YOUR RESPONSES SHOULD INCLUDE BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

• BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

  1. The type of business: Is your business primarily merchandising, manufacturing, or service?
  2. The status of business: Is your business a start-up? An expansion of a going concern? A take-over of an existing business?
  3. The business form: sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation? (Your attorney's advice is helpful on this item).
  4. When will(did) your business open?
  5. What hours of the day and days of the week will you be (are you) in operation
  6. If yours is a seasonal business, or if the hours will be adjusted seasonally, make sure that the seasonality is reflected in your replies to 5 & 6.
• FOR a NEW BUSINESS
  1. Why will you be successful in this business?
  2. What is your experience in this business?
  3. Have you spoken with other people in this kind of business? What was their response?
  4. What will be special about your business?
  5. Have you spoken with prospective trade suppliers to find out what managerial and/or technical help they will provide?
  6. Have you asked about trade credit?
  7. If you will be doing any contract work, what are the terms? Reference any firm contract or letter of intent, and include it as a supporting document.
  8. How will you offset the slow payment by the customer?
• FOR A TAKE-OVER

  Your Description of Business should contain a brief history of the business you plan to take over and include responses to the following questions:

  1. When and by whom was the business founded?
  2. Why is the owner selling it?
  3. How did you arrive at a purchase price for the business?
  4. What is the trend of sales?
  5. If the business is going downhill, why? How can you turn it around?
  6. How will your management make the business more profitable?

• MARKETING PLAN
  1. Who is your market?
  2. What is the percent size of the market?
  3. What percent of the market will you have?
  4. What is the market's growth potential?
  5. As the market grows, does your share increase or decrease?
  6. How are you going to satisfy your market?
  7. How are you going to price your service, product, or merchandise to make a fair profit and, at the same time, be competitive?
  8. How will you attract and keep this market?
  9. How can you expand your market?
  10. What price do you anticipate getting for your product?
  11. Is the price competitive?
  12. Why will someone pay your price?
  13. How did you arrive at the price? Is it profitable?
  14. What special advantages do you offer that may justify higher price (you don't necessarily have to engage in direct price competition)?
  15. How is the market segmental? By quality? By price? By customer size?
  16. What market segment or segments are you going for?

• COMPETITION
  1. Who are your five nearest competitors?
  2. How will your operation be better than theirs?
  3. How is their business: steady? increasing? decreasing Why?
  4. How are their operations similar and dissimilar to yours?
  5. What are their strengths and/or weaknesses?
  6. What have you learned from watching their operations?

• LOCATION OF BUSINESS
  1. What is your business address?
  2. What are the physical features of your building?
  3. Is your building leased or owned? State the terms
  4. If renovations are needed, what are they? What is the expected cost? Get quotes in WRITING from more than one contractor. Include quotes as supporting documents.
  5. What is the neighborhood like? Does the zoning permit your kind of business?
  6. What kind of businesses are in the area?
  7. Have you considered other areas? Why is this one the desirable site for your businesses?
  8. Is this the right building and location for your business?
  9. Is your business strategically located to attract customers?

• MANAGEMENT
  1. Personal History of Principals
  2. Related Work Experience
  3. Duties and Responsibilities
  4. Salaries
  5. Resources Available to the Business

• Personnel
  1. What are your personnel needs now? In the near future? In five years?
  2. What skills must they have?
  3. Are the people you need available?
  4. Full or part-time?
  5. Salaries or hourly wages?
  6. Fringe benefits?
  7. Overtime?
  8. Will you have to train people? If so, at what cost to the business (both time of more experienced workers and money)?