Group Project Report

The objective of this project is to develop a Business Plan for Marion Hunter and her Sampler Desserts new business proposal. Like all business plans, yours should include sections on the business environment including the general market and the competition; your marketing plan which should go beyond just advertising and include other issues such as product choices, customer analysis and pricing for instance; an operational plan which would include details beyond location and size but also equipment needs and layout etc.; a human resource plan which would include such things as number of employees, skills needed and wages etc.; and of course a financial plan. As part of your financial plan you must include a two-year monthly projected Income Statement and Balance Sheet as well as details on start-up costs. You may assume that Marion has $50,000 of personal savings that she is willing to invest in the business, and she will not draw a salary in the first two years. Try to estimate how much additional financing she will need to start up her business and survive the first two years. How much will Kathy have to put up – or another investor? There are several websites available with very helpful information on how to develop a business plan. A good place to start is the Government of Canada website, which has some excellent resources at https://canadabusiness.ca/business-planning/writing-your-business-plan/. Some downloadable templates and sample plans from several other sources can be found at https://canadabusiness.ca/business-planning/sample-business-plans-and-templates/. You may want to review industry averages for your financial projections. One place to start is http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/pp-pp.nsf/eng/h_pm00000.html. Specific Requirements: 1. You may choose your own groups of between 3 and 5 students. No more than 5 and no less than 3. Provide the names of the students in your group to me by October 3. For anyone who has not self selected into a group I will assign you to groups. 2. The group report is due on November 26 at class time. A printed hard-copy version must be handed in at the beginning of class. In addition, an electronic version is to be submitted online through Brightspace. One report (in the two versions) per group is sufficient. Be sure to identify all group members on the cover page of the report. 3. The report should be about 10 pages of typed text plus appendices. You may go beyond this general guideline if you wish, but I will stop reading after 25 pages in total. 4. You may be tempted to ‘borrow’ from other business plans that are widely available such as https://www.bplans.com/bakery_business_plan/executive_summary_fc.php. Note that I require an electronic version of your plan to be submitted so that any plagiarism can be identified and dealt with in accordance with the University’s regulations on Academic Integrity and Student Responsibility. Be sure to properly cite any and all references.