COMPANY DESCRIPTION

 The company description will be the foundation upon which you will build your business plan


 It is full of assumptions, ideas, and hypotheses that need to be tested through research

 Testing the feasibility of your business concept will help you bring out your company description

 Plan on revising and fine-tuning your company description as you build on your business plan


THE MISSION STATEMENT

A mission statement is a precise description of what an organization does

1. What are the needs we exist to address?

2. What are we doing to address those needs?

3. What principles guide our work?

MISSION STATEMENT EXAMPLES

IBM-Our goal is simply stated. We want to be the best service organization in the world

Google-Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful

Walt Disney-To make people happy

Table Rock Farm-Our mission is to produce quality milk to fit the needs of the public and to provide a good lifestyle for the owners and the employees at our farm

3M-To solve unsolved problems innovatively

THE VISION STATEMENT

Vision is a concise and inspiring statement of what the company intends to become and achieve in the future

 Describe what you want to see in the future in terms that will be clear to you and your audience

 Draw on beliefs, mission, and environment of the organization

 Be positive and inspiring

 Be open to dramatic modifications to current organization, methodology, teaching techniques, facilities, etc

VISION STATEMENT EXAMPLES

Ford Motor Company-To become the world’s leading consumer company for automotive products and services

Westin Hotels-Year after year, Westin and it’s people will be regarded as the best and most sought-after hotel and resort management group in North America

Microsoft-There will be a personal computer on every desk running Microsoft software

Cargill-Our purpose is to be the global leader in nourishing people. We will harness our knowledge and energy to provide goods and services that are necessary for life, health and growth

Caterpillar-Be the global leader in customer value

MISSION VERSUS VISION

MISSION: Defines the purpose or broader goal of being in business. It serves as a guide in times of uncertainty, vagueness. It is like guiding light. It has no time frame. The mission can remain the same for decades if crafted correctly.

VISION: Is more specific in terms of objective and time frame of its achievement. Vision is related to some form of achievement if successful.

VALUES AND VALUE STATEMENTS

Values-Traits or qualities that are considered worthwhile and represents an individual’s highest priorities

Value Statements

 Grounded in values and define how people want to behave with each other in the organization

 Statements about how the organization will value customers, suppliers, and the internal community

 Describe actions which are the living enactment of the fundamental values held by most individuals within the organization

EXAMPLES OF VALUES



 Accomplishment

 Accountability

 Accuracy

 Ambition

 Challenge

 Collaboration

 Compassion

 Competency

 Courage

 Credibility

 Dedication

 Dependability

 Dignity

 Discipline/order

 Diversity

 Efficiency

 Empathy

 Empowerment

 Enjoyment/fun

 Equality

 Excellence

 Flexibility

 Friendliness

 Generosity

 Honesty

 Improvement

 Independence

 Individuality

 Influence

 Innovativeness

 Integrity

 Learning

 Loyalty

 Optimism

 Persistence

 Quality

 Respect

 Responsibility

 Security

 Service

 Stewardship

 Teamwork

 Wisdom









REFINING THE BUSINESS CONCEPT



 Product/service description: Clearly identify the nature of your business and the product(s) and service(s) you provide.



 The primary customer: this is a short but detailed description of who your target customer is, i.e. where your customers reside, what they do and why they would purchase your product



 Benefits of product/service (competitive advantage): will your products have a competitive advantage over other products in the market, based on better pricing, quality or differentiation?



 Distribution: How and where will you deliver your products/services?



Environmental impact

 All businesses impact the environments in which they operate

 Careful thought should be given to the nature of the impact

 Common factors that should be considered are:

 Waste management

 Traffic patterns

 Environmental destruction/degradation

 Air, water, noise and soil pollution

 Impact on the neighboring communities quality of life

MANAGEMENT TEAM

List the following people in your business

 Chief Executive Officer

 Directors

 Other key management staff

 Total number of employees/members

BUSINESS LOCATION

Be specific about where your business is to be located. Where possible provide the exact address of

 Business (headquarters)

 Place(s) where business will occur

 Branches (if any)