Exam 6: Writing a Business Plan

What is an "executive summary?" Why is the executive summary often called the most important part of a business plan?

For most business plans, 25 to 35 pages are sufficient.

A competitor analysis, which is a detailed analysis of a firm's competitors, should be included in the market analysis section of its business plan.

Industry structure refers to how ________ an industry is.

The ________ section of the business plan addresses the basic logic of how profits are earned in the business.

Which of the following statements is incorrect about business plans?

Sarah Parks is in the very early stages of putting together a business startup, and is thinking about writing a business plan to request funds to conduct a feasibility analysis and write a more complete business plan. What type of business plan should Sarah write at this point?

Which of the following is not a recommended guideline for writing a business plan?

The ________ section of a business plan breaks the industry into segments and zeroes in on the specific segment (or target market) to which the firm will try to appeal.

Fragmented industries are more receptive to new entrants than industries that are dominated by a handful of large firms.

A company's industry analysis and target market analysis are usually included in the same section of its business plan.

A business plan is important as it forces the founding team to systematically think through every aspect of their new venture and ________.

There is an emerging school of thought that opposes the idea of writing a business plan and advocates experimentation and trial-and-error learning gleaned through customer feedback and formal planning. How does the approach to writing a business plan described in this book differ from this philosophy? How does trial-and-error learning figure into the approach to writing a business plan advocated in this book?

The executive summary is a lengthy overview of the entire business plan.

According to the textbook, the ________ are the heart of the financial section of a business plan.

According to the textbook, many investors and others who read business plans look first at the executive summary and then go directly to the ________ section of the business plan to make their preliminary assessment.

For most new ventures, the business plan is a dual-purpose document used both inside and outside the firm.

The document that lays out specifically how much money a firm needs, where the money will come from, and what the money will be used for is referred to as a(n) ________.

Melanie Summer spoke to an investor who is interested in her business idea. Melanie offered to send the investor a copy of her full business plan, but the investor asked for a short overview of the business plan instead. What portion of her business plan should Melanie send the investor?

To make the best impression, a business plan should follow a ________.