How to Write A .com Business Plan: The Internet Entrepreneur's Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Business Plans and Financing Options Writing & Journalism

206 Pages·2000·5.95 MB·English

by  Joanne Eglash

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How to Write a .Com Business Plan
The Internet Entrepreneur's Guide to Everything You Need to Know About
Business Plans and Financing Options
Joanne Eglash
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Disclaimer:
Information has been obtained by The McGraw-Hill Companies from sources believed to be reliable.
However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, The McGraw-Hill
Companies or others, The McGraw-Hill Companies does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or
completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results
obtained from use of such information.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Eglash, Joanne.
How to write a .com business plan : the Internet entrepreneur's guide to everything you
need to know about business plans and financing options / by Joanne Eglash.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-07-135753-X
1. electronic commerce—Management. 2. electronic commerce—Planning. 3. New
business enterprises—Finance. 4. Internet. I. Title.
HF5548.32.E33 2000
658.4'012—dc21 00-045079
Copyright © 2001 by Joanne Eglash. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted
under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or
distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system, without the
prior written permission of the publisher.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOC/DOC 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
ISBN 0-07-135753-X
Printed and bound by R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company.
McGraw-Hill books are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales
promotions, or for use in corporate training programs. For more information, please write to the
Director of Special Sales, Professional Publishing, McGraw-Hill, Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY
10121-2298. Or contact your local bookstore.
This book is printed on recycled, acid-free paper containing a
minimum of 50% recycled de-inked fiber.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments and Dedication ix

Part One: The Plan
Chapter 1. Introduction 3
What Can This Book Do for You? 4
Why You Need a Business Plan 5
What's in This Book 6
Speaking of a Dot-Com Directory . . . 7
A Picture's Worth 1000 Words 8
Now, a Word (or Two, or Three . . . ) About Venture 8
Capital Firms
Why CW Is Now WC—And How I Know 9
Chapter 2. Executive Summary 13
Two Common Approaches—Plus Here's My Version 14
I Cannot Tell a Lie 15
Guidelines 16
Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It, and 17
Company Description
The Management 18
The Competition 19
The Market and Your Customer 19
Products and Services 20
Marketing and Sales 21
Operations 22
Financial Projections and Plans 22
Checklist 23
Chapter 3. Mission Statement and Company Description 25
Crafting Your Mission Statement 25
Try a Brainstorm Break 26
Company Description 27
Using Statistics in the Right Way 30
Checklist 31
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Chapter 4. The Management 33
Name That Manager 34
Do You Suffer from Organization Anxiety? 36
Your Mileage May Vary, But . . . 37
Recruiting 38
Uncle Sam Has Advice, Too . . . 40
Checklist 41
Chapter 5. The Competition 43
Spell It Out—And Search It Out 44
Adding Depth to Your Competitive Analysis 45
Recognize the New Challenges in the Internet Era 46
Sit in Your Potential Customer's Chair 48
Achieving "Customer-Minded" Attitudes 49
Visit the Enemy 50
What's Up Ahead? 52
Checklist 53
Chapter 6. Your Market and Customer 55
Who Is Your Customer? 55
Playing the Numbers 57
A Meditative Moment, Please 59
Customer Care 61
Checklist 62
Chapter 7. Products and Services 63
Have a Seat 63
Developing the Product 66
In Vendors We Trust? 66
Standing Out in the Crowd—A.K.A. Outstanding 66
Money, Money Everywhere 68
Checklist 68
Chapter 8. Marketing and Sales 71
Attraction Equals Promotion 71
How Much Is That Doggie in the Window, and How 73
Can I Buy It?
Rites of Research 74
Sales and Service 75
Strategic Thinking for Those Baby Boomer Boxer 76
Shorts
Spec Out Those Specifics 77
There's a Method to the Madness 77
Checklist 78
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Chapter 9. Operations 85
Let's Begin the Operation 88
Uncle Sam Has Some Suggestions 88
Go with the Flow 89
Day by Day 90
Policies and Procedures (Yawn) 91
Dotting the Dot-Com: Detailed Data 93
Checklist 93
Chapter 10. Financial Projections and Financial 97
Management Plan: Going for the Gold (and Green)
Know Thy Numbers Tolerance 98
Elementary, My Dear Watson 99
The World Is My Village 100
Consult the Internet Gurus 101
What Really Counts for Financial Figures 103
Checklist 106
Chapter 11. Final Flourishes 109
Append That Appendix 110
Give Yourself a Title 111
Table Time 111
Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover . . . and Other Final 112
Notes and Nits
Want More Tips, Including Tiptoeing Around Traps? 114
Last, But Not Least . . . 115
Checklist 116
Chapter 12. Sample Business Plans 117
Introduction 117
Turnip-Chips.com Business Plan 118

Part Two: The Directory
The Overview 135
Best-Bet Web Sites 135
Uncle Sam Can Solve Your Problems—Well, Some of 138
Them . . .
A Little Light Reading: Online and Print Publications 142
And the Search Is On 144
Does the "E" in E-Commerce Stand for Easy? 146
Dancing the Management Minuet 149
Naming, Registering, and Designing Do's and Don't's 152
for Your Site
Of Dollars, Incubators, and Garages 156
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Lexicon/Vocabulary/Argot/E-Biz Slang/A-Virtual- 162
Rose-by-Any-Other-Name Glossary
Marketing and Advertising: Show Me the Customers! 166
Customer Service . . . Do It with a Smile 169
No Lawyer Jokes, Please: You Never Know When 171
You'll Need One
Breaking Through the (Virtual) Glass Ceiling: Sites for 174
Female Entrepreneurs
Young at Heart—and Age: Web Sites for Young 177
Entrepreneurs
It's Back to School Time: Colleges and Universities 179
with E-Biz Aids
Bits & Bytes 181
Index 185