Today we are going to start with the Basics of the Business Plan for your Embroidery Business. In my last post I gave you the basic elements of a business plan and today we are going to talk about how to get started.

The easiest way to get started is to start gathering all of your information piece by piece and filing it into a three ring binder. I purchased a simple binder along with dividers for each section. I labeled all of the tabs on the dividers with the names of each element in the business plan. As I gathered the information I filed it into the divided section that was applicable.

You do not have to… work on each section until it is finished. You can work on several sections at once as you have the information. When you are working on your plan in pieces, it does not seem to be such a huge task.

In this post I am going to go over the Business Development section of your plan and what goes into this section.

Mission Statement – Briefly state in one or two sentences the reason why you want to start your embroidery business or if you are an existing business, why you are in business and your company goals.

Form of Ownership – Sole Proprietor, Partnership, Corporation or a Limited Liability Corporation. If you are expanding this may be the time that you change your form of ownership such as going from a Sole Proprietor to some form of Corporation. This you should discuss with your accountant and see which is the best option for you.

Description and History of the Business – If you are an existing business, discuss how many years the company has been in business, if it had any previous owners, sales and profit history and number of employees. Discuss any problems that you may have encountered in the past and what you did to overcome them along with any successes that have helped you to grow.

Major Business Objectives – What are your specific plans to start or increase your embroidery business? What are your specific plans to start or increase your production? What contingency plans do you have in place in case there is a change in the economy or the industry? In today’s economy, this is extremely important and one of the most important aspects of your business plan. You must be prepared for the inevitable.

Manufactured Products or Services - List all of the products and services that you intend to or already do provide and what sets you apart from the competition. This can include all of your embroidered products, such as shirts, caps, jackets and etc and any extra services that you offer such as FREE delivery within a certain area. (Do not try to make yourself sound better than the competition here, just what makes you different.)

Machine/Equipment Required – List all of the equipment that will be required for your startup or expansion and include the pricing. Attach pictures or brochures of all of the equipment. If you have more than one department such as embroidery, sewn twill or banners that will require equipment, list them separately. Also list any additional equipment that will be required for your office set up but again, keep this separate.

Inventory Required – List all of the inventory that will be required along with the pricing of each item. You will also need to include the expected rates of inventory turnover, credit terms and delivery policies and your methods of inventory management, planning and control.

Customers, Contracts and Purchase Orders – List all of your prospective customers or market segment if you are a startup. If you are an existing embroidery business, list all of your existing customers, contracts and purchase orders that you have on hand. This is very important.

Suppliers – List the names and address of your suppliers, buying terms and delivery policies. This would include the distributors of your blank goods that you embroider, your office supply source and your freight carriers such as UPS or Fed Ex.

Do not overstate any of your information. It will come back to haunt you! Now that you know how to get started, this would be a good time to do just that! If you have never created a business plan, or if it has been along time, let’’s get started. It is extremely important to have a guide to keep you on that correct path. It is so easy to wander away from your main course and objective and having a good plan to refer back to will help to provide that balance for you and your staff. In the next post, I will talk about your Marketing Plan.

Please leave a comment and let me know if this has been helpful to you. Talk to you soon.

Joyce Jagger
The Embroidery Coach

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