Company paper analysis: Using the analytical tools each of you will learn, each student will prepare an analysis of a public company.  The company will be evaluated from the perspective of both fixed income securities (e.g., would you buy the bonds in the medium to long-term?) and equity securities (e.g., would you buy or sell the stock in the medium to long-term?).

Approaches to the analysis should include:

Current state of the financial health of the company
Trends in the financial health over recent years and potentially into the future
Comparison of the subject company with competitors and/or industry sector
Analysis of the subject companys industry sector
o Factors affecting the industry such as product, technical innovation, regulation, economic cycles, etc.
Assessing the companys position within the industry context
o Is it a leader?
o Does it have a clear advantage vis a vis other industry participant?
o Is it subject to extreme competition or pricing pressure?

The company chosen is at your discretion, but should not be so complex or one for which the information is not readily available that makes it more difficult than necessary.  Students should pick a subject company outside his/her usual frame of reference.  For example, if a student is employed in the technology sector, he/she should choose a company in another industry, such as food.  In my experience, retail companies make the best selection.

Develop a business plan for a start-up company that plans to sell a product or service in a local market, in a national market, or on the Internet. Select one of your favorite products as the basis for the company, or invent a product.

(Food Truck specializing in sandwiches. Garr’s Grinders)

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of the submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. The originality report that is provided when you submit your task can be used as a guide.

You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

Tasks may not be submitted as cloud links, such as links to Google Docs, Google Slides, OneDrive, etc., unless specified in the task requirements. All other submissions must be file types that are uploaded and submitted as attachments (e.g., .docx, .pdf, .ppt).

Create a business plan for your hypothetical start-up company in which you do the following:

Note: You are required to utilize both the attached Business Plan Template and the attached Financial Plan Template in creating your business plan. If the attached WGU templates are not completed and submitted, your work will automatically be returned to you without being evaluated. These templates are located in the Supporting Documents section of the Capstone instructions .

A.  Write an executive summary (suggested length of 12 pages) in which you do the following:

1.  Identify the companys name and location.

2.  Describe the mission of the company.

3.  Discuss two business goals in support of the companys mission.

4.  Discuss three keys to success for the company.

B.  Write a company summary (suggested length of 46 pages) in which you do the following:

1.  Describe the history of the industry in which the company will operate.

2.  Identify the legal form that the company will take.

3.  Describe the location and type of facilities needed for the company.

4.  Describe the management structure, including key positions and specific responsibilities.

5.  Describe the products and services offered by the company.

C.  Develop a market analysis (suggested length of 35 pages) in which you do the following:

1.  Describe the target market for the companys products and services, including the specific location, demographics, etc.

2.  Complete an industry analysis for the company, including current trends and statistics.

3.  Complete a four-square SWOT analysis for the company in which you do the following:

a.  Identify three strengths, three weaknesses, three opportunities, and three threats.

b.  Explain each of the identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

D.  Develop a market strategy (suggested length of 36 pages) in which you do the following:

1.  Discuss each of the four Ps of marketing as they relate to the companys products and services.

2.  Develop a price list for the companys products and services.

3.  Develop a promotional strategy including specific tasks, target dates, and responsible parties.

4.  Develop a monthly sales forecast for the first year of operations, including a discussion of expected market conditions.

Note: The sales forecast will be used as the basis for your revenue in your financial statements.

E.  Develop an implementation strategy in which you do the following:

1.  Summarize the overall strategy that will be utilized to launch your business, including target dates and goals for implementation.

2.  Develop a post-launch monitoring plan (e.g., financial impact, quality control, customer satisfaction, monitoring schedule) to evaluate the success of the company in meeting milestones.

F.  Calculate and develop the financial statements and projections for the first year of business by doing the following:

1.  Develop a month-by-month forecasted profit and loss statement using an estimate of revenues and operating costs based on the sales forecast.

2.  Develop a forecasted balance sheet for the end of year one.

G.  Write a financial report (suggested length of 12 pages) in which you do the following:

1.  Summarize the financial projections and the assumptions used in estimating the financial statements.

2.  Describe the companys financial position at the end of the first year.

3.  Describe the companys initial and future estimated capital/investment needs.

H.  Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.

I.  Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

A brief description of the current estimating practices primarily employed at your organization on projects (if you do not know the approach or no formal approach is used, then use this response as an opportunity to state an approach based on what you have learned in the lectures and reading)
List at least two strengths and weaknesses of the approach used
If you prefer the current method, then discuss how the process might be improved
If you dont prefer the current estimating method, then provide a justification of why the method should be changed.
Again, if you dont know what method is used, then use this section to argue and justify the approach you think would be best.
How can this be applied to the work we are doing on the capstone project?  Or, what other suggestions could you offer?
If you are currently not working in a professional environment, then please answer these questions in light of the case study we are using in the course. You will have to make some assumptions to do this, but you should be able to do so based on the case study and the assigned reading.