Business Plan – Part 6

Today I will continue with defining a simplified business plan that is applicable for a very small startup business. We have previously discussed a vision and mission statement. Today’s topic is the all-important one of defining your market.

Before you can sell anything you need a clear understanding of exactly what products and services you will be offering, and just as important, you have to figure out who will be willing to buy your stuff. A market definition answers the all-important questions about how many potential customers there are, who they are, where they are located, and what needs they have that will be satisfied by your products and services. No matter how unique you believe your capabilities are, the reality is that you are not alone in the marketplace, so you also need to research and describe your competitors, the threats they pose, and how you can successfully compete against them.

Information for everything you need to know about your market and competition is readily available. Start with sites on the Internet like the US census bureau at www.census.gov or the Small Business Administration at www.sba.gov. You can Google to find mountains of information. The reference librarian at your local library will be able to point you toward scads of print and on-line reference material.

A market definition for a small exclusive picture framing shop might be: “Our market is any institution or individual within 100 miles of Philadelphia who collects art and needs to have artwork framed or frames restored. There are roughly 300 museums in this area, and up to 10,000 high worth individuals who collect art. Competition is comprised of museums with internal framing staffs, and three local companies specializing in fine art framing. There are also several dozen small framing shops that do not specifically target this market.”