QUICK-LAUNCH BUSINESS PLAN
AUDIO TRANSCRIPTION
SEGMENT 1C

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	 Now, we're moving on in the map to describe the products and services that the 
company is going to provide.  Real basic kinds of questions here.  First of all, 
we want to look at who is going to buy this?  Talk about who they are a 
little bit.

		If you're going to start a lawn mowing business, we know that these 
are generally homeowners.  Generally renters may or may not have to take care of 
that.  But certainly they are going to be people with lawns.  We're going to 
state the obvious sometimes here.

		If you're going to start a pet walking business or a dog walking 
business, you should be highlighting people with dogs, first of all.  What you 
might be looking for are people without children who are earning their allowance 
by walking the dog or mowing the lawn.
 
		We're looking for both what is and what isn't sometimes.  We're 
looking for people who have that kind of disposable income who could actually 
hire somebody to mow their lawn.  We may be looking for commercial accounts.  
When we talked about primary and secondary customers, a primary customer for a 
lawn mowing business or a landscaping business may be the average homeowner.
 
		Your secondary customer is somebody who doesn't use the product as 
often or in exactly the same way as the primary customer.  Maybe the county 
recreation program has ball fields and they need a spring cleanup every once 
in a while.  It may be that their crews already mow their fields every week,
but maybe every spring and fall they need a big cleanup.
 
		That may be a secondary customer for you.  They are not going to 
buy it as often.  But boy, when they do buy it, it's big money for you.  So you 
don't want to overlook them.

		When you're thinking about who is going to buy or who is your 
customer, think about how are they going to use the product?  Are they going to 
use the product in the way that it's intended?  That sounds obvious.  But we 
want to write it down and think about that process a little bit.
 
		When Anna is selling her jewelry, she's thinking primarily about 
functional jewelry.  It's not over the top.  It's not really, really expensive.  
Because that's not the kind of buyer who is going to go to e-Bay, for instance.  
We're trying to match the sales technique and the location of sales to 
the customer who is going to access it.

		When will they need it?  And is that critical, right?  Is it 
something that they need right away?  If you're selling fast food, you better be 
able to deliver it fast.

		If you're mowing lawns, you probably ought to be able to deliver 
that service every week.  Jewelry might be a little different.  But you know, 
somebody may have a high school reunion coming up.  And they've put everything 
off.  

		You might want to think about "Well, I should also have express 
shipping or overnight shipping as one of my options?"  That's something that 
you can do on e-Bay and that's not too tough.

		Where are your customers going to use your product or service?  Is 
this something that we have to come to you or you have to come to us?
Obviously, lawn mowing has to be done onsite.  For the jewelry sales, 
think about where are they going to use the jewelry. At work or at school, 
out in public generally.

		We want something that's functional and easy to use.  Not something 
that's going to weight people down, like 20-pound pairs of earrings, for 
instance.
  
		How are they going to find your product or service?  In Anna's case, 
we've worked that out. It's on e-Bay.  And e-Bay brings millions of customers 
every day.  I think 10 million people a day visit and buy on e-Bay.  That's an 
incredible marketplace.

		We could have said, "She's going to set up at the sidewalk sale in 
Old Town Square every Saturday."  That's a great location.  Obviously, people 
have been doing that for years.  She has to consider whether she has to pay a 
fee to the city that may be too exorbitant for her at this starting point.  She 
has to consider the fact that it's going to be very hard for her to do that 
accessibility-wise, because it's not an accessible space.  Those are going to be 
tough.  Finding her jewelry there is probably not a great outlet for her.  
 
		Think about asking the question -  why do they need the product or 
service.  Why do people need jewelry?  It's an accoutrement to what you're 
wearing.  It says something about your culture and your beliefs.  So those are 
important pieces.
 
		Why do people need their lawn mowed?  Because they want their 
property to look good or maybe there's a city law that says they must have their lawn 
mowed.  Why do people need hamburgers?  Because they are hungry.  They need 
something that's convenient.  Whatever business you're starting, you can answer these 
basic questions.
 
		That's where I want you to start.  I want you to 
sit down and answer each of those questions in a narrative format.  Read through 
the sample business plan that we've given you with this.  Look at some other 
business plans.  See how they've addressed these kinds of questions.  Maybe 
you'll find it in different sections or in different styles.  But it's in 
there.  You can find these core questions answered in almost every business 
plan. 

		So go answer those.  Then we'll come back to the next piece on 
marketing.  Thanks.  

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