We at ESH believe that the business plan is an excellent pedagogical tool for business management. It gives the student an overview of business, from strategic vision to marketing to finance. Further, business plans are useful life tools since they are often used along with feasibility studies in hotels to develop projects such as the addition of a spa, beauty salon, bar, new dining room,
swimming pool or terrace. Many of our students express entrepreneurial life goals -‐ to someday start their own hotel or restaurant -‐ for which the business project is the perfect training ground, if only to prepare a request for a loan from a bank.
8.2 Purpose
A business plan is basically a short (business) story with narrative that is meant to be persuasive in order to obtain something, usually a bank loan or other investment. The story must be substantiated by numbers, which are expressed in several financial statements. It usually does not need to be longer than thirty pages. The entire document is then summarized in a one-‐ or two-‐page executive summary that is used to promote the business plan and to solicit interest among potential investors.
Another important reason to create a business plan is not only to find investors but also rather to engage the process of researching and thinking about a project or business in a systematic way. Planning, studying and researching promotes critical thinking and helps avoid faulty, costly assumptions.
8.3 Formatting
There are many kinds and styles of business plans. ESH has adapted the following generic business plan to meet it academic needs.
8.3.1 The ESH Business Plan Model
Formatting requirements:
Length: 30 pages maximum, not including appendices In-‐text or footnoted style (see Chapter 6.8)
Font: Times New Roman or Cambria size 12 Interline spacing 1.5 or 2 lines
Document structure:
Cover Page
Copyright non-‐exclusivity statement (see Appendix 8.1) Acknowledgements (non obligatory)
Table of Content
I. Executive summary (page 1) II. Project Overview (pages 2 & 3)
III. Market study:
page 4 – environment (In what city, region, country, etc.?) page 5 – demand study (What is the market for the project?) page 6 – needs, attitudes, trends
page 7 – segmentation (Who does the project interest?) page 8 – offer : competition (What is the project's competitive advantage?)
page 9 -‐ distribution channel, trends (How will the project become known?)
page 10 – SWOT (text and graphic) IV. Marketing Mix
page 11 – products and services (How are they sustainable?) page 12 – product descriptions
page 13 – response to demand
page 14 -‐ implementation (How will the project be created?) page 15 – pricing ( competition prices and analysis)
page 16, 17, 18 – promotion (How will you launch your project? What is your media budget, media strategy, communication plan? Write a sample press release of 10 lines. Create a sample flier.)
page 19 – people and management (Who will do what?) page 20 – organization (What is your organization chart?) V. Financial Plan
page 21 – business model (How will you make money in a sustainable manner?)
page 22, 23 – sales forecast: 3 hypotheses (high, average, low) page 24 – expenses and start-‐up expenses (What will it cost you to create the project until the first day it makes money?)
page 15 – sales and marketing expenses
page 26 – wages and salaries (Who, what, when, how long, at what price?)
page 27 – general administration (What legal form suits your project best?)
page 28 – five-‐year income statement page 29 – investment needs, valuation VI. Conclusions
Appendix (maximum under 30 pages, including student CVs) References Style: APA or Harvard, as per teacher's instructions
Students are required to have their business plans finished ten days prior to the jury presentations so that the documents may be sent electronically to the jury members well before jury day.
8.3.2 The Presentation
Each team presents its work to a professional jury in a 40-‐minute session with a ten-‐minute question and answer period. Each member of the team is expected to deliver part of the presentation and to be able to answer questions on any aspect of the project.
Oral presentations are expected to include a PowerPoint presentation based on the structure outlined below. (Please, no Prezies!) Creativity may be expressed through the development of a logo, staging of the presentation or features that will demonstrate the project's branding (color, design, graphics).
PowerPoint slides should follow general rules for good presentations:
simple design and harmonious colors clear, uncluttered text
project and/or team name on each slide
slide numbers on each slide, large enough to be seen from afar
bullet point guidelines: never one alone; no more than five per slide [We like the rule better in French: " Une puce ne vient jamais seule ; six puces, ça gratte ! " roughly translated, one flea (meaning bullet point) never comes alone; six fleas make you scratch.]
no charts or tables on slides: rather they should be printed as handouts or referred to by giving the exact page number in the business plan
The presentations should contain the following minimum slides.
Slide 1 -‐ Cover page
Slide 2 -‐ Project overview (present the project and team; clarify the product; recall the business model; give your sales pitch using product specificity and originality, competitive advantages, and other important items)
Slide 3 -‐ Market Study: demand
Slide 4 -‐ Market Study: offer
Slide 5 -‐ Product and services (refer to pages 11-‐14 of business plan)
Slide 6 -‐ Pricing, promotion and distribution
Slide 7 -‐ Management and organization (pages 19-‐20 of business plan)
Slide 8 -‐ Financial Plan: sales forecast, three options and sources of revenue, pie chart
Slide 9 -‐ Financial Plan: expenses; pie chart / start-‐up expenses
Slide 10 -‐ Income Statement (Do not use a chart but explain in words!)
Slide 11 – Sales Pitch: The team leader should explain and sell the project to the jury using fact-‐based opinions for persuasion. He should clearly state the team's investment needs, remind the jury of the project's strong points, finances, operations, etc.)