Obtaining Business Financing

When obtaining a business loan for a donut shop business, it is imperative that you have a properly structured business plan that will assist you in showcasing how you intend to operate your Donut Shop, how the business will operate, how you intend to market the business, the anticipated financial results of your company, and how you intend to repay your debt obligations. This sample loan business plan will provide you with the framework that you need in order to acquire a business loan for starting or expanding this type of business.

Executive Summary

Introduction

When obtaining a business loan for a donut shop, it is imperative that your business plan has a clear and concise executive summary that provides an outline of what are seeking to accomplish, how much capital you are seeking to raise, the management biography of the business owner, and an overview of the anticipated profit and loss statements of the business. Here is an example of how the title paragraph should be written:

Donut Shop, Inc. (“the Company”) is seeking a business loan of $100,000 in order to launch the operations of a donut shop business that will be based in San Francisco, California. The Company was founded in (Insert Year). The business was founded by Mr. John Doe.

Products and Services

In the next segment of the business loan and business planning document, you should showcase the products and services that you will be providing to the general public. For instance:

As stated above, Donut Shop, Inc. will specialize in the retail sale of donuts, pastries, and beverages that are commonly found among retail locations that specialize in these products. The business will produce its donuts and pastries on site so that customers are provided with only the freshest products on a daily basis.

The third section of the business plan will further discuss the operations and products offered by the Donut Shop.

Business Loan Terms

Now it is time to discuss the anticipated terms of the business plan that you are seeking. An example paragraph of how this is stated:

At this time, Mr. Doe is seeking a conventional business loan in the amount of $100,000. The interest rate, loan terms, and loan covenants are to be determined during negotiation. However, this business plan assumes that the business will receive a seven year business loan with a seven percent interest rate due on the outstanding principal balance.

Management Biography

Now that the summary of the business has been provided, it is time to provide a brief overview of the owner of the business. An example paragraph summing up the owner is as follows:

Mr. Doe is a highly experienced business person that has years of experience regarding the direct ownership and management of business. He will be able to effectively bring the operations of the Donut Shop to profitability while ensuring that the business loan’s payments and its covenants are met at all times.

Financial Statements

The most important thing to your lender when applying for a business loan is how you intend to repay the bank. In this section of the business plan, you should provide an overview of the finance’s of the business discussing the anticipated revenues, expenses, and profits/losses. You can also discuss the applicable collateral within the business plan that will be used to secure your business financing.

Expansion Plans

One of the most important aspects of your business plan is how you intend to expand the business over a three to five year period. Banks and finance companies always want to see that the business will experience a moderate to strong level of growth. This is especially true in business lending because as your business grows the cash flow that secures your business loan will decrease proportionality against your monthly credit obligations. An example of how this is stated is as follows:

The Donut Shop will continue to expand through organic means including increasing the Company’s advertising budget via the reinvestment into the after tax cash flows of the business. Additionally, if the business is highly successful then the Company may seek to establish additional Donut Shop locations after the third year of operations.

The Financing

Use of Business Loan Proceeds

In this section of the business plan you should focus on how the proceeds of the business loan will be used. An example of this would be as follows:

Donut Establishment – $50,000
Kitchen Equipment and Opening Inventory – $10,000
Working capital – $40,000

Management Equity

In this section of the business plan you should discuss the percentage ownership of the business among the owners of the business. For example:

Mr. Doe will own 100% of the Donut Shop.

Board of Directors

When applying for business financing, the bank will also want to know who serves as the board of directors. For small businesses, usually the owner serves as the director of the business. An example of how this is worded:

Mr. Doe will be the sole director of Donut Shop, Inc.

Exit Strategy

Any bank or financing company is also going to want to know what you intend to do with the business over a set period of time. Many business owners will develop and expand a business with the intent to sell the company to a third party at a later time. When drafting this part of the business plan you should focus on what you intentions are in regards to potentially selling the business. This is often worded as:

Mr. Doe would most likely sell the Donut Shop to a third party for a significant earnings multiple. Donut Shops usually sell for approximately one to three times earnings given the financial strength of the business. In this event, the business would be sold by a business broker and the business loan sought in this plan would be repaid according to the covenants of the business loan agreement.

Products and Services

When developing a business plan that is appropriate for obtaining a business loan or other business credit facility you need to clearly showcase the services or products that you will be offering to the general public. An example of how this section is worded goes as follows:

The Donut Shop will pride itself on only providing the freshest donuts to the general public of San Francisco. The business will sell a wide variety of donuts, pastries, and beverages (including coffee and teas) that will generate substantial gross margins for the business. As stated in the executive summary, all donut and pastry products will be produced on a daily basis directly within the Company’s location.

Industry and Market Analysis

The Current State of the Economy

It is important to let your financial institution know that you are well apprised of the financial situation of the general economy when you are applying for a business loan. This is especially true in today’s environment where lending has become more difficult and will remain more difficult in the foreseeable future. Specifically, you should gear this section of the business plan analysis towards the industry that you are operating within. For example:

The current economy has remained difficult over the past few years. However, Donut Shops tend to operate with a strong degree of economic stability as the low pricing point of the Company’s products coupled with the fact that many people need a quick sugar fix will allow the business to remain profitable and cash flow positive at all times despite the difficulties in the economy.

The Donut Shop Industry

In addition to providing your business loan officer with an understanding of the general economy, it is important that you showcase that you have an equal understanding of the industry in which you are operating within. As such, you will need to provide you business loan institution of a brief overview of your industry and any potential changes that may affect the way that your company does business. An example of how an industry overview is as follows:

Around the country, there are more than 8,000 businesses that specialize in the sale of pastries and donuts that operate one or more retail locations within the United States. This is a mature industry and the expected growth rate is expected to remain on par with that of the general economy. In each of the last five years, the industry has generated more than $3.5 billion dollars while providing employment to more than 80,000 people.

Target Market

In this section of the business loan application and business plan analysis, you should focus on the demographics of your localized market (or national market if applicable). This section should discuss how many people live in your area, the anticipated number of people that would require the use of Donut Shops, the median household income of people living in the area, poverty line statistics, and any applicable laws that would apply to your operation of Donut Shops.

Competition

Many people that are developing new businesses or expanding existing businesses often feel that their business does not have any competition or limited competition at best. However, this is almost never the case. Unless you have re-invented the wheel – you will have competition. When applying for a business loan, you should clearly showcase your competition in your business plan. This is especially important to your banker as they will be able to gauge your ability to be successful in your targeted market. Many business loan underwriters will aggressively confirm that competitive nature of your local market and your local industry.

When drafting this section of the plan you should heavily discuss the competitive advantages that you intend to have over your competition.

Marketing Plan

In addition to all of the above information that we have covered, your business loan officer is also going to want to know how you intend to market your business to the general public. Most people do not quite understand how to effectively market their business outside of prominent signage or flyer distribution. When applying for a business loan (again in this difficult lending climate), your banker is going to want to see that you have a clear methodology of how you intend to market your services or products to the general public. In this section of the business plan – we will overview how to showcase your services/products to the general public.

Marketing Overview Example

The Donut Shop will place prominent signage on the facility to draw a significant amount of foot traffic.
The business will maintain listings in the Yellow Books.
The Donut Shop will also maintain an internet website that showcases the Company’s operations, hours of operation, and relevant contact information.

Marketing Strategies Overview

Additionally, you will be required to further drill down (in your business plan) how you intend to implement your strategies when you launch or expand your business’s operations. In this section of the business loan and business plan documents, you should amplify the bullet points from the section above. For instance:

The Donut Shop intends to use a number of strategies that will create instant traffic and customer flow to the Company’s location. These strategies include not only using prominent facility and road signage, but also distributing flyers to people that fall into he Company’s targeted demographics. The business will also regularly take out advertisements in localized newspapers that showcase the Company’s hours of operations, the donuts and pastries offered by the business, and specials that are occurring within the store on a regular basis.

The business will also maintain a highly informative website that showcases the Donut Shop, its hours of operation, product listing information, and other relevant information in regards to the Company’s pastry and donut products. This website will be listed on major search engines such as Google as many people now use the internet to locate local businesses. The business will also develop ongoing relationships with caterers and local offices for regular delivery of donuts, pastries, and coffee to their locations.

The Financial Plan

Beyond any other part of your business loan application or business plan, the financials section of these documents are what matters most when applying for a business loan or any other type of credit facility. Ultimately, this section of the business plan showcases not only what your anticipated profitability will be, but also how you intend to repay the funds that you have borrowed through your business financing facility. An example of how this section is structure is as follows:

Assumptions

Donut Shop, Inc. will have an average annual growth rate of 10% per year.
Mr. Doe will acquire $100,000 through a business loan in order to launch the operations of the business.

Proforma Financials for a Business Loan

Now it is time to showcase how you intend to repay your loan, generate a profit, and increase the book value of your business over a three to five year period. BusinessPlansForLoan.com has developed an easy to use financial model that you can use when drafting out the financial model for your business plan and business loan application. Through your business loan application, you will be required to have the following:

Profit and Loss Statement for your Donut Shop
Cash Flow Analysis for the Donut Shop
Balance Sheet for the Donut Shop
Business Loan Amortization Tables

Getting out of business is a process. The length of time required to complete the process is directly related to the complexity of the business, and the circumstances underlying the decision to get out. Planning how you exit your business is just as important as how you started it.

The exit process, timing of events; and tasks associated need to be tailored to the type and complexity of the business. Each case is individual because reasons for dissolution differ, and problems that arise are unique to each circumstance. The following checklist contains key elements that should be evaluated as early in the exit process as possible to eliminate pitfalls later on.

The process for exiting a business should include evaluation of the following points:

1. Engage Professionals & Consultants as Team Members.

2. Prepare a List of Assets & Perform a Physical Inventory.

3. Perform a Valuation of the Business.

4. Prepare Detailed Plan & Assign Responsibilities.

5. Release Announcements & Notices.

6. Conclude or Transfer Contract Obligations.

7. Dispose of & Transfer Assets.

8. Settle Accounts Payable & Debt Obligations.

9. Prepare Final Financial Statements & Tax Returns

10. File Articles of Dissolution.

11. Prepare & Issue Special Filings, Notices, Informational Returns, & Taxes.

12. Receive Tax Clearance Notice.

13. Close Bank Account.

14. Store Business Records

The process for successfully exiting a business requires the same amount if not even more planning as starting the business. While the process may be easier, it is likely to be less enjoyable and more stressful. The best advice for business owners is to incorporate potential exit strategies in the early stages of setting up their business. Vigilance and diligent managerial oversight is needed to ensure that complications and problems which could affect dissolution, and net value, do not develop into roadblocks. When the time comes to divest or sell the business, be sure to engage the relevant expertise needed, and prepare an action plan.

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For some, planning a business exit can be a predictable, methodical process. We know the competition; we understand market demands, know when we want to sell and might even know the actual date. But for far too many business owners, the business exit comes as a harsh reality and often unplanned event.

Protecting your business and assets against the dreaded six D’s of an unplanned business exit can give whole new meaning to the term “Disaster Management”. While every business may experience unexpected pitfalls, careful planning to ensure risk exposure is minimized can assist in keeping you in the driver’s seat when it comes to managing your company. Familiarize yourself with the six D’s of an unplanned business exit: debt, death, disability, divorce, departure and disaster. Know the enemy and look to address all six D’s in your operating and buy / sell agreements.

The Six D’s of an Unplanned Business Exit

Debt:No one goes into business and plans on it not succeeding, but 40,000 businesses fail every month in the United States. When debt exceeds revenue, it is critical to exit timely in order to minimize loses. Understanding limitations and protecting critical assets are key to successful divesture.

Death:Many businesses are solely dependant on their owner’s abilities, relationships, and passion to drive success, and when there is a death of an owner or partner of a business, it can have significant impact to a business almost immediately. While no one wants to consider their own demise, the strength and longevity of a business relies on being able to plan for such a critical loss even if it means downsizing or reorganization. The survival of a business in relation to key individuals needs to be evaluated and exit strategies planned accordingly.

Disability:Unbelievably, death is not as likely to end the business as a disability. A disability to a business partner can put a significant drain on cash flow, daily workloads, and excess down time, all of which can be devastating. Insurance and financial planning towards alleviating such an impact needs to be carefully evaluated especially when dealing with small business start ups where funding and resources are limited.

Divorce:No one wants to plan for a business or personal divorce, yet while Pre-nuptial agreements may be gaining in popularity many people never look to manage such impact to their businesses. What happens when the partners cannot get along? Or worse, you inherit another partner due to a personal divorce settlement? Exiting the business might be the only alternative you are provided.

Departure:It does not sound as bad as death, but it can wreak the same results. A partner, key employees, or other resources decide to go to the competition, retire, burn out, or win the lotto. When they leave, how does this impact your business going forward?

Disaster:If the five D’s above where not enough to impact your business, there are no limit to the other disasters that may occur that were never planned on: robbery, sickness, employee theft, employee turnover, natural devastating events, etc. In today’s post Katrina, 911 world the impact of the chaos theory is enough to keep even the best business minds awake at night. Plan for the worst; strive for the best and know when to get out if need be.

For the typical business owner, each one of the six D’s has special demands on the family, income, taxes, and control of assets. An agreement, commonly called buy/sell agreements, can be used to plan for the impact associated with the dreaded six D’s. A successful sustaining business exists as a separate entity from personal concerns and risk can be reduced by developing mutually fair and equitable agreements prior to these events occurring.

Business is an evolution and travels a diverse path. While some may look on an unplanned exit as a failure others may see an opportunity for growth and freedom.

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In today’s dynamic business environment you’re either Growing or Going…out of business that is! If you’re part of the latter contingent and have made the decision to get out of a business but are unable to transition your business internally or sell it as an intact entity, full or partial liquidation of assets may be an appropriate exit strategy. Asset liquidation can provide quick cash and assist in diversifying equity. However, before you terminate your lease, sell a key piece of equipment, or disconnect your utilities, make sure you have a well-thought-out plan.

Getting out of business successfully requires careful planning from start to finish. If you are looking at asset liquidation as a part of your exit strategy, consider incorporating the following recommendations into your plan to increase your chances for success.

1. Talk to your lawyer and accountant.

2. Establish the liquidation value of your assets; remember liquidation vs. retail value can differ substantially.

3. Identify the best venue and timetable to sell your assets.

4. Arrange the sale at the most appropriate location with an expert.

5. Use a non-recourse bill of sale.

Understanding and incorporating these steps into your exit plan will not only help you recover as much money as possible, they may also help you achieve the freedom needed to pursue new endeavors.

It is important to note that the recommendations discussed above are intended to serve as a general overview to assist with the asset liquidation process. It is not a substitute for case-specific advice that only your lawyer and/or accountant can provide. Also, depending on the situation and necessity of business divesture, the cooperation of creditors may need to be considered. Cover your bases and talk to the experts before liquidating any assets that may be in question.

Initiate the process by preparing a current inventory of your business assets. Include photographs, serial numbers and a brief description of the condition of each item if possible. A thorough inventory will save considerable time and expense as you navigate the sale process and can be invaluable if you are asked to provide documentation for creditors or the Internal Revenue Service.

Next, start preparing your assets for sale. To elicit the best offers, take care that you do not diminish the appeal of your most marketable items by lumping them in with outdated or worn-out equipment, furniture or inventory. In most cases the most lucrative value of these lesser items may be in the form of a tax deduction, so why not donate them to an appropriate charity?

Finally, don’t overlook your intangible assets. For example, is your lease assignable? Are the business licenses, permits, patents or trademarks that you hold in demand? Can they be transferred? Is there a market for your customer list, contract rights or accounts? You may need to check with your attorney or accountant to determine what information and agreements are transferable but once cleared these types of assets can also provide a substantial return.

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Postcards are great communication and marketing tools, that is. They can persuade by means of pictures and words. They can grab attention just at a glance. They can capture emotions as well. The difficulty now is that how do you discover the edge of postcards. Is it hard to extract? How do you distinguish a mediocre, so-so and effective postcard?

In postcard design, lots of aspects need to be considered. However, two of which are style and personality.

Style is tantamount to distinctive elegance. This is the element that makes it stand out from the rest of the postcards. Just one gaze and you will feel which postcard is elegant and which is otherwise. Noticeably, people will go after the elegant one. Therefore, elegance is a feature that can make your postcard stand out.

Another feature that must be in attendance to postcards is the personality. It gives exceptionality, individuality and develops affinity between you and your potential customers. This rapport will eventually develop trust and confidence and when it does the next possible thing is put their loyalty on your company’s product’s and services.

To be sure that you will be getting the style and personality that you are aiming for your business, be sure that you use the right images and texts. You’ve got to make them captivating as possible. You can use your business logo in order to boost the personality of your business.

Employ colors, shapes and design that will definitely capture your market’s attention. If you are catering to the young, experiment on bright and bubbly colors. If you are catering to older ones, try solid colors. When it comes to shape, the younger your target market is, the more experimental you can be.

Design can vary from simple to complex. It can be experimental or conventional. The common denominator of all these must be harmony and unity with the product and services you are endorsing.

If you are having doubts about your design, you can ask your printer about it. Commercial printers often come with a pool of print and design experts. They can assist you with all your queries.

You do not have to worry about finding the promotional marketing goods with the above criteria, for you only need to visit a promotion marketing goods site, and choose which promotional goods suits your business. If your business is dealing much with books or papers, for instance, handing over your customers and customers-will-be with promotional pens is highly recommended. You only have to choose your desired promotional marketing; whether you want zoom plastics pens, explorer plastic pens, fridge magnet icon pens, or pens with metal-look plastic, which are much cheaper than metal pens.

Promotional lanyards with customized words and logo are also recommended for your business, especially if your business is in cellular phone field. There are some categories of lanyards you are recommended to purchase; they are double lanyards, luminous lanyards, and so forth.

To have people’s trust or interest, companies need to build their image, or at least make people remember the name of the company. You need to create a logo of your company, to make the promotions simpler. It is easier to promote a logo than a long name. After you create logo or eye catching name, you need to have promotion tools. The best promotion tools are usable stuff. Shirts, badges, hats, bags, flash drives, and others. You can go to Freshpromotions.com.au for lots of promotion tools. You can choose the stuff that you want to imbed with your company name or logo. Remember, choose stuffs that people need and will use in their daily life. People will appreciate the things and will remember you company easily.

With great promotion plans, you do not have to worry if your company is new or small. You can make your company the best one in town if you know how to win customers heart. You can give the promotional tools with no cost when you are promoting your company. You can also use as a thankful gift for your new customers.

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Thus, the number of people purchase at online shop is increasing rapidly. Today, make a transaction via internet is much more guaranteed and secure. Come along with increasing number of online shoppers, people start to expand their business through internet. They even make money from their website. If you like to do kind of business, I will strongly recommend you to visit Statusmediaplc.com. The simple strategy is, the more people know about your business and website, the larger the chance for you to get customers. This is what Status Media is going to do. They help you to achieve new customers through ranges of CPA networks, such as email marketing, banner advertising, affiliate, publisher, online lead generation channels, and another social media. Their global CPA networks will help you to connect with more customers, so that you increase your sales and promote the online offers.

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Business owners can learn a key strategy to their business’ health from medical professionals. The message from doctors and pharmacists has been the same for decades – Finish your prescribed medicine! A medicinal campaign is prescribed to a person to help what ails them, and to keep them healthy and living. The failure to finish out the medicinal campaign can lead to further health problems, and in more serious situations, the death of the patient.

Business owners should follow this same rule when applied to their marketing campaigns. Too often a business owner dabbles a little here and a little there, not following a solid plan that will keep their business healthy and thriving.

Your marketing plan is to the health of your business as the medicine your doctor prescribes is to your personal health. Start to think of your marketing campaign as medicine to help keep your business healthy.

Imagine a person with a heart issue, one that can become very serious if the person does not follow their medicinal campaign on a regular basis. As long as they follow the strategy developed by the doctor, they can continue to maintain their desired lifestyle and do things they enjoy. Most likely, that person is going to ensure that they follow their doctor’s strategy, because they understand that failure to do so could put their health at risk.

Intelligent people understand the risks of not fully completing the prescribed doses of an antibacterial medicine. Failure to finish the medicine as directed can lead to further, and more serious illnesses. Yet, many intelligent business owners do not follow this same direction when it comes to their marketing plans and campaigns.

Medicine is prescribed to a person after a physician completes a thorough examination of the patient’s history and current status. The doctor determines what the best medicine will counteract the patient’s ailments, provides the patient with a medicinal campaign, thus helping them become healthy and maintain their desired lifestyle.

A detailed Marketing Plan is the businesses equivalent of a patient’s medicinal campaign. First, the business’ history, current status and desired state are determined. A strategy is then developed to overcome the business’ ailments. If the strategy is followed and completed, the business will have a greater chance at being healthier, leading to a long and prosperous life. If the strategy is not followed completely, then the risks of further ailments, even more serious ones, increase dramatically.

Now imagine a business that has been losing revenue, and needs to attract new customers in order to become healthy once again. The Marketing Plan is the prescription to reversing the ailments the business is suffering from. Following the developed strategy closely is critical to overcoming the root cause of the symptoms. You may not see results right away, but you need to stick with it.

In addition, health officials state that preventative medicine is vital to the overall health of our people. Echoing that same thought pattern, preventative marketing is vital to the overall health of our businesses. If you wait until the symptoms are too severe, your business may have a very tough road to recovery.

Just as you should go back to your doctor for regular check-ups, you should complete a Marketing Plan Check-Up. Business owners should update their marketing plan every six months. Marketing plans are not meant to be static documents. Things change in the market place: New competition moves in, new services and products are introduced, changes occur in your demographics, etc.

Your doctor will change your medicinal campaign based on changes to your health. Make sure you keep your business as healthy as possible by doing the same for your Marketing Plan. At minimum remember to finish your medicine. The long-term health of your business depends on it.