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Your Company
The discussion of your company should begin with your mission
statement - a one or two sentence description of the purpose of
your business and to whom your product or service is targeted. Not being
clear in your mission statement indicates that you are not clear
about the purpose of your company. If you need
assistance or want to see some examples, check out the toolbox.
Describe Your Company
Once you have your mission statement, you can then discuss the
more "technical" aspects of your company. Remember that you're
telling your company's story, so even though there are specific
areas you will need to cover, you will want to keep it lively and
interesting. Some areas you should include are:
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What type of business is it? Wholesale? Retail? Manufacturing? Service?
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When was the company founded? Is it a start-up, or an
established enterprise? What is the story behind the
founding of the company?
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What is your business' legal structure? Sole proprietorship? Corporation?
Partnership?
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Who are the company's principals and what pertinent experience do they
bring?
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What market needs will you meet? Who will you sell
to? How will your product(s) or service(s) be sold?
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What support systems will be utilized? Customer service? Advertising?
Promotion?
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Tips
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Your company's focus often depends on your market. A small
town general store can sell groceries, hardware, newspapers,
and gasoline because they may be the only store that sells
those items in the area. A larger market would require
greater specialization to set yourself apart from the
competition.
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Small business owners often get stuck using existing labels
which don't accurately describe their companies. Ask
yourself what business are you really in? What true
benefits do you provide? For example, if you create
corporate newsletters, are you just a "newsletter publisher"
or do you "help large companies communicate important
information to their clients and prospects."
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If you're an established company, give a brief history and
cite prior sales and profit figures. If you've had losses
or other setbacks, explain why, and discuss what is being
done to correct them. Has company ownership changed hands?
Be sure to talk about why it was sold.
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When discussing the company's principals, you don't need to
run a complete resume - save that level of background for
later in the plan. But don't be too brief, either. Don't
just say "Ajax Financial Services is being founded by Jean
Smith." Instead, it's stronger to write something like,
"Founder and President Jean Smith, former Chief Financial
Officer of Acme Industries, brings 25 years of experience in
financial services to Ajax Financial Services."
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> Learn how OPEN: The Small Business Network from American Express can help your business. |
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