Business Idea

A summary of the proposed business idea

Identify whether this is a new business start-up or a partial/whole takeover of an existing
business.

Products and Services

Market Segment
Target Customers
Geographic Coverage

Personal Details
Educational Background
Does your education relate to the proposed business idea?

Business Experience
Do you have business experience in the proposed business idea?
If no relevant experience, can your knowledge or experience be applied to the proposed
business idea?

Qualification and Skills

Other training or learned skills that are relevant to the proposed business idea

Language Skills
Language proficiency
Language barriers

Critical Factors
Government Regulations
Identify government regulations that will be applicable to the proposed business idea such as
environmental regulations, health regulations, municipal zoning requirements, and labour rules.
Are there special insurance requirements?

Challenges

Market Analysis
Market Size
Market Segmentation
Market Trends
Is the market growing, contracting, or static? What is the industry forecast?

Target Market and Customer Profile

Competition
List the existing competitors.
How will the proposed business compete against competitors?

How to differentiate product from competitor (can be part of marketing/promotion).

Marketing and Promotion

Resource Requirements
Location and Distribution
Will the premise be owned or leased?
Where will the premise be located?
Is the planned location close to suppliers, customers, trucking routes?

Plant and Equipment

Suppliers
Identify suppliers that will supply the raw material or services.
Is there a contingency plan if a vital supply source fails?

Distribution Channel
Professional Advisors
Do you plan to use outside professional services? Normally accountants and lawyers are
required for financial and legal matters. Others may include web developers and marketing
consultants.

Human Resource Requirements

Applicants Role
Organizational Chart
Employees
What are the strategies around finding, hiring and keeping employees?
Have you taken into consideration federal and provincial regulations around occupational safety
and health, as well as labour issues such as wages?
Will you employ an accountant for payroll issues? If not, are you familiar with requirements for
making payroll deductions, such as Income Tax, Employment Insurance (EI) and Canada
Pension Plan contributions (CPP)?

Financial Feasibility
Capital requirements
How much capital is required to keep the business going before break-even occurs?

Breakdown of investment
List the total amount of investment.
List how the investment will be broken down.
List the amount of personal funds to be invested as well as amount to be financed