Z’S GARDEN

A Marketing Plan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ..................................................... 3
1. Executive Summary ................................. 4
2. Company Overview .................................. 5
3. Business Description................................ 6
4. Market Analysis ........................................ 8
5. Operating Plan ......................................... 9
6. Marketing and Sales Plan ...................... 10
7. Financial Plan ........................................ 12
Appendix....................................................... 15
Instructions for Getting Started with
Estimated Start-Up Costs ......................... 16
Instructions for Getting Started on Profit &
Loss Projections ....................................... 18

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INTRODUCTION

Creating an extensive business plan is unnecessary for most businesses to get started.
However, creating a short business plan offers several benefits that more than outweigh the
investment of time:
 The process of thinking and writing the plan provides clarity for the business.

 If capital is needed from outside sources, investors want to see a plan that demonstrates a
solid understanding and vision for the business.

 The plan will help prioritize tasks that are most important.

 With growth, the plan offers a common understanding of the vision to new leaders.

A simple business plan for a start-up service company can be completed rather quickly.
Keeping in mind who the intended audience is, write simply. The plan needs to be
understandable, readable, and realistic.
This template is organized into seven sub-plans or sections to be completed.
1. Executive Summary

2. Company Overview

3. Business Description

4. Market Analysis

5. Operating Plan

6. Marketing and Sales Plan

7. Financial Plan

It is recommended to complete the Executive Summary last, after all of the other sections have
been completed. As information is filled in, from the Company Overview to the Financial Plan,
the writing should tell the story of the motivation and vision behind the business. Be sure to
include what will make the business successful, how success will be achieved, and how
success will be measured.
It is important to keep the business plan updated in order to see progress, celebrate success,
and adjust where issues arise. This is best done on a quarterly, if not monthly, basis.

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Executive Summary should be written last after the remainder of the plan has been
finished. It is an overview (with a suggested length of no more than one page) of the business,
including the problem the business aims to solve, why this business’ solution is different, the
business’ ideal customer, and the expected results. The Executive Summary should provide a
high-level and optimistic description of the company.
If the business requires outside investment or external investors, include how much is needed,
how it will be used, and how it will make the business more profitable. Think of this section as
the first thing a potential investor reads, thus, it must capture their interest quickly.
Suggested headings to organize this business plan include the following.
 Opportunity: What problem will the business solve?

 Mission: What problem will the business solve?

 Solution: How will the service uniquely solve the problem identified?

 Market focus: What market and ideal customers will the business target?

 Competitive advantage: How does the business intend to succeed against its
competitors?

 Ownership: Who are the major stakeholders in the company?

 Expected returns: What are the key milestones for revenue, profits, growth, and
customers?

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2. COMPANY OVERVIEW

The Company Overview is a brief summary of the intended business, including what it uniquely
delivers, the mission, how it got started, market positioning, operational structure, and financial
goals. After reviewing this section, the reader should have a broad understanding of what the
business is setting out to do and how it is organized.
This section is not meant to be lengthy. Keep it short and succinct. This is the snapshot of the
business. The type of business will determine what of the following sections will be required for
the business plan. Only include what is needed to properly represent the business and remove
anything else.
 Company summary: Z’s Garden is the newest organic restaurant to enter in Quezon City.
Z’s Garden would offer quality organic meals at an affordable price. This organic restaurant,
apart from other existing organic restaurants would target middle income to high income
earners.

 Mission statement: Z’s Garden aims to offer authentic experience of an organic food
served at an affordable price. Z’s ultimate mission is to make healthy eating a standard
rather than a luxury.

 Company history: Z’s Garden started as a thought from a mother who offers only organic
food to her child. With this, she provides the best health benefits that a baby can get from
food. In doing so, she felt overwhelmed and wanted to offer this to the whole world as well,
starting from her family, then to the Quezon City, to the Philippines and finally, worldwide.

 Markets and services: Z’s Garden is a restaurant that would cater to middle to high
income earners and would offer food and beverages made from organic ingredients.

 Operational structure: Z’s Garden will initially operate in a strategically located area in a
mall in Quezon City to be able to reach its target customers. This restaurant will house Z’s
Garden’s in house chefs who will prepare the food and beverages. The restaurant will as
well be the receiving area for the ingredients to be delivered by suppliers.

 Financial goals: Z’s Garden expects to see a return on investment by one year. As for the
profit or loss, Z’s Garden expects to be profitable on its operations.

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3. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

 Customers: Z’s Garden’s customers will be middle to high income earners. We also target
to serve customers of all ages.

 Company: Z’s Garden is a start-up company aiming to be a well-known restaurant offering

quality, healthy food choices at an affordable price. Z’s Garden aims to set the standards in
the food business when it comes to the quality of organic ingredients. We aim to be the
standard of quality rather than a luxury.

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
 Z’s Garden promotes  Organic Ingredients
healthy lifestyle. tend to be costlier than
regular ingredients.

SWOT
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
 Z’s Garden will offer  Existing Organic
meals at a lower price Restaurants already
in order to target have built their
middle to high income reputation and Z’s.
earners.

 Context:

 Collaborators: Our company needs to build a strong relationship with suppliers of the
organic ingredients to be used in our restaurant. This is because a good relationship would
mean that we have the assurance of getting the best quality of ingredients at a reasonable
price.

 Competitors: Our competitors are existing organic restaurants . Our advantage to the
existing organic restaurants is that we aim to set our prices lower than the prices already in
the industry.

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4. STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

 Segmentation

 Targeting:

 Positioning:

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5. MARKET POSITIONING, STRATEGIES

AND TACTICS

 Product

 Price

 Place/Distribution

 Promotion

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6. MARKETING AND SALES PLAN

Promoting the business, whether through generating leads or traffic to a website or store, is
one of the most important functions of any business. In this section of the plan, provide details
of intended marketing of the business. Describe the key messages and channels used for
generating leads and promoting the business. This section should also describe any sales
strategy. Depending on the type of business, the following sections may or may not be
necessary. Only include what is needed and remove everything else.
 Key messages: Describe the key messages that will elevate services in the target
customers’ eyes. If there is sample collateral or graphical images of some messages,
include them.

 Marketing activities: Which of the following promotion options provide the company the
best chance of product recognition, qualified leads, store traffic, or appointments?

o Media advertising (newspaper, magazine, television, radio)

o Direct mail
o Telephone solicitation
o Seminars or business conferences
o Joint advertising with other companies
o Word of mouth or fixed signage
o Digital marketing such as social media, email marketing, SEO, or blogging
o Provide limited free consultations (such as free job pricing for Contractors, free
landscaping consultation for landscapers, or free pricing opinions for real estate agents)
o Sponsor local sports teams or other community events
o Give free informational talks either at the business offices or for local businesses
offering complementary services (such as a real estate agent providing seminars about
preparing a home to bring to market)
o Do free work for local non-profits (such as an ad agency designing a local farmer’s
market’s website for free)
 Sales strategy: If needed, what will be the sales approach? Will there be full-time
commissioned sales people, contract sales, or another approach? Many one-on-one

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service businesses are heavily reliant on word of mouth. Take this into account when
developing the sales strategy.

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7. FINANCIAL PLAN

Creating a financial plan is where all of the business planning comes together. Up to this point,
the target market, target customers, and pricing have all been identified. These items, along
with assumptions, will help estimate the company’s sales forecast. The other side of the
business will be what expenses are expected. This is important on an ongoing basis to see
when the business is profitable. It is also important to know what expenses will need to be
funded before customer sales, or the cash they generate, is received.
At a minimum, this section should include estimated start-up costs and projected profit and
loss, along with a summary of the assumptions being made with these projections.
Assumptions should include initial and ongoing sales, along with the timing of these inflows.
 Projected start-up costs: The table below shows a sample of ongoing and one-time cost
items that the business might need in order to open. Many businesses are paid on credit
over time and do not have cash coming in immediately. It is necessary to make
assumptions about how many months of recurring items, in addition to one-time expenses,
to estimate when cash will begin to flow into the company. To begin with, the company will
have to fund out of savings or an initial investment. There is a blank table in the Appendix to
complete potential start-up cost projections.

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START-UP COSTS
Your Office-Based Agency January 1, 20xx
COST ITEMS MONTHS COST/ MONTH ONE-TIME COST TOTAL COST
Advertising/Marketing 3 $300 $2,000 $2,900
Employee Salaries* 4 $500 $2 $2,002
Employee Payroll Taxes and Benefits 4 $100 $1,500 $1,600
Rent/Lease Payments/Utilities 4 $750 $2,500 $5,500
Postage/Shipping 1 $25 $25 $50
Communication/Telephone 4 $70 $280 $560
Computer Equipment $0 $1,500 $1,500
Computer Software $0 $300 $300
Insurance $0 $60 $60
Interest Expense $0 $0 $0
Bank Service Charges $0 $0 $0
Supplies $0 $0 $0
Travel & Entertainment $0 $0 $0
Equipment $0 $2,500 $2,500
Furniture & Fixtures $0 $0 $0
Leasehold Improvements $0 $0 $0
Security Deposit(s) $0 $0 $0
Business Licenses/Permits/Fees $0 $5,000 $5,000
Professional Services - Legal, Accounting $0 $1,500 $1,500
Consultant(s) $0 $0 $0
Inventory $0 $0 $0
Cash-On-Hand (Working Capital) $0 $1,000 $1,000
Miscellaneous $0 $2,000 $2,000
ESTIMATED START-UP BUDGET $26,472
*Based on part-time employees. This may change once you hit your growth benchmark.

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Projected profit and loss model: The model below shows a sample of the projections a small business is forecasting for their
first 12 months of operations. The top portion of the table shows projected sales and gross profit. This is a good place to begin
creating the company’s sales forecast. The next section itemizes the recurring expenses the business is projecting for the same
months. These should be consistent with the estimated start-up costs completed in the prior section. At the bottom of this model,
it will possible to see when the company is becoming profitable and what expense items are the most impactful to its profitability.
There is a blank table in the Appendix to complete the business’ own start-up cost projections.
START-UP COSTS
Your Office-Based Agency January 1, 20xx
REVENUE JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC YTD
Estimated Sales $5,000 $13,000 $16,000 $7,000 $14,500 $16,400 $22,500 $23,125 $24,549 $22,000 $25,000 $27,349 $216,423
Less Sales Returns &
$0 ($350) $0 ($206) ($234) $0 $0 ($280) ($1,200) ($1,600) $0 ($2,400) ($6,270)
Discounts
Service Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $250 $350 $100 $0 $0 $1,245 $1,360 $3,305
Other Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $1,500 $0 $0 $0 $0 $1,500
Net Sales $5,000 $12,650 $16,000 $6,794 $14,266 $16,650 $22,850 $24,445 $23,349 $20,400 $26,245 $26,309 $214,958
Cost of Goods Sold* $2,000 $5,200 $6,400 $2,800 $5,800 $6,560 $9,000 $9,250 $9,820 $8,800 $10,000 $10,940 $86,569
Gross Profit $3,000 $7,450 $9,600 $3,994 $8,466 $10,090 $13,850 $15,195 $13,529 $11,600 $16,245 $15,369 $128,389
EXPENSES JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC YTD
Salaries & Wages $2,500 $2,500 $3,500 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $8,000 $9,000 $9,000 $9,000 $9,000 $9,000 $76,500
Marketing/Advertising $400 $450 $450 $450 $900 $900 $900 $900 $900 $900 $1,200 $1,200 $9,550
Sales Commissions $250 $650 $800 $350 $725 $820 $1,125 $1,156 $1,227 $1,100 $1,250 $1,367 $10,821
Rent $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $15,000
Utilities $250 $150 $200 $200 $200 $250 $250 $250 $200 $200 $250 $250 $2,650
Website Expenses $175 $175 $175 $175 $175 $175 $175 $175 $175 $175 $225 $225 $2,200
Internet/Phone $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $1,320
Insurance $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $1,980
Travel $100 $0 $0 $250 $0 $0 $0 $0 $675 $800 $0 $0 $1,825
Legal/Accounting $1,200 $0 $0 $450 $0 $500 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $250 $2,400
Office Supplies $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $1,500
Interest Expense $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Total Expenses $6,525 $5,575 $6,775 $8,525 $8,650 $9,295 $12,100 $13,131 $13,827 $13,825 $13,575 $13,942 $125,746
Income Before Taxes ($3,525) $1,875 $2,825 ($4,531) ($184) $795 $1,750 $2,064 ($298) ($2,225) $2,670 $1,427 $2,643
Income Tax Expense ($529) $281 $424 ($680) ($28) $119 $263 $310 ($45) ($334) $401 $214 $396
NET INCOME ($2,996) $1,594 $2,401 ($3,851) ($156) $676 $1,488 $1,754 ($253) ($1,891) $2,270 $1,213 $2,246
*In the service industry, Cost of Goods Sold is the monetized value of the time spent on the client.

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APPENDIX

START-UP COSTS

Your Office-Based Agency January 1, 20xx

COST ITEMS MONTHS COST/ MONTH ONE-TIME COST TOTAL COST

Advertising/Marketing

Employee Salaries

Employee Payroll Taxes and Benefits

Rent/Lease Payments/Utilities

Postage/Shipping

Communication/Telephone

Computer Equipment

Computer Software

Insurance

Interest Expense

Bank Service Charges

Supplies

Travel & Entertainment

Equipment

Furniture & Fixtures

Leasehold Improvements

Security Deposit(s)

Business Licenses/Permits/Fees

Professional Services - Legal, Accounting

Consultant(s)

Inventory

Cash-On-Hand (Working Capital)

Miscellaneous

ESTIMATED START-UP BUDGET

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Instructions for Getting Started with Estimated

Start-Up Costs
Determining a business' startup costs is critical to ensure enough cash is available to begin
business operations within the budgeted time frame as well as within the cost budget. Startup
costs typically fall within two categories: monthly costs and one-time costs. Monthly costs
cover costs that occur each month during the startup period, and one-time costs are costs that
will be incurred once during the startup period.
Steps for preparation:
 Step 1: Enter the company name and the date this estimate is being prepared.

 Step 2: Enter the number of months and the monthly cost for each cost item that is
recurring. For one-time costs only, skip the monthly costs. If there are cost items that have
both recurring and one-time amounts, enter those as well. The total cost will calculate
automatically in the far-right column.

 Step 3: Once all of the costs are entered, review the individual items and total amount to
see where the budget can be fine-tuned or move something out into the future when more
revenue is coming in.

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START-UP COSTS
Your Office-Based Agency January 1, 20xx
REVENUE JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC YTD
Estimated Product Sales
Less Sales Returns & Discounts
Service Revenue
Other Revenue
Net Sales
Cost of Goods Sold
Gross Profit
EXPENSES JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC YTD
Salaries & Wages
Marketing/Advertising
Sales Commissions
Rent
Utilities
Website Expenses
Internet/Phone
Insurance
Travel
Legal/Accounting
Office Supplies
Interest Expense
Other 1
Total Expenses
Income Before Taxes
Income Tax Expense
NET INCOME
* In the service industry, Cost of Goods Sold is the monetized value of the time spent on the client.

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Instructions for Getting Started on Profit & Loss

Projections
Completing projections for Profit and Loss of a new company is a good exercise to understand
and communicate when the company will begin to break even and see how sales and profits
will grow. The top portion of the model to the left, Revenue, is a good way to forecast sales,
month by month for the first year. The lower portion then applies estimated expenses for the
same period of time to derive the business' profitability.
Steps for preparation:
 Step 1: Enter the company name and the date this projection is being prepared.

 Step 2: For each month, beginning in January or whenever the start is estimated, enter the
expected sales to be. This could be for a single service or multiple services. Add lines to
this model for additional offerings. From this, subtract any product returns or discounts that
are to be tracked (these should be shown as negative numbers, for example, -10). Below
Net Sales, enter the Cost of Goods Sold. This refers to the monetized value of the time
spent on a particular client.

 Step 3: For each month, enter the estimated salaries, marketing, utilities, and other items
that are projected.

 Step 4: Once all of the costs have been entered, review the individual items and total
amount to see where projections can be fine-tuned or move something out into the future
when more revenue is coming in. The objective is to get to profitability and positive cash
flow as quickly as possible.

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