08/08/2017 Business Plan Sample & Template

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The Ultimate Guide to Business Plans

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08/08/2017 Business Plan Sample & Template

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chapter 8

Sample Business Plan

This sample business plan is intended to provide you with a template that can be used as a reference for when youre
hard at work on your plan. The company is a completely ctional organic denim and apparel company, however, we
made sure the industry research was grounded in real world numbers as much as possible. Lets get started:

Executive Summary

I'll Be Denim is an organic denim clothing line headquartered in Los Angeles that currently focuses exclusively on
locally producing a slim t, straight t, and regular t line of jeans for men and women. Founded by Elena
Horowitz, a retail industry veteran with experiences at JCrew, the Gap, and Levis, and James Foster, a serial
entrepreneur, the duo is out to bring socially conscious fashion to the masses.

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Currently selling online and through partnerships with a handful of local boutiques in LA, the company is projecting
to sell upwards of $400,000 in year 1 and reaching $750,000 in 3 years. Plans for expansion include setting up
distribution and manufacturing relationships in New York, another fashion centric goldmine where the company
aims to gain greater market penetration.

With an emphasis on environmentally responsible fashion, Ill Be Denim will also be starting a jeans recycling
program where consumers will be able to ship or drop off old pairs of jeans and have them used in the
manufacturing process for new ones.

Industry research has found that US consumers own on average 7 pairs of jeans and stick to one brand based one
one important variable, t. Given that statistic the companys designs center around providing the best t, with a
tagline of denim so good, youll never take your clothes off. To further take advantage of this insight, Ill Be
Denim will be launching a custom tailor option where users will be able to request custom t jeans through an
online portal.

The primary competition comes from three foreign brands namely Kuyichi, Hiut Denim, and Nudie Jeans, all which
have been committed to sustainable fashion since the onset and are huge advocates for the organic cotton
movement. The brand value proposition and differentiation will come from being an American brand with images of
patriotism and ruggedness that shows both fashion forward thinking and a concern for the environment.

Primary means of marketing will be online through analytic-driven approaches like SEO and paid search, in
addition to capitalizing on social channels like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. User generated content
and engagement will be key as product pages will include Instagram photos and promote consumer pride in our
products.

The organic cotton will be sourced from two mills, one based in Turkey and the other in Japan where it will be
transformed to denim and dyed in natural indigo colors and shipped to our manufacturing and shipping partner
DenimsRUs in LA. Day to day operations are handled through an ofce in LA with a second ofce in New York to
be opened in a years time.

The company has been funded through the two founders, their family and friends, alongside some private
investment.

Our Story

Ill Be Denim is a denim clothing line based out of Los Angeles focused on bringing the highest quality organic
denim wear to North America. Founded by reputable designer Elena Horowitz and business partner James Foster in
October, 2012 with the duo having gone from a small basement operation in Elenas home to successfully launching
their online store and scaling their operations.

After both founders worked for several years in the retail and fashion industries respectively, one thing became
increasingly clear to both of them, the industry is in the midst of a deep moral and ethical crisis. With cheap labour
being continuously exploited with abysmal working condition overseas and traditionally manufactured cotton using
upwards of 25 percent of the worlds entire agrochemicals consisting of unimaginable amounts of insecticides and
pesticides, Elena and James decided enough is enough.

The duos vision for Ill Be Denim is simple, fashionable denim wear made with organic materials thats
manufactured locally and created with the intent to make the t so comfortable that youll never want to take their
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clothes off. To achieve such a grand vision, the company is committed to providing the best in class customer
service in addition to working with only the most detail oriented local manufacturers and promoting eco-friendly
fashion to the mainstream.

The guiding values and principles for the company are guilt-free fashion (letting customers purchase high-quality
apparel without shutting out their conscious), the denim is in the details (working with only the best local
production factories), and eco is not a fad, but our last chance (sourcing organic denim from certied suppliers).

Current Company Status

Ill Be Denim was incorporated in October, 2012 and operates as a partnership between Elena Horowitz and James
Foster. All company shares are held by the founding duo. Since sourcing, manufacturing, and selling out of Elenas
basement to friends, family, and through local boutiques, the company has grown to have its own online store,
relationships with suppliers of premium organic denim in Turkey, and local manufacturers in LA. The company has
had its revenues double every two months.

Ill Be Denim Objectives

Ill Be Denim is currently selling denim jeans online through its Shopify ecommerce store shipping primarily within
Southern California with market penetration in New York, another in addition to sporadic orders north of the border
to Canada in Toronto and Montreal. It also currently partners with two local fashion boutique stores focused on
selling eco-friendly apparel that looks and feels good. The company is laser-focused on growing its sales and
operations as broken down in the two phases listed below:

Phase I (Next 6 Months)

Increase online sales by 20 percent by end of year through inuencer and social media marketing tactics

Partner with 3 additional local high-end fashion boutiques with shared values as distribution channels

Increase online social presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest by 30 percent

Build out a custom apparel line of the business giving online consumers the ability to create their own
denim jeans and jackets

Phase II (Next 12 Months)

Explore possibility of brick-and-mortar operations through testing pop-up stores in LA region

Create strategic partnerships with local fashion boutiques in New York for distribution in the area

Scope out local manufacturers in New York area for quality production with aim of opening operations for
denim jackets as the next product line and increased delivery within region

Initiate a jean recycling program whereby consumers will be able to deposit their denim and have them be
reused in the creation of new jeans

The Team

Elena Horowitz is an award-winning fashion designer who graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and
worked at top retail brands like J Crew, the GAP, and Levis for the past 15 years. Fed up with the lack of speed with
which most retail brands were moving towards embracing eco-friendly means of production, she decided to quit her

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job and start Ill Be Denim. She serves as Chief Design Ofcer (CDO) and works with partner manufacturers to
ensure quality of product.

James Foster dropped out of the University of Berkeley after nding success with his rst online store selling
fertilizer and garden equipment with his college roommate. After successfully exiting the company, he went on to
hold operational positions in management for a slew of ecommerce companies before meeting Elena at a party and
hitting it off. The two discussed their guilt over buying from traditional fashion brands and decided to combine
forces to launch their own label. He serves as the Chief Executive Ofcer (CEO) and oversees all supplier
relationships, business logistics and strategic partnerships.

Market Size and Development

A recent report looking at the Global Denim Consumption and Production through the years 2011 to 2021 by
Denimandjeans.com found that in 2007 the world jeans market was worth an estimated $51.6 billion and is at pace
to grow to $56.2 billion by the year 2014. The report also revealed that North America consumes an estimated 39
percent of denim purchased worldwide while more than 50 percent of production is still based in Asia, specically
in countries like China, India, Turkey, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Another report that focused exclusively on the denim consumption habits in the US found that an average US
consumer owns 15 denim garments on average, 7 of which are pairs of jeans. Out of all apparel purchased denim
makes up 17 percent which explains why it continues to be the highest selling clothing item in the world.

However, when it comes to consumer behaviour and trends most US denim purchasers buy jeans for t at 66 percent
citing the reason over its brand name. Interestingly enough though, 73 percent prefer to purchase the same brand as
the one they own with men showing more loyalty at 64 percent than women at 45 percent.

Going deeper into the growing level of awareness around environmental sustainability and climate change, the
Cotton Incorporated 2013 Environment Survey found that 51 percent of consumers say that environmentally
friendliness is important to their apparel purchase decisions. Digging a little further, about 33 percent are actually
more likely to seek out environmentally clothes for themselves.

When it comes to the material of their clothes though, nearly 72 percent of survey respondents say that natural
bres are better for the environment than synthetics, with 51 percent of consumers willing to pay more for them.
Such trends are driving global brands like Gucci, Timberland, and others to focus on making their products and
supply chain more environmentally friendly.

Pair all those facts together and you get a winning combination championed by Ill Be Denim, provide consumers
with organic denim manufactured locally with an emphasis on designing for t while also offering custom t
solutions.

Competition

Kuyichi - Based in the Netherlands, the company has been in the market since 2001 selling organic denim
wear while simultaneously using natural indigo dyeing techniques and running a robust jeans recycling
program

Hiut Denim - Based in the UK, the company operates out of a small town known for manufacturing jeans. It
currently offers a selection of organic denim jeans targeted at both men and women, making only 100 pairs a
week and resolving to only make jeans

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Nudie Jeans - Headquartered in Sweden, the company achieved its goal of launching an organic denim jeans
collection in 2012 and has both online and brick-and-mortar locations. They also have a wide assortment of
sustainable efforts ranging from providing a fair living wage to everyone involved in the manufacturing
process and recycling jeans.

Brand Differentiation and Value Proposition

Though there are more than a handful of organic denim startups, at Ill Be Denim, we rmly believe that with the
founders combined experience, industry partnerships, and focus on providing the quality denim jeans produced
with sustainability in mind from cradle to grave, the brand can stand out. Our plan is to leverage our American
heritage and love for the fabric and use a marketing strategy that is closely aligned with building personal
relationships with our target market. In addition, with t being the biggest variable in jean purchase decisions, our
custom t program in addition to our slim, straight, and regular t jeans will help us delight our customers who in
turn will spread the word.

Target Market

With our initial line of slim t, straight t, and regular t denim jeans, were looking to target the following
consumer segment:

Age: 17-35

Social Media Savvy: Voraciously active on popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
Pinterest, and Tumblr

Fashion Forward: With a keen eye on their day to day wear, these male and female fashionistas dress to
impress

Addicted to Mobile: They Instagram their food, check their Facebook status while waiting in line, and tweet
every trafc disruption they experience.

Eco-Friendly: They feel a pinch everything they know their clothes were manufactured unethically or are
aware of the eco-footprint they have by consuming clothes made with regular cotton

Location: The beachheads for the company will be LA and New York, however, with the ability to shop
online, well heavily promote ourselves throughout southern California

Marketing Plan

SEO: Our content and blogging efforts will be targeted at having us rank competitively for keywords like
organic denim, organic jeans, and eco-friendly garments

Paid Search: We will invest in both Google Adwords and Facebook Ads to take advantage of their PPC
services with optimized landing pages for conversion

Instagram: We will launch campaigns and contest to encourage user-generated images which we will then
upload to our product pages to build a community around our brand and the values we stand for

Other Social Media: We will subcontract a community manager to regularly engage our Facebook, Twitter,
and Pinterest communities

PR: We will promote our story, values, and fashion to leading fashion blogs and print magazines emphasizing
our earth-friendly and ethically manufactured clothing

Business Development: We will actively look for the most popular local fashion boutiques frequented by our
target market that shares in our values and beliefs

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Another point to highlight is our focus on customer service with a 100 percent t satisfaction guarantee or
reimbursement for any alternations, in addition to a complete refund policy effectively in place.

Daily Operations

For our day to day operations, Ill Be Denim has established several key partnerships that ensure long-term
durability and the ability to scale alongside demand for our goods.

We will source the best organic cotton from two suppliers, one located in Turkey and the other in Japan which
means that their supplies were produced without the use of any pesticides and was dyed in indigo using a natural
means. Once the shipment arrives in the US, itll be routed to our production and shipping partner, DenimsRUs
located in the outskirts of LA who the company will work closely with to ensure quality through regular checks and
audits. It is also where the products will ship out of through an integrated backend system and order processing
mechanism.

The Ill Be Denim ofce is located on 2029 Century Park East where the two co-founders in addition to two admin
and one sales and marketing support staff will work out of handling all online order processing and ensuring the
purchase to delivery of their denim products runs smoothly. Its also where all requests for refunds will be handled
in addition to the future launch of the jean recycling program.

Financial Plan

Pro Forma Income Statement

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Sales $395650 $610000 $750000
Direct Cost of Sales $50370 $82000 $105000
Other Production Expenses $50370 $82000 $105000
Total Cost of Sales $100740 $164000 $210000
Gross Margin $294910 $446000 $540000
Gross Margin % 74.54% 73.11% 72%
Expenses
Payroll $177600 $192600 $212000
Sales and Marketing and Other Expenses $0 $130000 $150000
Depreciation $7140 $7140 $7140
Leased Equipment $0 $0 $0
Utilities $6000 $6000 $6000
Insurance $6000 $6000 $6000
Rent $24000 $24000 $24000
Payroll Taxes $26640 $28890 $31800
Other $0 $0 $0
Total Operating Expenses $247380 $394630 $436940
Prot Before Interest and Taxes $47530 $51370 $103060
EBITDA $54670 $58510 $110200
Interest Expense $13830 $12750 $12570
Taxes Incurred $10110 $11586 $27147
Net Prot $23590 $27034 $63343
Net Prot/Sales 5.96% 4.43% 8.45%

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Pro Forma Cash Flow

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Cash Received
Cash from Operations
Cash Sales $395650 $610000 $750000
Subtotal Cash from Operations $395650 $610000 $750000
Additional Cash Received
Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received $0 $0 $0
New Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0
New Other Liabilities (interest-free) $0 $0 $0
New Long-term Liabilities $0 $0 $0
Sales of Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0
Sales of Long-term Assets $0 $0 $0
New Investment Received $0 $0 $0
Subtotal Cash Received $395650 $610000 $750000
Expenditures Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Expenditures from Operations
Cash Spending $177600 $192600 $212000
Bill Payments $103957 $364975 $463540
Subtotal Spent on Operations $281557 $557575 $675540
Additional Cash Spent
Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Paid Out $0 $0 $0
Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0
Other Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0
Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment $21600 $1800 $1800
Purchase Other Current Assets $19800 $19800 $19800
Purchase Long-term Assets $0 $0 $0
Dividends $0 $0 $0
Subtotal Cash Spent $322957 $579175 $697140
Net Cash Flow $72693 $30825 $52860
Cash Balance $137293 $168118 $220978

Projected Balance Sheet

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Assets
Current Assets
Cash $137293 $168118 $220978
Inventory $6270 $10207 $13070
Other Current Assets $19800 $39600 $59400
Total Current Assets $163363 $217926 $293448
Long-term Assets
Long-term Assets $50000 $50000 $50000
Accumulated Depreciation $7140 $14280 $21420
Total Long-term Assets $42860 $35720 $28580

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Total Assets $206223 $253646 $322028
Liabilities and Capital Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Current Liabilities
Accounts Payable $9633 $31822 $38661
Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0
Other Current Liabilities $0 $0 $0
Subtotal Current Liabilities $9633 $31822 $38661
Long-term Liabilities $128400 $126600 $124800
Total Liabilities $138033 $158422 $163461
Paid-in Capital $200000 $200000 $200000
Retained Earnings -$155400 -$131810 -$104776
Earnings $23590 $27034 $63343
Total Capital $68190 $95224 $158567
Total Liabilities and Capital $206223 $253646 $322028
Net Worth $68190 $95224 $158567

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