase by the venue's patrons.

Musical offerings will span jazz, Latin, and urban musical traditions. The performance space will also offer ample opportunities for space for an artist, poet, reader, etc. When not in use as a stage, the space will double as a customer seating area with tables and chairs.

3.2 Competitive Comparison

The Watertower's closest competitors (relative to location) are Virginia's (Inman Park), Sotto Sotto (Inman Park), The Roman Lily, and Thumb's Up Diner (Old Fourth Ward), Cabbagetown Grill (Cabbagetown), Eureka (Cabbagetown).

Virginia's, The Roman Lily, Cabbagetown Grill, and Eureka feature fairly similarly priced menus and menu offerings with a notable traditional American southern influence. The Roman Lily is notably more "downscale" from Eureka and Cabbagetown Grill. Virginia's decor and menu offerings strikes squarely in between downscale casual and upscale casual. Sotto Sotto is an upscale casual dining establishment featuring finer northern Italian cuisine (the restaurant is currently undergoing a significant expansion).

None of these establishments features a traditional coffeehouse atmosphere or live or recorded evening entertainment.

Relative to the location of these establishments, The Watertower is centrally geographically located. It's location will easily allow for patrons from these other establishments to finish an evening with dessert, coffee, drinks, and/or dancing.

3.3 Sales Literature

A sample copy of a menu to be featured at The Watertower is attached in an appendix at the end of this document.

***Some supplemental materials are not available for this sample plan.

3.4 Sourcing

The Watertower will buy from a select group of Atlanta restaurant suppliers and liquor distributors. Direct sales relationships will also be established with fresh produce, meat, and seafood distributors based at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. Negotiations are also underway to establish direct relationships with seafood suppliers on the Florida Gulf coast.

The cafe will receive substantial discounts from artists and artisans participating in the manufacture of signature pieces of dinnerware, furniture, lighting, and sculpture to be featured at The Watertower. As part of a marketing agreement with Studioplex merchants, the business will prominently feature their products in exchange for these discounted fixtures and equipment.

3.5 Technology

The Watertower logo is protected by federal trademark laws. All of our menu creations will not necessarily have the same protections, however, when possible, popular "trade-names" will be protected. The business of The Watertower is not dependent upon process technology or patentable inventions.

3.6 Future Products

While The Watertower will initially focus upon the dining, coffeehouse, and entertainment functions located on the immediate grounds of the establishment, future expansion efforts will focus upon providing full-scale catering for Studioplex events as well as other off-site venues. The Watertower's owner has established relationships with Atlanta law firms and Emory University, these institutions offer many opportunities for catering/special event service.

Date: 2016-01-05; view: 808