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Defining your business may seem like an exercise in 'stating the obvious,' but you may also find that it is one of the most important things to think clearly about, since 'knowing what IS your business' is often just what you need to keep clear of 'what is NONE of your business.' Small businesses do not have the luxuory of wasted time, wasted effort, and especially wasted money on things that aren't core to who they are and what they do.

Answer all of the following as well as you can, then draft a brief, definitive sentence or two to summarize your answer to someone who asks, "What is your business all about?"

Here we go!

Business Classification

For Profit

Not For Profit

Business Type

Incorporated

Partnership

Sole Proprietorship

Business Ownership

Privately Owned

Publically Traded

Industry Sector

Manufacturing	Specifics:
Services	Specifics:
Retail	Specifics:
Wholesale	Specifics:
Finance/Insur/RE	Specifics:
Other	Specifics:

Revenue Generation Source

Services	Approximate Percent:	You do it for them, they pay you for it.
Consumer Manufacturing	Approximate Percent:	You make it, you sell it.
B2B Manufacturing	Approximate Percent:	Industrial, commerical, government products mfg.
Value Added Sales	Approximate Percent:	Items/services purchased for resale by your business.

Geographic Revenue Base

Local	Specifics:
Regional	Specifics:
National	Specifics:
International	Specifics:

Product/Service Life Cycle Mix

Introductory Stage	Approximate Percent:	New products/new markets
Growth Stage	Approximate Percent:	High change/10% or more growth
Mature Stage	Approximate Percent:	Mature products/mature markets
Declining Stage	Approximate Percent:	Aging products/shrinking markets

Business Definition
Now, based on what you have defined above, write a simple statement or definition of your business. Here's an example to show you what we mean. "XYZ Company, a retail sales and service company, is a privately owned California corporation that provides engineering software sales, on-site training and 24-hour online support to small to medium sized manufacturers in Southern and Central California, USA."

Who are your top competitors?

Competitor #1			Their website URL?
Competitor #2			Their website URL?
Competitor #3			Their website URL?
Competitor #4			Their website URL?
Competitor #5			Their website URL?

What are your primary products and services ? (You may add any helpful specifics, as well)

Product/service #1			Specifics?
Product/service #2			Specifics?
Product/service #3			Specifics?
Product/service #4			Specifics?
Product/service #5			Specifics?

Who are your primary customers? (May be large clients, e.g. Albertsons or ATT, or may be a grouping, e.g. real estate brokers. You can add any helpful specifics, as well.)

Customer #1			Specifics?
Customer #2			Specifics?
Customer #3			Specifics?
Customer #4			Specifics?
Customer #5			Specifics?

OK, this one will take a little bit of thought, but don't let it throw you! When you have completed this exercise you will have an amazing overview of your business and of your relative position in your market. PLUS, you will have identified which of your products or services really are the highest priority for you so you can see where you might best focus your energies. For example, if you have a product or service that represents relatively small sales volume or profit margin, that is in a declining market, you might want to focus more of your attention on one that has a much higher profit margin and is in a growing market!

Product/Service	Total Sales Volume	% of Gross Sales	Profit Margin	Captial Needs	Quality Position	Price Position	Market Attrac- tiveness	Power in the Market	Total Score	Rank [Final Step]
	Estimated total sales for product or service. Estimate total annual $ amount.	Estimated % of total sales for this product or service. Estimate %.	Price for produt or service minus costs = profit margin. Estimate %.	Capital expense required for this product or service. 0= High cost, 10= Low cost.	Quality compared to main competitors. 0= Low quality, 10= High quality.	Pricing you can command compared to main competitors. 0= Lowest, 10= Highest.	The condition of the market in which you compete. 0= Declining, 10= Growing.	Your presence and power to influence your market. 0= No power, 10= Great power.	The total score for this product or service	When you are finished, rank each product or service in order of importance to you given its total score and its total sales, % of gross sales, and profit margin.
Prod/Service #1

Prod/Service #2

Prod/Service #3

Prod/Service #4

Prod/Service #5

Now, we come to the final step in this discovery process. Below, you will make a few judgement calls about the place and priority of the Internet in your business plan. In light of what you can see here in the above assessment about your highest priority products or services, what you know about your market—particularly about what your competitors are doing, and how your customers are being reached and served by your competitors now, what role should the Internet play in your business plan going forward? You will examine three primary business process that are typically integrated into a company's web site. Do they make sense for your business? If so, to what degree? If not, its good to know that and not worry about it any more!

Internet Marketing (Presentation of your company's products or services,Search engine rankings, adWords, Pay per Click, banner ads, etc.)	Primary Channel	Secondary Channel	Equal with other more traditional channels	Specifics:

Internet Sales (online store, eBay, integration with distribution, etc.)	Primary Channel	Secondary Channel	Equal with other more traditional channels	Specifics:

Customer Support (help desk, FAQs, trouble ticket system, downloads, etc.)	Primary Channel	Secondary Channel	Equal with other more traditional channels	Specifics:

1

Your business definition.

2

Your primary competition.

3

Your products and services.

4

Your primary customers.

5

Your relative position in the marketplace.

6

The place for the Internet in your business plan.