Questions and Answers of Effective Management

A friend of yours showed you the slides she plans to use for her business plan presentation, and you noticed that the slides didn't include any financial in- formation. You asked your friend about
You recently sat in on a business plan competition at a local university, and one presentation struck you as odd. It was a good presentation. All five mem- bers of the management team were present,
Sharon Peters, a friend of yours, asked you to sit in on a dry run of her busi- ness plan presentation. You know that Sharon is looking for $250,000 to launch her venture. At the end of the
Make a list of 10 mistakes that you could make in a business plan presentation. Next to each mistake, make a brief suggestion for how to avoid the mistake.
You recently sat through a business plan presentation and were impressed by the research that founders included in the presentation to validate their points. They included cites from the Wall Street
List the title of the slides included in the mock 12-slide business plan presen- tation included in this chapter.
What is a reasonable number of PowerPoint slides to include in a 20- to 30-minute business plan presentation?
What is meant by the phrase "death by PowerPoint?"
What are the positive aspects of involving as many of the members of a man- agement team as possible in a business plan presentation?
What is the proper role of PowerPoint slides in a business plan presentation?
Why is it important to practice your presentation?
Why is it important to know about the people you'll be presenting your busi- ness plan to?
What is meant by the statement, "as you present your plan, your audience will not only be judging your plan, but they will also be judging you?"
What are the most important issues involved with preparing for a business plan presentation?
Why is it important to carefully prepare and plan for a business plan presen- tation?
Refer to the vignette at the end of the chapter (from Business Plans That Work by Rich and Gumpert). Imagine you are the entrepreneur in the vignette. How would you have responded to the investor's
At a conference you attended recently, you were chatting with a group of peo- ple, and the subject came up that you recently completed a business plan, in- cluding a full set of pro forma financial
Kate Dodd, a friend of yours, has developed a new wireless application that she feels will revolutionize the communications industry. She has been turned down by several potential investors who
Suppose a colleague of yours is gearing up to write a business plan for a busi- ness she plans to start. She told you she plans to prepare the financial state- ments first, to get that job out of the
Suppose a friend of yours showed you the pro forma income statements for his startup and exclaimed excitedly that during its first three years of opera- tion, his firm will make a net income of
Briefly describe at least one profitability ratio, one liquidity ratio, and one overall financial stability ratio.
Describe the purpose of ratio analysis.
Describe why many people feel that the cash flow statement is the most valuable statement of the three financial statements normally included in a business plan.
Why would a current ratio of 1.1 raise concerns?
Describe the term COGS (cost of goods sold).
How is it possible for a firm to show a sizable net income on its income state- ments and still be running out of cash?
Briefly describe the three pro forma financial statements that should be included in a business plan.
Why is the financial plan typically one of the last chapters in a business plan?
Suppose you were the founder of Slingbox (http://www.slingmedia.com), the company that produces a device that allows people who are away from home to tap into their home television cable box or
Suppose you launched a new social networking Web site for college students to compete against Facebook and MySpace. What factors should you consider in selecting the physical location of your
Imagine that you have invented a new type of backpack for students to carry their books on campus. As part of your business plan, you have decided to "outsource" the actual manufacture of the
Gene Patterson, a professional acquaintance of yours, asked you to review his business plan. Gene's plan is for a new iPhone accessory, which will allow people to use their iPhone as a karaoke
Radar Golf (http://www.radargolf.com) is the name of a company that places tiny electronic tags inside golf balls to make them casy to find when lost.Spend some time looking at Radar Golf's Web site
What are the four types of intellectual property, and why is it important to address intellectual property issues in a business plan?
To what extent should a startup be candid and transparent regarding the challenges and risks associated with its product development process?
Describe what usability testing is and why it is important.
What is a product prototype, and why it is important?
Identify three specific instances in which a business's location is a critical fac- tor in its capability to operate efficiently and effectively.
What is an operations flow diagram, and why is it important?
According to the chapter, there is a vast difference between thinking up a new product idea and actually designing and manufacturing the product. Explain the nature and importance of this difference.
What is the most important rule of thumb for writing the operations and the product design and development sections of your business plan?
When writing the operations plan and the product (and service) design and development plan sections of a business plan, why is it important to strike a careful balance between adequately describing
Why is it important to include an operations plan in a business plan?
Imagine you are starting a firm with two partners, and you are all college seniors with limited work experience. You don't have impressive credentials to include in the management team section of
Find an example of a firm, not mentioned in the chapter, that has a board of advisors. Describe each of the members of the board of advisors and specu- late regarding the roles they each play in
If you were one of the founders of Prime Adult Fitness, make a list of the activities that your 4-member general advisory board and your 10-member customer advisory board could help you with.
Melanie Ford has read several books on how to write a business plan. All of the books explained the importance of the management team section, stress- ing the number one thing that investors focus on
Kathy Jones, a friend of yours, just finished a business plan for a quick printing service she plans to open. When you looked over Kathy's plan, you noticed that the "management team and company
Describe the purpose of an organizational chart.
What is a board of advisors? What role does a board of advisors play in the management of a firm?
What role does a company's board of directors play in its overall manage- ment team?
What are some of the common mistakes to avoid in putting together an initial management team?
Why is it important to fully disclose the ownership structure of a new venture and the compensation of the members of its management team in the business plan?
Describe what a management team skill profile is and how it is set up.
Why do investors tend to prefer management teams members who have worked together before?
Why is it important to show how a company will evolve in regard to the com- position of its management team?
To what degree does the way a firm assembles its management team provide an indication of the extent to which the managers of the firm are open to advice and are able to generate enthusiasm for their
Why is the "management team and company structure" section referred to as pivotal in a business plan?
Think of a company, other than Dell or IKEA, which has innovated in a very meaningful way in regard to how it distributes and sells its product or service. Write a short critique of how this
Beth Andrews has developed a new line of women's clothing that has created some positive buzz among friends and some business stores in her local com- munity. When asked by a reporter. "Where do you
Study the Web site of Velocity Sports Performance (http://www.velocitysp .com), a franchise organization that helps athletes in every sport, at all ages and skill levels, realize their athletic
Kathy has developed a new type of smoke detector that is much more sensi- tive than previous generations of smoke detectors and is particularly geared to people who live in small spaces, such as
Spend some time looking at ZUCA's Web site (http://www.zuca.com).Com- ment on each element of ZUCA's marketing plan (product, price, promotion. and distribution and sales). On a scale of 1 to 10 (10
Describe how firms should approach the topic of distribution and sales.
Provide several examples of public relations strategies.
Describe the differences between advertising and public relations? Which of the two alternatives do startups tend to prefer?
What is the price-quality attribution?
Describe the difference between cost-based pricing and value-based pricing.
What is the purpose of a product attribute map?
What is meant by a company's "positioning" strategy?
What is a company's marketing strategy, and why is it important?
Why is it important for the marketing plan to be developed with the customer plainly in mind?
Describe the difference between the market analysis section of a business plan and the marketing section.
Expresso Fitness is producing an exercise bike that keeps its users engaged and motivated by turning the bike into a sort of video game. Go to Expresso Fitness's Web site
Put yourself in the place of an investor listening to Prime Adult Fitness pre- sent the market analysis portion of its business plan. Think of three penetrat- ing questions that you would ask about
Recreate Prime Adult Fitness's estimate of the size of its target market, and substitute the county that your college of university is located in for Semi- nole County, Florida. How do your numbers
According to the chapter, one way that markets are segmented is on psycho- graphic variables. Explain what a psychographic variable is, and provide three examples of markets that might be segmented
A friend of yours just completed a 42-page business plan for a solar power company. The company will be asking for $4 million in venture capital fund- ing to ramp up production of a new type of solar
Briefly describe the four separate ways of estimating the annual sales and market share of a new business.
Explain why it's important to collect competitive intelligence, and describe some of the techniques that are used to collect it.
Explain the purpose of a competitor analysis.
Describe why it's important to include a section on "buyer behavior" in a business plan.
Why is estimating the size of a target market referred to as a "tricky" proposition?
What is the biggest mistake that people make when selecting a target market?
Describe the requirements for successfully segmenting a market.
Explain the process of market segmentation and why it's important for a firm to select a specific target market.
Describe the difference between the market analysis section and the marketing plan section of a business plan.
Explain the purpose of the market analysis section of a business plan.
One industry mentioned in the chapter that is fairly "hot" is the mattress industry. Spend enough lime studying the mattress industry to determine whether it is structurally attractive for new
Cereality (http://www.cereality.com) is a company's that's launched an excit- ing new concept in the restaurant industry. Spend a few minutes looking at Cereality's Web site and studying its business
Kelly Ryan, a high-school classmate of yours, is thinking about starting a company to compete with Cartridge World, the company that sell franchises to people who open small storefronts to refill
Cybex International (http://www.cybex.com) is a company that makes pre- mium exercise equipment for home and commercial use. What industry is Cybex in? (Provide both an SIC and NAICS code.) Report
You just reviewed a business plan for a company that will make athletic shoes with rollers on the bottom, which will allow its users to literally skate from place to place as if they were wearing
Why is the industry trends portion of the industry analysis arguably the most important section of the analysis?
Why is knowledge of the key success factors in an industry important? How can an industry's key success factors be identified?
Why is it important to know how an industry is segmented?
What topic should be discussed in the "industry structure" portion of an industry analysis? Why are these topics important?
What are the four general rules of thumb for completing the industry size. growth, and sales projections portion of the industry analysis?
What should you do if your firm operates in more than one industry?
Why is identifying a company's industry a tough call in many instances?

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