Table Of ContentMain Selection BusinessWeek Book Club & Alternate Selection The Executive Book Club*
REVISED & EXPANDED
BUSINESS
PLAN
n
GUIDE
ucce
Easy Worksheets for
Budgeting & Forecasting
Tips on Finding Money from
Bankers & Investors
Sample Business Plan
Secrets from Business
Owners and CEOs, including:
- Chairman, The Price Club
- President, See's Candies
President, Aston Hotels
- CFO, Levi Strauss & Co.
Strategies for Managing
from Leaders, such as Coach
Walsh
Bill
Foreword by
Eugene Kleiner
trateme, venture capitalist whose firm
has invested $400,000,000
in entrepreneurial companies
©
SHORT ON TIME?
See new Chapter 20
for time-saving tips
Features
The Abrams Method
Of Flow-Through
Financials
BOSTON
PUBLIC
LIBRARY
PSI SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS LIBRARY
Th
e
Successful
Business
Plan:
&
Secrets
Strategies
By Rhonda M. Abrams
PRESS
The Oasis Press®/ PSI Research
Grants Pass, Oregon 031496
Published by The Oasis Press
The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies
© 1991, 1993 by Rhonda M. Abrams
All rights reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced orused in
any form orby any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photo-
copying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems without
written permission ofthe publishers.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information
in regard to the subject mattercovered. It is sold with the understanding that the
publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, orotherprofessional
service. Iflegal advice orotherexpert assistance is required, the services ofa
competent—professional person should be sought.
from a declaration ofprinciplesjointlyadoptedbya committee of
theAmerican BarAssociation anda committee ofpublishers
Second Edition
Editor and Typographer: Melody Joachims
First Edition
Editor and Page Design. Virginia Grosso
Formatting: Damn Clay, Melody Joachims, Constance Dickinson
Editorial Assistance: Vickie Reierson, Rosanno Alejandro, Mark Hasting
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Please direct any comments, questions, or suggestions regarding this book to
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Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Abrams, RhondaM.
The successful business plan : secrets & strategies /Rhonda M.
Abrams. — 2nd ed.
p. cm. — (PSI successful business library)
Includes index.
ISBN 1-55571-194-4 (pbk.) $21.95. - ISBN 1-55571-197-9 (binder)
:
$49.95. -- ISBN 1-55571-199-5 (pbk. with disk) $39.95
:
1. New business enterprises-Planning. 2. New business
enterprises-Management. 3. New business enterprises—Finance.
I. Title. II. Series.
HD62.5.A344 1993 93-21563
658.4' 012~dc20 CIP
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
Second edition
W> Printed on recycled paper when available.
To my clients, who have shared with me their enthusiasm for the
entrepreneurial spirit and have shown me that business can be a
career for people of integrity, intelligence, and honor; and to the
memory of my parents, who would have been proud.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2013
in
http://archive.org/details/successfulbusineOOabra_0
About the Author
Rhonda M. Abrams
Nationally-syndicated columnist Rhonda M. Abrams heads Abrams
Business Strategies, a management consulting firm which works with
both new enterprises and established companies facing new challenges.
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, her company develops and
reviews business plans, solves marketing and administrative problems,
and devises long-term strategic goals for businesses. Clients range in size
from sole proprietors to corporations with over $500 million in revenues
to major city governments and are in diverse industries nationwide.
Rhonda Abrams writes a syndicated column, "Small Business Strate-
gies," which is distributed by the Gannett News Service to over 100
newspapers throughout the country. The column focuses on the con-
cerns of small businesses and suggests approaches to solving common
business problems, as well as addressing public policy issues of
importance to the the small business community.
Educated at Harvard University and UCLA, where she was named
Outstanding Senior, Ms. Abrams also attended the London School of
Economics.
A popular lecturer and seminar-leader, Ms. Abrams is regularly
MBA
invited to address programs at leading universities. She has
been featured in The New York Times, Nation's Business, and other
major business publications.
Ms. Abrams works with business plans on a daily basis, which gives
her extraordinary depth of experience, common sense, and real-life
understanding of the problems facing entrepreneurs.
About the Contributors
Eugene Kleiner
&
Founding Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers
Eugene Kleiner is a legend in venture capital. He is a founding partner
of one of the nation's leading venture capital firms, Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers, which has invested more than $400,000,000 in
entrepreneurial companies. Currently, he also serves on the advisory
R&D
boards of PaineWebber Partners, Intersouth Partners, and Capi-
tal Resource Partners, in addition to being active in venture capital on
his own behalf.
Mr. Kleiner was a founder of Fairchild Semiconductor where he
played a key role in the growth of the company. The eight founding
members of Fairchild are generally considered to be the "fathers" of
California's Silicon Valley. Mr. Kleiner has served as founder or direc-
tor of many of the nation's leading high technology firms; in recent
years, these have included Tandem Computers and Genentech. Mr.
Kleiner is a trustee of the Polytechnic University ofNew York.
Ann Winblad
Partner, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners
In high technology circles, Ann Winblad is a well-known software
entrepreneur and venture capitalist. In 1976, she co-founded Open
Systems with a $500 investment and sold the company in 1983 for
$15.1 million. Prior to starting her venture capital firm with partner
John Hummer, she served as a consultant to clients such as IBM,
Microsoft, Apple, Price Waterhouse, and numerous start-up compa-
nies. Her venture capital firm has helped launch leading software com-
panies, including Central Point Software, which publishes PC Tools,
Powersoft, and Slate Corporation.
Bill Walsh
Head Football Coach, Stanford University
NBC
Former Commentator, Television,
and Coach and President, San Francisco 49ers
When Bill Walsh was hired as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers
football franchise in 1979, the team was hardly taken seriously. But
within three years, under his innovative management, the 49ers had
won a Super Bowl. He went on to win two additional world champi-
onships and was named "Coach of the Eighties." His management
style was marked by intelligent, strategic planning of every detail and
contingency. Formerly a commentator on NBC Television, he is a fre-
quent speaker to business audiences.
Andre S. Tatibouet
President, Aston Hotels and Resorts
At the age of 19, Andre S. Tatibouet developed his first hotel and has
been a force in the hospitality industry ever since. Aston is the largest
condominium resort and hotel operator in Hawaii and the fourth
largest in the nation. The rapidly growing chain also includes proper-
ties in California and Mexico. Mr. Tatibouet was named one of the top
five entrepreneurs in the hotel industry and is active in numerous phi-
lanthropic and civic organizations.
Robert E. Price
Chairman of the Board, The Price Club
When Robert Price co-founded The Price Club with his father, Sol
Price, in 1976, he revolutionized the retail industry. By introducing the
nation to the concept of the warehouse club, he brought the buying
power of large corporations to small businesses and individual shop-
pers. Originally started with one warehouse in San Diego, California,
the Price Club concept was an astounding success, and there are now
Price Clubs throughout the United States and Canada. Mr. Price previ-
ously served as Vice President of FedMart Corporation, a chain of dis-
count department stores.
Charles Orr
President, Productivity Point International
Charles Orr is one of the original founders of Productivity Point Inter-
national, a franchisor of computer training services and the largest,
independent provider of instructor-led training services in North
America. As the owner of Training Works, a software training compa-
ny in San Francisco, California, Mr. Orr recognized the coming trend
of franchised business services and helped establish the Productivity
Point system in 1990. Previous to purchasing Training Works, Mr. Orr
vin Ihr '.in imufti!HiJHlnofiH I'l.m Sm rota & Slmloylos
owii'd .mil operated Ihrei Sun Fraw isco ComputerLand Irani hises
H( haw ii than Iwcnly ycarN in the i omputci industry
Deborah Mullis
M
( >wncr, l > A I ', i <ii ids
Foi twelve yearn, Deborah Mullr, helped shape and launch produi ts
Ibi Nome <»i the world n largcNl ipanii as Vii 1 Pre adcnl/Assoi iati
Creative Dirccloi .11 Lintas an advertising agencj Hci love ol food
M
.nut hci understanding <•! marketing led hei to < reate I).A 1
Foods AIii i mm 1 < . .hilly luuni hing I > A M I \S Nnisy Noodle Saui 1
.mil Nui .y Noodles in San I rani isi o she returned i<» hei I state <>i
Florida She 1 <>ni :s to operate I > A M Ii s while also serving wiih
.in udvi rtising agem y in < Irlando
Christine Maxwell
President Rcscan lemand
1 1
( hie.inn- Maxwell is active in many phases <»i the information sci
vii cs industry Noi only docs she head Rcscan h <>n 1 >< mand a marl 1 1
rcscan h firm in Hcrkcley ( alilornia but Ms Maxwell also servi as
Scnioi Vici President Ibi Macmillan Publishers Director of Pcrgamon
Press, and the Chi 1 the Advisory Board <>i Maxwell Communica
lion , Corporation Kcscarch on Demand is "in ol the nation's most
effective providers ol on line database information and business
research services
Hubert M. Mahnney
1 kci utivc 1 mi'ci loi ill < orporalc Banking, Bank ol Boston
In this leadership position, Robert Mahonej is responsible foi com
mcrcial lending .nut services throughout the New Fngland states i<m
the Bank ol Boston, a bank that has earned the reputation as one ol the
nation's most receptive <ii entrepreneurial < ompanics I luring his cigh
teen years with the hank. Mi Mahnney has served as President ol
Massachusetts Banking and Vice President foi corporate banking in
the l hnied Kingdom
Larry eii|on
I
President \i id Vine) arils
.
\ricl Vineyards was founded in l()K5 ii> produi e and market premium
dealcoholi/,cd wines In lis first foiu years o operation, Ariel grew In
I
be Iurge1 than '»>'. ol all the wineries in the United States I arrj
I cigon is one <>i the loui founding |>ini< ipals <>i \riel and has served
as Prcsidenl ante its inception, Me has primar) responsibility im all
marketing and distribution strategy, a unique challenge sine* Ariel
» it ah d a new prodii( i < ulegorj Mi l eigon is also a founding iiicmbei
