E-Business Plan Assignment
Executive Summary
Draft a one- to two-page executive summary (you will be reminded of this at the end of that lesson).
Business Description
Identify the industry within which your e-business will operate and write an industry analysis.
Draft a mission statement for your e-business. Include a paragraph or two that explains or justifies the mission statement. This mission statement may change slightly as you continue to develop your business idea, but it should also be complete and accurate enough to guide the formation of goals and the value proposition.
Write at least 4 goals for your business. Each goal should include both a clear statement of purpose and a brief explanation.
Write at least three SMART objectives for each of the business goals you developed
Formulate and write the value proposition of your e-business. This should be a paragraph or two that clearly states the benefits your business will offer to customers and justifies why this is an important proposition for customers and in the marketplace.
Select one or two (rarely three or more) business model(s) that accurately describe your proposed business activities. For each model, identify it and briefly describe the model as it applies to your business idea. Include the value proposition
Market Analysis
Identify and briefly describe at least two and no more than three target markets for your e-business. Make sure your markets are scoped correctly—not too broad and not too narrow. Your description should include as many demographic, geographical, psychographic, and consumer characteristics as possible.
Complete your description of your target markets by adding objective, quantitative data to the general description you completed ahead. Based on your market research, you may have to make minor adjustments in your target markets.
Competitor Analysis
Find, list, and rank 5 to 6 direct competitors, or fewer if you can find less than 7 major competitors.
Find, list, and rank 3 to 5 indirect competitors and 3 to 5 future competitors for your e-business.
Complete the competitor analysis grid for 2 to 3 direct competitors, 1 indirect competitor, and 1 future competitor for your e-business.
Write up the results of your competitor search and analysis for inclusion in your e-business plan.
Use opportunities-and-threats approach, the competitive-strategies approach, or both, to identify at least one (hopefully more) source of competitive advantage for your business. Write this up so a reader of your e-business plan will understand how you expect to use these to achieve commercial success.
Operations
Based on your intended Web site host requirements, select: (a) storebuilder service, (b) Internet service provider, (c) dedicated hosting service, or (d) self-hosting and investigate the feasibility and cost of hosting a Web site for your e-business (you will use the cost information in the financial statements). As part of your operations plan, briefly explain and justify your decision.
Based on your intended Web site requirements and the considerations listed previously, select (a) internal development, (b) external development, or (c) partnering for your start-up site construction and ongoing site maintenance. Briefly explain and justify the decision.
Find an available domain name (one currently available at the time you investigated it) for your e-business and write a brief paragraph to explain and justify it.
Guide for Executive Summary?
The executive summary is a synopsis of the key points of the entire e-business plan. Its purpose is to explain the fundamentals of the business in a way that both informs and excites the reader. If, after reading the executive summary, the investor or manager understands what the business is about and he or she is eager to know more, the executive summary has done its job.
As a miniature version of the e-business plan, the summary usually contains a key point or two from most sections of the plan. Due to space limitations, some sections may get missed, but an accurate summary will provide the reader with a succinct explanation of the entire plan.
Another way to describe an executive summary is to describe what it is not, based on ineffective summaries that we have seen in student and professional business plans.
• The executive summary is not just a brief description of the business and its products. The business description section inside the plan presents this information, and it should not be duplicated here. Because the summary is a synopsis of the entire plan, don’t let information from any one section dominate your executive summary.
• The executive summary is not an outline of the plan. First-time summary writers sometimes make the mistake of creating an extended table of contents. For example, don’t tell the reader there is a competitor analysis inside, instead summarize the analysis by identifying one or two key competitors and your company’s primary source of advantage in the competitive marketplace.
• The executive summary is not hype. While a goal of the executive summary is to excite the reader enough to read the entire plan, you must avoid the temptation to make exaggerated claims or accentuate only the positive. For example, you might want to point out a significant risk or a well-established competitor and suggest how the business will deal with this problem. This provides a sense of balance and realism in what otherwise can be an over-glorified summary of the plan. An experienced investor or businessperson will recognize hype, and this will undermine the plan’s credibility.
• The executive summary is not a cut-and-paste exercise. Drafting the summary can begin with key paragraphs and sentences from inside the plan, but the end result should be written “fresh” without large-scale duplication of content and with a smooth flow of plan highlights from the beginning to the end.
Content of the Executive Summary
In addition to summarizing the business idea and business plan, you must write the content of the executive summary with the intended reader in mind. If you are writing the plan for an investor, then you must include important content about financial requirements. Similarly, avoid terminology and concepts that may be unfamiliar to the reader. For example, don’t use e-business terms such as infomediary, digital divide, or mass customization unless you explain the meaning or know with absolutely certainty that the reader will know what they mean. The best executive summary, and the plan itself, shows an understanding of what issues and questions are important to the reader and addresses them in a straightforward and comprehensive manner.
One effective way to begin the executive summary is with an interesting and compelling statement that grabs the reader’s attention. This could be an interesting, very short story (e.g., for Purma Top Gifts, how volcanic rock laid down 160 million years ago produces bloodstone jewelry that Purma is now famous for), a question (e.g., “What is Purma’s most popular baby gift? A sheepskin! Soon Purmaian sheepskins from Purma Top Gifts will provide warmth and comfort to infants around the world.”), or a startling statistic (e.g., “In 2001, over 256,000 tourists with incomes in excess of US$40,000 visited Purma. These tourists need a place where they can shop to give the best that Purma has to offer to their friends, their families, and themselves.”).
Alternatively, the traditional way to begin the executive summary is with a statement of the firm’s purpose, perhaps by integrating the firm’s mission statement (e.g., “Purma Top Gifts is an e-business that sells top quality Purma-made gifts and souvenirs to customers who want the very best that Purma has to offer.”) and a few sentences about the product or service the business will provide.
Then try to highlight a key point from each section of the plan— the primary target market from the market analysis section, the principal source of competitive advantage from the competitor analysis, the return on investment from the financial statements, and so on. Because of length restrictions, you may not have room for everything so you can skip a section that doesn’t offer anything important or interesting to the reader.
Conclude the executive summary with the purpose of the e-business plan (e.g., “The purpose of this plan is to propose the launch of the Purma Top Gifts Web site and seek funding for its development.”) and a specific statement of what you expect from the reader. For example, don’t leave the banker to sift through the plan to page 10 before finding the amount of the loan you require. Clearly state your capabilities and needs in the executive summary, and you will have a greater chance that the reader will turn the page.
Length of the Executive Summary
There is really only one answer to the question “how long should an executive summary be?” The answer is “short.”
Unless your instructor tells you different, the executive summary should be at least one page and not more than two pages in length. If you can’t summarize your business plan in two pages, then this is an indication to the reader that you are indecisive and can’t set priorities. It is also fairly important that you use most of the space available. A lot of white space on the second page of an executive summary page tends to tell the reader that there isn’t much content inside the plan. So, generally, write either one or two full pages for your executive summary.
Format of the Plan
The report comprising your business plan should be organized in the following order:
• Cover page
• Table of contents
• Executive summary
• Main body of the text as it is mentioned in the assignment
• Tables if any used
• References

Use Times Roman 12 Font for main text
For heading and cover page use from 18 to 24 size
Left and right margin of the page should be 2.5 cms
Upper margin of the cover page should be 3.5 cms.
Text should be double spaced.

E-Business Plan Assignment
Executive Summary
Draft a one- to two-page executive summary (you will be reminded of this at the end of that lesson).
Business Description
Identify the industry within which your e-business will operate and write an industry analysis.
Draft a mission statement for your e-business. Include a paragraph or two that explains or justifies the mission statement. This mission statement may change slightly as you continue to develop your business idea, but it should also be complete and accurate enough to guide the formation of goals and the value proposition.
Write at least 4 goals for your business. Each goal should include both a clear statement of purpose and a brief explanation.
Write at least three SMART objectives for each of the business goals you developed
Formulate and write the value proposition of your e-business. This should be a paragraph or two that clearly states the benefits your business will offer to customers and justifies why this is an important proposition for customers and in the marketplace.
Select one or two (rarely three or more) business model(s) that accurately describe your proposed business activities. For each model, identify it and briefly describe the model as it applies to your business idea. Include the value proposition
Market Analysis
Identify and briefly describe at least two and no more than three target markets for your e-business. Make sure your markets are scoped correctly—not too broad and not too narrow. Your description should include as many demographic, geographical, psychographic, and consumer characteristics as possible.
Complete your description of your target markets by adding objective, quantitative data to the general description you completed ahead. Based on your market research, you may have to make minor adjustments in your target markets.
Competitor Analysis
Find, list, and rank 5 to 6 direct competitors, or fewer if you can find less than 7 major competitors.
Find, list, and rank 3 to 5 indirect competitors and 3 to 5 future competitors for your e-business.
Complete the competitor analysis grid for 2 to 3 direct competitors, 1 indirect competitor, and 1 future competitor for your e-business.
Write up the results of your competitor search and analysis for inclusion in your e-business plan.
Use opportunities-and-threats approach, the competitive-strategies approach, or both, to identify at least one (hopefully more) source of competitive advantage for your business. Write this up so a reader of your e-business plan will understand how you expect to use these to achieve commercial success.
Operations
Based on your intended Web site host requirements, select: (a) storebuilder service, (b) Internet service provider, (c) dedicated hosting service, or (d) self-hosting and investigate the feasibility and cost of hosting a Web site for your e-business (you will use the cost information in the financial statements). As part of your operations plan, briefly explain and justify your decision.
Based on your intended Web site requirements and the considerations listed previously, select (a) internal development, (b) external development, or (c) partnering for your start-up site construction and ongoing site maintenance. Briefly explain and justify the decision.
Find an available domain name (one currently available at the time you investigated it) for your e-business and write a brief paragraph to explain and justify it.
Guide for Executive Summary?
The executive summary is a synopsis of the key points of the entire e-business plan. Its purpose is to explain the fundamentals of the business in a way that both informs and excites the reader. If, after reading the executive summary, the investor or manager understands what the business is about and he or she is eager to know more, the executive summary has done its job.
As a miniature version of the e-business plan, the summary usually contains a key point or two from most sections of the plan. Due to space limitations, some sections may get missed, but an accurate summary will provide the reader with a succinct explanation of the entire plan.
Another way to describe an executive summary is to describe what it is not, based on ineffective summaries that we have seen in student and professional business plans.
• The executive summary is not just a brief description of the business and its products. The business description section inside the plan presents this information, and it should not be duplicated here. Because the summary is a synopsis of the entire plan, don’t let information from any one section dominate your executive summary.
• The executive summary is not an outline of the plan. First-time summary writers sometimes make the mistake of creating an extended table of contents. For example, don’t tell the reader there is a competitor analysis inside, instead summarize the analysis by identifying one or two key competitors and your company’s primary source of advantage in the competitive marketplace.
• The executive summary is not hype. While a goal of the executive summary is to excite the reader enough to read the entire plan, you must avoid the temptation to make exaggerated claims or accentuate only the positive. For example, you might want to point out a significant risk or a well-established competitor and suggest how the business will deal with this problem. This provides a sense of balance and realism in what otherwise can be an over-glorified summary of the plan. An experienced investor or businessperson will recognize hype, and this will undermine the plan’s credibility.
• The executive summary is not a cut-and-paste exercise. Drafting the summary can begin with key paragraphs and sentences from inside the plan, but the end result should be written “fresh” without large-scale duplication of content and with a smooth flow of plan highlights from the beginning to the end.
Content of the Executive Summary
In addition to summarizing the business idea and business plan, you must write the content of the executive summary with the intended reader in mind. If you are writing the plan for an investor, then you must include important content about financial requirements. Similarly, avoid terminology and concepts that may be unfamiliar to the reader. For example, don’t use e-business terms such as infomediary, digital divide, or mass customization unless you explain the meaning or know with absolutely certainty that the reader will know what they mean. The best executive summary, and the plan itself, shows an understanding of what issues and questions are important to the reader and addresses them in a straightforward and comprehensive manner.
One effective way to begin the executive summary is with an interesting and compelling statement that grabs the reader’s attention. This could be an interesting, very short story (e.g., for Purma Top Gifts, how volcanic rock laid down 160 million years ago produces bloodstone jewelry that Purma is now famous for), a question (e.g., “What is Purma’s most popular baby gift? A sheepskin! Soon Purmaian sheepskins from Purma Top Gifts will provide warmth and comfort to infants around the world.”), or a startling statistic (e.g., “In 2001, over 256,000 tourists with incomes in excess of US$40,000 visited Purma. These tourists need a place where they can shop to give the best that Purma has to offer to their friends, their families, and themselves.”).
Alternatively, the traditional way to begin the executive summary is with a statement of the firm’s purpose, perhaps by integrating the firm’s mission statement (e.g., “Purma Top Gifts is an e-business that sells top quality Purma-made gifts and souvenirs to customers who want the very best that Purma has to offer.”) and a few sentences about the product or service the business will provide.
Then try to highlight a key point from each section of the plan— the primary target market from the market analysis section, the principal source of competitive advantage from the competitor analysis, the return on investment from the financial statements, and so on. Because of length restrictions, you may not have room for everything so you can skip a section that doesn’t offer anything important or interesting to the reader.
Conclude the executive summary with the purpose of the e-business plan (e.g., “The purpose of this plan is to propose the launch of the Purma Top Gifts Web site and seek funding for its development.”) and a specific statement of what you expect from the reader. For example, don’t leave the banker to sift through the plan to page 10 before finding the amount of the loan you require. Clearly state your capabilities and needs in the executive summary, and you will have a greater chance that the reader will turn the page.
Length of the Executive Summary
There is really only one answer to the question “how long should an executive summary be?” The answer is “short.”
Unless your instructor tells you different, the executive summary should be at least one page and not more than two pages in length. If you can’t summarize your business plan in two pages, then this is an indication to the reader that you are indecisive and can’t set priorities. It is also fairly important that you use most of the space available. A lot of white space on the second page of an executive summary page tends to tell the reader that there isn’t much content inside the plan. So, generally, write either one or two full pages for your executive summary.
Format of the Plan
The report comprising your business plan should be organized in the following order:
• Cover page
• Table of contents
• Executive summary
• Main body of the text as it is mentioned in the assignment
• Tables if any used
• References

Use Times Roman 12 Font for main text
For heading and cover page use from 18 to 24 size
Left and right margin of the page should be 2.5 cms
Upper margin of the cover page should be 3.5 cms.
Text should be double spaced.