The first step of this business plan was to find something we are passionate about. Through multiple exercises of digging deep to find our passions, we found some similarities within our team. We all had strong values in combating overconsumption, circularity, and empowering women. From here, we decided our mission would be to related to these. Creating a strong mission statement sets the foundation for the entire plan.

Researching the industry, the sourcing, the location, the costs, and consumer were important parts of this plan. We split up all of this research over the course of a couple weeks, using platforms like statista and creating our own surveys to conduct primary research. For example, we asked women within our demographic where they prefer to shop in Richmond to find the best location for our shop. I then contacted all of the retail shops within our chosen area to figure out customers per day and their conversion rates. Every strong business plan needs research to give it credibility.

Strong financials are key for a good business plan. We went through these step-by-step in class to ensure we fully understood how to calculate these numbers and what they meant. Figuring out some. ofthe numbers also required additional research. We needed to figure out average rates for the costs of operating a business in our location. Calculating our sales, GP%, profit and loss statement, and more are vital for a business plan.

Putting all of the research and numbers together and adding in our company information came last. We added the final touches including our executive summary, table of contents, resumes, personal financial statements, etc. Once all of the information was put together, we begin revising, looking for errors, and correcting any formatting problems. We ensured that all text was the same font and size and added our page numbers. After the plan was finalized, we presented it in a short slide deck to our class.