PART 2  -   OUTSIDE SUPPORT

It is important that your business have a strong equilibrium of skills and abilities among its key members and outside supporters. Outside supporters may include an entity directly or indirectly linked to your businesses activities. Examples might include a lawyer, an accountant, a banker, a marketing consultant, an insurance agent, a mentor, other entrepreneurs, government agencies and suppliers.

With most small businesses and home-based businesses, management and personnel usually consists of one or two individuals - the entrepreneur and one staff member. As you might suspect, the importance of acquiring outside supporters heightens for these business structures. By forming alliances with outside supporters you enhance the attractiveness of the business and improve your chances of receiving the capital needed to successfully implement strategic endeavors. In addition, outside supporters can alleviate many pressures by ensuring that all functional areas are covered. For example, having a good production staff and producing a needed product may do little for a business if it does not have the adequate human resources to develop strong marketing strategies. A company experiencing this dilemma may decide to hire an outside entity such as a marketing consultant to create and implement an effective marketing plan. By hiring or contracting this outside supporter, the company fills its functional area of marketing and strengthens its overall team.

When writing the Outside Support section be sure to briefly explain the entities that provide the greatest "balance" to your organization. Other important, but less significant, supporters may be listed in a column format indicating the entity's name, their service(s) offered and your contact person. Below provides an example of J&B's outside support team.

J&B's Outside Support

J&B will call upon outside advisors from time to time. Four (4) key strategic alliances include Resource Marketing & Associates, B.H. Computronics Limited., SIMRAM Development Corporation, and RAMCIM Enterprises.

• Resource Marketing & Associates, a local marketing agency, will play a vital role in assisting management in developing the Company's communication plan and promotional materials. As indicated in the forecasted financial statements, $7,000 is budgeted for professional services in year one. The majority of this budget has been set aside for marketing services and will be distributed in the initial stages of product positioning, planing and testing.

• B.H. Computronics Ltd is a Orange County firm that combines computers and electronics to produce multimedia software and on-line and off-line storage. J&B will utilize B.H. Computronics Ltd's talents to transfer its business training material, currently on a word processor, into an "interactive", "self-contained" software program. The cost of the Program/Software Writing is considered a development cost and is expected to be approximately $7,650.

• SIMRAM Development Corporation, a Bay City firm, is in the business of diskette duplication and labeling. This organization will be contracted to supply J&B with copies of our product in diskette form only. Moreover, when B.H. Computronics develops the "Master Software Program" (in diskette form), J&B will send it to SIMRAM Development Corporation for duplication and labeling. Upon duplication and labeling, the product in diskette form is ready for customer use.

• RAMCIM Enterprises, a Toronto firm, is in the business of Compact Disk (CD) duplication and labeling. This organization will be contracted to supply J&B with copies of our product in CD form only. Moreover, when B.H. Computronics develops the "Master Software Program" (in CD form), J&B will send it to RAMCIM Enterprises for mass duplication and labeling. Upon duplication and labeling, the product in CD form is ready for customer use.

Other outside support will come from the following organizations:

The leadership and alignment characteristics of J&B Incorporated's management team and outside supporters have resulted in the establishment of broad and flexible goals designed to meet the ever-changing demands of the quickly moving marketplace requiring our product.

OUTSIDE SUPPORT SUMMARY:

In the above example, J&B's main Outside Supporters consist of a marketing firm and three suppliers. As a result, the company explains each supporter in detail and demonstrates how their services are important to J&B Incorporated. In addition, the company lists other supporters in which they will use from time to time. Less detail is required since their involvement is less significant or implied. This concludes our discussion on outsider supporters. The next topic to be addressed is PArt 3 entitled "Staffing Requirements.