2.0 General Company Description
What business will you be in? What will you do?
Mission Statement: Many companies have a brief mission
statement, usually in 30 words or fewer, explaining their reason for being and their
guiding principles. If you want to draft a mission statement, this is a good
place to put it in the plan, followed by:
Company Goals and Objectives: Goals are destinations—where
you want your business to be. Objectives are progress markers along the way to
goal achievement. For example, a goal might be to have a healthy, successful
company that is a leader in customer service and that has a loyal customer
following. Objectives might be annual sales targets and some specific measures
of customer satisfaction.
Business Philosophy: What is important to you in business?
To whom will you market your products? (State it briefly
here—you will do a more thorough explanation in the Marketing
Plan section).
Describe your industry.
Is it a growth industry?
What changes do you foresee in the industry, short
term and long term? How will your company be poised to take advantage of them?
Describe your most important company strengths and core
competencies.
What factors will make the company succeed?
What do you think
your major competitive strengths will be?
What background experience, skills,
and strengths do you personally bring to this new venture?
Legal form of ownership: Sole proprietor, Partnership,
Corporation, Limited liability corporation (LLC)? Why have you selected this form?