A Business Proposal Example,

Simplified
MARCH 6, 2014 BY BRITTANI SPONAUGLE

A business proposal is the most

important part of your entire venture. Without this, no one is going to take
your idea seriously which can mean you wont receive funding. Make sure
you do thorough research on every facet of your business idea so there are
no uh-ohs down the road. To learn about starting your own business try
this online course: how to start a business.
Here is a sample business proposal for an organic food retailer. You can
tailor this for your business.

Executive Summary
This is your chance to grab the attention of the reader in the most concise
and informational summary you can muster. Never let this run over one
page long. Also, do not write this portion until after you have done
everything else, all research, all numbers crunched and the entire packet
completed. (You can read about the full business proposal template in
this article.) Since this business is fairly new, the executive summary will
not be as detailed (with financial growth, charts and graphs) as it would if it
were already well-established.
Our mission is to provide a healthy and sustainable food option for our
consumers. As an organic and GMO-conscious business that practices
zero-waste policies, we not only feed our customers we educate them.
Yampa Valley Naturals was founded in 2012 by Maya Stone and Joseph
Yebcavich. We are a home based business seeking a permanent
commercial location for retail and wholesale purposes. Our products are
organic treats such as breads, granolas, jams and mushrooms that serve
the population of the Yampa Valley and beyond. We are Colorado Proud

certified, part of the Main Street Chamber of Commerce and have all
necessary permits to operate legally within Routt County.
The founders of YVN have years of experience in running successful
businesses, overcoming difficult obstacles and advocating for the organic
and GMO-free food scene. Combined, Maya and Joseph have 10 years of
mushroom growing, bread baking and retail experience. Maya served on
the city council in VA for sustainable food committee and Joseph is a
representative of the sustainability council in Steamboat Springs, CO.
We are prepared to invest 50% of the total needed start-up funds. They
are seeking the final 50% of funding to meet our financial goals from
Mountain West Bank and interested angel investors. There is also a
Kickstarter campaign active to aid us in this process. We foresee Yampa
Valley Naturals becoming a staple in the Steamboat Springs community;
to educate the public about the importance of local and organic food; to
provide cost effective healthy food options; and to develop partner
programs with Colorado Mountain College to enrich the Sustainability
program and further the local food goals of the valley.
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I. General Company Description

This section reviews your companys goals, objectives, and philosophy, as
well as goes over what the industry is like.
Company Goals and Objectives
Goals:
o

To be the leading organic and GMO-free food producer in

Colorado

To have a store front with prepared food and products and

food-to-order

To educate consumers about the current and future state of

the food industry, plants and their health benefits and

Objectives:

To obtain GMO-free certification

To obtain USDA 100% organic certification

To have three full-time employees with salary and

benefits

To encourage local food swapping

Business Philosophy:
Sustainable, Local and Organic is our motto.

Sustainable, because its important to reduce

our footprint on the fragile environment by recycling, reusing and
repurposing.

Local, because stimulating the local economy is

good for you, good for me and good for the other members of your
community. It creates a healthy atmosphere for thriving business
and happy people.

Organic, because eating products that are

pesticide and preservative free is crucial to your health.

The phrase is also an acronym for SLO food which is a movement to

counter the ever-so-popular fast food world we live in. SLO food
encompasses not only how your food is grown and where you buy it, but
where and how you enjoy it, too. SLO food intends to remind people to
just slow down. Food is meant to be enjoyed as a cultural event not as
just a means to survival.
Industry Description
The food industry is forever growing, changing and adapting to the
demands of the consumer. In recent years there has been an exponential
growth in the organic food market. Consumers are becoming more aware
of what they are ingesting and how important it is to choose preservative
free and pesticide free products. The organic industry is on the rise as sale
trends show for 2012. According to the Nutrition Business Journal,
organic food sales in the United States have increased from
approximately $11 billion in 2004 to an estimated $27 billion in
2012. Furthermore, according to the USDA Economic Research Service,
organic food products are still gaining ground in conventional
supermarkets as well as natural foods markets, and organic sales
accounted for more than 3.5 percent of total U.S. food sales in 2012. We
anticipate this positive growth to continue in coming years.

II. Products and Services

Describe in depth your products or services in this part of the business
proposal. Dont be afraid to go into even further detail than our example
below shows, based on your specific industry. Include advantages and
disadvantages you have over the competition.
Description of Products/Services
We produce and package organic products for wholesale, retail, and
foodservice. These products include but are not limited to:

Granola

Granola Bars

Trail Mix

Fruit Butters

Herbs (Fresh/Dried)

Mushrooms (Fresh/Dried)

Pastries

Cookies

Muffins

Cereals

Nut Butters

Artisan Breads

Competitive Advantages/Disadvantages
Yampa Valley Naturals has a distinct advantage as a local organic foods
producer. We dedicate a tremendous amount of time to research to ensure
the best organic, GMO-free ingredients in all of our products. While not
every product we sell is 100% organic and 100% GMO-free we strive to
be. This sets us apart from our competitors as no other business in town
produces sustainable, local and organic packaged food.

Living in the Yampa Valley can have its setbacks in the agriculture and
product creation sector due to our rather remote and high-altitude
location. Obtaining certain ingredients is already problematic but we
need to again dramatically narrow our search to meet our high standards
of organic and GMO-free ingredients.

III. Marketing Plan

First, include a section on economics here. Because this is drastically
different for every industry, we have not include an example here. However,
here are some of the questions you should seek to answer with your
economics section:
What is the total size of your market?
Is there a current demand for your product?
What are the trends?
Is there growth opportunity?
Are there any barriers you face to being successful as a start-up?
Start-ups have a bit more of a challenge when writing the business plan.
Improve your chances of success by taking this business plan for startups course.
Next, include a section about customers. Identify your targeted customers,
their characteristics, and their geographic locations, otherwise known as
their demographics.
Customers
Our target customers range from young to old and they will primarily be
residents of Routt County, CO. Our products cater to the sweet tooth of
kids, the health nut to the diabetic elderly. There is one important theme
here and that is: S.L.O.
Our most popular customer groups will most likely be Steamboat Springs
residents with at least a middle-range income. Typically these customers
will be eco-conscious or health-conscious citizens and could very well be in
the education, health, or food sector.
You should also include a section on your competitors. List major
competitors by name in this section if possible.

Competition
Surprisingly, none. We have been unable to locate a company with similar
values and/or products located in the Yampa Valley. There are local
farms that produce fresh herbs, but this is only a small portion of our
entire product inventory. Insofar, we have seen no signs of local gourmet
mushroom farmers or any local organic foodservice companies.
Restaurants in town primarily carry big name organic foods in their
shops and we intend to become the new local source for high-quality
organic products at the retail, wholesale and foodservice levels.
For a lot of Steamboat residents, locally produced foods are more
appealing than ones produced from corporations. At a talk held by the
Yampa Valley Sustainability Council in April entitled: Local Foods,
speakers asked the approximately 100 Routt County citizens what their
idea of local was. The results were impressive. More than 80% of the
room considered local foods to be produced only in Colorado. Out of that
80% almost half considered local to be only produced in the Western Slope
area which encompasses Steamboat Springs. These people are our target
market and we have no true competitors at this moment.
How will you get the work out to customers? Include this information in the
next section. You should include not just direct promotional strategies, but
also branding strategies and budget information.
Promotion
Currently we are relying heavily on word-of-mouth. Our business
financial structure right now cannot hold as many clients as we are
receiving inquiries from which is why we are seeking a loan. Once we are
able to aptly expand our operations we intend to use local print media
(newspaper, other publications), social media, email, flyers and our
previous product exposure at local businesses.
Yampa Valley Naturals is reserved, yet hip, organic and sustainable,
small town gig. We like folk music, a good hike and nice glass of wine,
were not hippies but were considerate of our environment and those in it.
We seek to portray a contemporary and simultaneously back country feel
with our products. They are sleek, yet cozy and familiar yet exotic. If we
manage to make our customers feel any of these then we are on the right
track.
Promotional Budget
Monthly spending really depends on our sales. We anticipate
approximately 1 shipment of paper a month, 1 shipment of business cards

every 6 months. Annually this equals $630 a year. Our prices are
comparable to a bit higher than our competitors. After much research we
have realized that because our products are primarily made with organic,
GMO-free and local ingredients. We do not have any direct competitors in
Steamboat Springs that produce and package their own organic and local
foods for sale.
We have already see our customers make their decision on the quality of
our product over the price. We initially had incredible affordable prices as
we didnt understand our market yet. We have driven the prices up
considerably and have actually seen an increase in our sales.

V. Sales Forecast
Use a sales forecast spreadsheet to prepare a monthbymonth
projection. Here is also a startup expenses worksheet to use.
Make sure that this information is extremely detailed and describes not just
the projection, but details about why youre predicting these sales and
expenses. This part will be most scrutinized by anyone considering giving
you money.

VI. Operational Plan

Explain the daily operation of the business, its location, equipment, people,
processes, and surrounding environment.
Production
We are producing our products in our home kitchen currently. We intend
on producing all products on site once we obtain a certified commercial
kitchen and retail space. We plan to keep a tight rein on inventory by
implementing monthly inventory checks and will adjust our methods on a
regular basis accordingly.
Location
We started off as a cottage kitchen business working out of our home
kitchen. We now operate out of a commercial kitchen in town, use our
home mailing address as our business location and our products are sold
via events, farmers markets, third party, and on our website.
Our ideal location is a small shop off of the main street. Oak Street, which
runs parallel to Lincoln Ave. (the main road) has great boutiques and

unique shops that would be a great fit for us. There is ample street
parking and rent is cheaper.
Legal Environment
Yampa Valley Naturals has already obtained a city sales tax license, a
state sales tax license, a wholesale and retail manufacturer license and
insurance through Mountain West insurance agency. We have no
trademarks and are unsure as to zoning at this point as our location is
still to be determined.
Personnel
Yampa Valley Naturals will be run by the founders, with a possibility of
hiring one or two part-time employees depending on business. We have
factored in these salaries into our forecasts. If we do bring on employees
there will be extensive training required to ensure that our product
quality and customer service is always consistent. Pay will begin at $12
an hour for part-time employees. We will not offer health insurance.