Nature of your business: What are the businesses short-term objectives, and its long-term goals? (Remember, aside from helping people, your focus here should be on generating personal and professional wealth). What will you be selling, producing, or what services will you provide? (A general overview) Why these products or services? (Providing research results indicating why you have chosen these products or services to offer to customers). Why now? (After conducting research, what have you learned regarding why now is a good time for you to launch your business, providing these particular products or services). 2. Location - Which province and/or city and area of town will you situate your business, and why? (You will learn that there is a distinct difference between the phrases location and site. You will come to learn that location focusses on the larger picture, the city or town you plan to situate your new business, the province, region and/or area of town where you would like to put your new business; and you must, using various research elements, provide reasons for choosing to locate your business in this area; also understand and remember that all of this is about you producing profit, so as to increase both personal and professional wealth for you today, as well as you families future. 3. Features Here you will briefly list and provide details regarding any special features your company will include which will differentiate your business from other similar businesses, including those that may be viewed as competitive business? You will do this by once again conducting research into both similar businesses, or those companies that may be seen as either direct or indirect competitors to your business. 4. Specialization Do you plan to specialize in any particular products and/or services, and why? You will learn that specialization tends to increase sales/revenue, there-bye increasing profit. If you choose or plan to specialize in any product or service areas, you will provide a detailed explanation on these specific areas of specialization, as well as provide research-based evidence that specialization in these areas should and/or will increase revenue. 5. Consumer groups Providing research-based evidence, you will apply demographic Information regarding your market, also focussing on your target market (your preferred group of customers), and provide reasons for targeting this particular consumer group. 6. Why? You will learn that new business opportunities tend to arise because of some sort of change that has taken place; perhaps after doing research, you learn that many types of businesses like the one your are considering, have closed or left the market; perhaps after doing research you learn that there is a large segment of the population that do not have access to some or all of the services you are considering; there can be a number of reasons for choosing to start a business of the type you are considering, as well there can also be many different reasons for locating your business in a particular city, or area of a city; you will be expected to include these reasons based on your research. 7. Owner(s) Here you will include the name(s) of the owner(s) of your business. You will include, from a general perspective, the backgrounds of each owner(s), including their respective educational and experiential histories. A copy of each owner(s) resume will also be a part of your plan, which you will include at the end of your plan in its appendix; an appendix is the section at the very back of any work based in research, where you include and/or list all areas of research you have used during the writing of your business plan. 8. Minimum draw, no income period This is where you will address your choices regarding your salary as well as any additional owners salaries, and include any positions considered to be full time; you will include this information expressed in actual dollar amounts; you will base any owners salaries on an annual amount; and regarding any full time, employees, you will include their annual income amounts based on whatever hourly wage you plan to pay. (Keep in mind, that Ontarios minimum wage is currently set at: 15.00 p/h. 9. Legal form here you will address which legal form you have chosen to operate your business under; and why you have decided on this form. If applicable, you will also include the percentages of the business owned by each of the participants, and explain why. 10. Roles At this point you will include information pertaining to what role any owner(s) will assume in the operation of the business. You will list any and all partnership provisions and agreements. Lastly: This entire piece of work, all five sections of your business plan, might seem daunting; it may feel like OMG, I will not be able to do this; its just too big and too difficult. But I can honestly assure you that it really is not as tough as it seems, in the beginning. The key phrase to remember here is: one step at a time; focus on each and every point to address within the current section that you are working on. By doing this, you will not be concerned with the next part, only the part you are focussing on. Once completed, you then will move to the next section, and in doing so, you will once again, consider that section as a piece of work on its own; not concerning yourself with the next section, only the one currently in view. And, you will hear repeatedly as our journey progresses, be willing and prepared to go back; be ready to re-visit an earlier section, you may wish to re-write or differently discuss points you made earlier, you may gain additional insights that might cause you to want to go back and fix something addressed earlier. Please do not hesitate to do this, in fact, you will be expected to, because in essence, this is considered to be a living document. I am hopeful that at least one of you will be able to explain to us what this term is in reference to once we meet on Monday.