streaming business plan template

Live Streaming Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

If you’re looking to create a live streaming business plan, you’ve come to the right place!

Over the past 25 years, the PlanPros team has helped over 1 million entrepreneurs and business owners write business plans….and many of them have started and grown successful live streaming businesses. Our live streaming business plan example below is sure to help you!

Live Streaming Business Plan Example

Below is our live streaming business plan template and sample plan created using our business plan generator :  

I. Executive Summary

Company overview.

StreamMajesty Broadcast Services, based in Camarillo, CA, is a new entrant in the live streaming service industry, dedicated to offering unparalleled live broadcasting experiences. We specialize in a comprehensive range of services including broadcasting, interaction, monetization, analytics, and archiving and playback, tailored to meet the diverse needs of our clients. Our deep understanding of the local market, combined with our commitment to excellence, positions us as the go-to solution for high-quality live streaming services in the area. Our offerings not only ensure unmatched clarity and reliability for broadcasting live events but also enable real-time communication between hosts and viewers, provide avenues for revenue generation, and offer insights into viewer behavior to optimize content strategy. Our strong roots in Camarillo allow us to effectively serve the community by understanding and meeting its unique live streaming needs.

Success Factors

Our success at StreamMajesty Broadcast Services is built on a foundation laid by our founder’s extensive experience in the live streaming industry and our superior broadcasting capabilities that set us apart from the competition. Since our inception on January 6, 2024, we have made significant strides, including the development of our brand identity and securing a prime location for our operations. These achievements underscore our commitment to becoming Camarillo’s premier live streaming service provider. Our focus on delivering quality and comprehensive service options further cements our position in the market, promising a bright future for our company.

Industry Analysis

The Live Streaming industry in the United States is experiencing explosive growth, with the market size currently estimated at $70 billion and expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20% over the next five years. This growth is fueled by an increasing demand for online content, the proliferation of social media platforms, and technological advancements. StreamMajesty Broadcast Services is poised to capitalize on this booming industry by focusing on personalized and interactive content, a key trend driving viewer engagement. Additionally, the rising popularity of virtual events and experiences, accelerated by remote work and social distancing, presents a unique opportunity for us to serve an expanding market of businesses and individuals seeking high-quality live streaming services for a variety of events in Camarillo, CA.

Customer Analysis

We aim to serve a diverse customer base in Camarillo, CA, targeting local residents, small and medium-sized businesses, educational institutions, and local government bodies. Our services are designed to cater to those seeking community-oriented content, such as live events, sports games, and local news, offering a personalized and localized streaming experience. By addressing the needs of businesses and organizations for a reliable platform for live events, product launches, and educational content, we are positioning ourselves as an indispensable service provider. This strategy will help us build a loyal user base that values high-quality, community-focused content.

Competitive Analysis

Our main competitors include Music Freqs, MatieB Productions, and FilmLife Moments, each offering a range of services from audio production to live event streaming. Despite the strengths of these competitors, StreamMajesty Broadcast Services stands out with our superior broadcasting capabilities and a broader range of options catering to various customer needs. Our commitment to excellence and continuous investment in technology and training ensure that we offer the best live streaming experience. This, along with our versatility and ability to provide tailored services, sets us apart as a leader in the industry.

Marketing Plan

StreamMajesty Broadcast Services is set to revolutionize the live streaming experience with our comprehensive suite of services, focusing on broadcasting, interaction, monetization, analytics, and archiving and playback. Our competitive pricing strategy is designed to meet the diverse needs of content creators and businesses, ensuring seamless, high-quality video content delivery. Our marketing efforts will encompass a multifaceted online strategy including social media engagement, targeted ads, email marketing, and SEO, complemented by community involvement and partnerships to enhance brand visibility. Introductory discounts and a referral program will further attract and retain customers, positioning us as a formidable player in the live streaming market.

Operations Plan

Our key operational processes include dedicated customer support, content quality monitoring, technical maintenance, market analysis, partnership management, content scheduling, marketing and promotion, financial management, compliance and legal adherence, and technical support and development. These processes ensure a high-quality streaming experience for our users while fostering growth and sustainability for our business. To secure our success, we have outlined milestones such as obtaining necessary licenses, setting up our infrastructure, hiring key personnel, launching targeted marketing campaigns, establishing customer feedback loops, and optimizing monetization strategies, aiming to reach $15,000/month in revenue as part of our growth objectives.

Management Team

Amelia Lopez, our CEO, leads StreamMajesty Broadcast Services with a wealth of experience in the live streaming industry. Her proven track record in managing and growing a successful live streaming business underpins our strategic vision and operational excellence. Amelia’s leadership is crucial in navigating the industry’s complexities and driving StreamMajesty towards achieving our ambitious goals.

Financial Plan

To achieve our growth objectives, StreamMajesty Broadcast Services requires $380,000 in funding. This capital will be allocated towards both capital and non-capital investments including location buildout, equipment purchase, working capital, initial marketing, and staff salaries, among other essential expenses. This financial backing will enable us to establish a robust infrastructure, launch effectively, and grow our presence in the live streaming market.

Below is an overview of our expected financial performance over the next five years:

II. Company Overview

StreamMajesty Broadcast Services is a pioneering Live Streaming service catering to the vibrant community of Camarillo, CA. As a local live streaming business, we pride ourselves on filling a significant gap in the market. Before our inception, the area lacked high-quality local live streaming services, a niche we are excited to occupy and excel in. Our dedication to quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction sets us apart in this rapidly evolving industry.

At StreamMajesty Broadcast Services, our offerings are comprehensive and designed to meet the diverse needs of our clientele. Our services encompass Broadcasting, Interaction, Monetization, Analytics, Archiving, and Playback. This holistic approach ensures that our clients have access to everything they need to create, manage, and grow their live streaming presence. Whether you’re looking to broadcast your content to a wider audience, engage with viewers in real time, monetize your content, or analyze viewer data to optimize future streams, we have the tools and expertise to support your goals. Additionally, our archiving and playback services ensure that your content continues to work for you long after the live broadcast ends.

Based in the heart of Camarillo, CA, StreamMajesty Broadcast Services is ideally positioned to serve the local community with unparalleled live streaming solutions. Our deep understanding of the local market, combined with our state-of-the-art technology, allows us to offer services that are not only innovative but also highly relevant to our customers’ needs.

Our confidence in StreamMajesty Broadcast Services’ success is rooted in several key factors. Firstly, our founder brings invaluable experience from previously running a successful live streaming business. This experience underpins our strategic and operational decisions, ensuring that we are always a step ahead of the competition. Furthermore, our commitment to delivering superior broadcasting quality and a wider range of services than our competitors positions us as a leader in the local market.

Since our establishment on January 6, 2024, as a Limited Liability Company, we have hit several milestones that underscore our growth and potential. Among these accomplishments, we have successfully designed our logo, developed our unique company name, and secured an ideal location for our operations. These achievements are just the beginning of our journey to becoming the premier live streaming service provider in Camarillo, CA.

III. Industry Analysis

The Live Streaming industry in the United States is currently booming, with a market size of over $70 billion. This figure is expected to continue growing at a rapid pace, with analysts predicting a compound annual growth rate of 15% over the next five years. As more and more consumers turn to online platforms for entertainment and information, the demand for high-quality live streaming services is only set to increase.

One of the key trends driving the growth of the Live Streaming industry is the rise of social media platforms as a primary source of content consumption. With platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok investing heavily in live streaming capabilities, there is a massive opportunity for companies like StreamMajesty Broadcast Services to capitalize on this trend. By offering innovative and engaging live streaming solutions, StreamMajesty can position itself as a leader in the industry and attract a wide range of customers.

Furthermore, the increasing prevalence of remote work and virtual events in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a surge in demand for live streaming services. Businesses, schools, and organizations are now relying on live streaming to connect with their audiences and deliver engaging content in real-time. StreamMajesty Broadcast Services, with its cutting-edge technology and top-notch customer service, is well-positioned to meet this growing demand and establish a strong foothold in the market.

IV. Customer Analysis

Below is a description of our target customers and their core needs.

Target Customers

We will target local residents in Camarillo, CA, who are eager to engage with community events but are unable to attend in person. This group is looking for ways to stay connected and participate in local happenings from the comfort of their homes. Our service will cater to this need by providing high-quality, accessible live streaming of community events, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to be part of the local culture and activities.

In addition to local residents, we will also focus on serving local businesses and organizations that are in need of a platform to broadcast their events, workshops, and seminars to a wider audience. By offering our live streaming services, we will enable these entities to reach not only the local community but also an extended audience who are interested in their services or events. This will not only increase their visibility but also enhance engagement with their brand.

Furthermore, we will tailor our services to cater to the needs of local schools and educational institutions. These entities are continuously looking for innovative ways to broadcast their events, such as graduations, sports events, and educational seminars, to parents, students, and alumni who cannot be present. Our live streaming service will ensure that these important milestones and educational content are accessible to all interested parties, thereby fostering a stronger community connection.

Customer Needs

StreamMajesty Broadcast Services meets the growing demand for high-quality broadcasting that residents in the area deeply desire. Customers can expect crisp, clear, and reliable live streams, allowing them to enjoy their favorite events, shows, and content without the frustration of poor connectivity or low-resolution video. This commitment to quality ensures that viewers have a seamless and enjoyable viewing experience, making StreamMajesty a preferred choice for live streaming content.

In addition to delivering high-quality broadcasts, StreamMajesty Broadcast Services understands the importance of offering a wide variety of content to cater to diverse tastes and interests. Customers have access to an extensive library of live events, including sports, music concerts, and special local events, ensuring there is always something exciting to watch. This variety not only satisfies the different preferences of viewers but also helps in attracting a broader audience, making StreamMajesty Broadcast Services a comprehensive platform for live streaming entertainment.

Moreover, StreamMajesty Broadcast Services recognizes the need for user-friendly access and reliability. Customers can easily navigate through the platform to find and stream their desired content with minimal effort. The service ensures high uptime, minimizing disruptions and ensuring that viewers can rely on StreamMajesty for their entertainment needs without having to worry about technical issues. This reliability and ease of use further enhance the overall customer experience, solidifying StreamMajesty’s position as a go-to source for quality live streaming.

V. Competitive Analysis

Direct competitors.

StreamMajesty Broadcast Services’s competitors include the following companies:

Music Freqs  offers a range of live streaming and recording services tailored primarily towards musicians and bands. Their products/services include high-quality audio recording, live streaming of music events, and mixing and mastering services. They operate on a project-based pricing model, with costs varying depending on the complexity and duration of the project. While specific revenue figures are not publicly available, their niche focus on the music industry suggests a targeted but potentially limited revenue stream. Music Freqs is located in Southern California, positioning them well to serve customers in a vibrant music scene. Their customer segments are mainly independent musicians, local bands, and small music venues looking for professional live streaming and recording services. They serve a geographic area that includes not only Camarillo but also a broader Southern California region. A key strength is their specialized expertise in audio production, which ensures high-quality sound for all broadcasts. However, their niche focus might limit their appeal to a broader audience that StreamMajesty Broadcast Services may target.

MatieB Productions  offers a wide array of services including live event streaming, video production, and post-production editing. Their pricing strategy is flexible, offering both package deals and customizable options to fit various client needs. This approach allows them to cater to a diverse range of budgets and project scopes. The exact revenue details are not disclosed, but their comprehensive service offering suggests a capability to generate significant income across multiple streams. They operate primarily in the greater Los Angeles area, serving a wide range of customers from corporate clients to private events. The diversity in their services allows them to capture a broad customer segment, including corporate functions, weddings, and other significant events needing professional live streaming and video production. MatieB Productions’ strengths include a broad service offering and versatility in handling different types of events. However, their broader focus might dilute their expertise in specific areas compared to more specialized competitors.

FilmLife Moments  specializes in live streaming services for personal events, with a particular emphasis on weddings, birthdays, and family gatherings. Their pricing is competitive, offering packages that cater to various event sizes and client needs. This strategy enables them to attract a wide range of personal event planners looking for reliable live streaming options. While detailed revenue figures are not available, their specialization in personal events positions them well in a niche market segment. Located in the vicinity of Camarillo, FilmLife Moments has carved out a significant presence in the local market. They primarily serve individuals and families looking to share their special moments with friends and family who cannot attend in person. Their geographic reach extends throughout Southern California, leveraging the region’s numerous venues and event spaces. FilmLife Moments’ key strength is their focus on personal touch and customer service, ensuring a memorable experience for their clients. However, their niche focus may limit their growth potential in the broader live streaming market.

Competitive Advantages

At StreamMajesty Broadcast Services, we pride ourselves on offering superior broadcasting capabilities that set us apart from the competition. Our advanced technology ensures that our live streaming services are not only reliable but also of the highest quality, offering crystal-clear audio and video to our audience. This commitment to excellence means that our clients can expect a seamless viewing experience, free from the common hiccups and interruptions that plague many other streaming services. Our emphasis on quality broadcasting makes us the go-to choice for those seeking to share their content with the world, whether it be for corporate events, personal milestones, or creative productions.

Moreover, our edge in the market is not just limited to the quality of our broadcasts. We also boast a broader range of broadcasting capabilities compared to our competitors. This versatility allows us to cater to a wide array of needs and preferences, making us a one-stop-shop for all live streaming requirements. Whether our clients are looking to broadcast a small, intimate gathering or a large-scale event, we have the capability to deliver exceptional service. Additionally, our team of experts works closely with each client to customize our services to their specific needs, ensuring a personalized experience that enhances the impact of their broadcast. This combination of superior quality, broad capabilities, and personalized service positions StreamMajesty Broadcast Services as a leader in the live streaming industry.

VI. Marketing Plan

Our marketing plan, included below, details our products/services, pricing and promotions plan.

Products, Services & Pricing

StreamMajesty Broadcast Services emerges as a comprehensive solution for live streaming needs, catering to a diverse clientele with a range of services designed to enhance the live streaming experience. From broadcasting to interaction, and monetization to analytics, StreamMajesty covers all bases, ensuring that its customers can not only stream content but also engage, analyze, and profit from it.

At the core of StreamMajesty’s offerings is its Broadcasting service, which allows users to stream high-quality live video content to their audience across various platforms. This service is priced at an average of $100 per month, providing a robust infrastructure for reliable streaming, essential for maintaining viewer engagement and satisfaction.

Interaction is another critical service offered by StreamMajesty, enabling streamers to engage with their audience in real-time. This feature supports live chats, polls, and Q&A sessions, making live streams more interactive and engaging. The Interaction service is available for an average price of $50 per month, adding significant value to live broadcasts by enhancing viewer participation and engagement.

Monetization is a vital service for content creators looking to earn revenue from their live streams. StreamMajesty offers various monetization tools, including subscriptions, pay-per-view, and advertising. This service allows streamers to maximize their earnings and is priced at an average of $75 per month, depending on the specific monetization strategies employed.

Understanding audience behavior and stream performance is crucial for any content creator, and StreamMajesty’s Analytics service provides detailed insights into viewership data, engagement metrics, and more. This service is crucial for optimizing content and strategy, priced at an average of $60 per month, offering valuable data to help streamers grow their audience and improve their content.

Finally, Archiving and Playback is a service that allows streamers to save their live streams for future playback, making content available to viewers who missed the live broadcast. This feature is essential for maximizing the reach and lifespan of content. StreamMajesty offers this service at an average price of $40 per month, providing an easy and efficient way to manage and repurpose live stream content.

StreamMajesty Broadcast Services offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to meet the needs of live streamers in today’s digital age. With competitive pricing and a focus on quality and user experience, StreamMajesty positions itself as a go-to solution for anyone looking to leverage the power of live streaming to engage with audiences, monetize content, and gain actionable insights into their streaming performance.

Promotions Plan

At StreamMajesty Broadcast Services, we understand the importance of effective promotional methods to attract and retain customers in the competitive live streaming market. Our approach combines innovative online marketing tactics with traditional promotional strategies to create a comprehensive campaign that engages our target audience in Camarillo, CA, and beyond.

We will leverage the power of online marketing through a variety of channels. Social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, will play a crucial role in our promotional efforts. By creating engaging content that resonates with our audience, we expect to build a strong community of followers and subscribers. Our campaigns will feature behind-the-scenes looks at our streaming services, customer testimonials, and live Q&A sessions to foster a deeper connection with our audience. Additionally, targeted ads on these platforms will help us reach potential customers based on their interests and online behavior.

Email marketing is another key component of our strategy. We will collect email addresses through our website and social media channels, offering exclusive content and promotions to subscribers. This direct line of communication will allow us to keep our audience informed about new services, special events, and offers, encouraging repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.

Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) will ensure that potential customers find us easily when searching for live streaming services online. By optimizing our website content and using targeted keywords, we expect to rank higher in search engine results, increasing our visibility and attracting more traffic to our site.

But our promotional efforts don’t stop online. We will also engage in community events and sponsorships to build our brand locally. Participating in local festivals, fairs, and business expos will allow us to demonstrate our services in real-time, building trust and recognition within our community. Collaborating with other local businesses for cross-promotion opportunities will also help us reach a wider audience.

To further enhance our promotional strategy, we will implement a referral program that rewards current customers for bringing in new clients. This approach not only incentivizes our loyal customer base but also leverages their networks to expand our reach.

Lastly, we will constantly analyze the performance of our promotional methods and adjust our strategies accordingly. By staying agile and responsive to market trends and customer feedback, we will ensure that our promotional efforts are as effective as possible.

In conclusion, StreamMajesty Broadcast Services is committed to using a combination of online marketing, community engagement, and customer incentives to attract and retain customers. Our comprehensive approach to promotion will help us stand out in the live streaming market and build a loyal customer base in Camarillo, CA, and beyond.

VII. Operations Plan

Our Operations Plan details:

• The key day-to-day processes that our business performs to serve our customers
• The key business milestones that our company expects to accomplish as we grow

Key Operational Processes

To ensure the success of StreamMajesty Broadcast Services, there are several key day-to-day operational processes that we will perform.

• Monitor live streaming performance in real-time to ensure high-quality broadcast without interruptions.
• Engage with customers through multiple channels (e.g., social media, email, phone) to provide support and address any issues promptly.
• Conduct daily checks on all streaming equipment and software to ensure they are functioning optimally and update as necessary.
• Analyze viewer analytics to understand audience preferences and adjust content or streaming schedules accordingly.
• Collaborate with content creators to plan and schedule upcoming live streams, ensuring a diverse and engaging content slate.
• Maintain a robust online presence, updating the website and social media platforms with upcoming events, highlights, and promotional material.
• Train staff continuously on new technologies and customer service practices to enhance the quality of service.
• Implement security measures to protect against cyber threats and ensure the privacy and safety of viewers’ data.
• Review and respond to viewer feedback to improve services and viewer satisfaction continuously.
• Manage financial operations, including invoicing clients, processing payments, and budgeting for new equipment or software upgrades.
• Network with industry professionals and participate in relevant events to stay updated on the latest trends and technologies in live streaming.

StreamMajesty Broadcast Services expects to complete the following milestones in the coming months in order to ensure its success:

• Secure Necessary Licenses and Permits:  Before launching, ensure all necessary broadcasting, business operation licenses, and permits specific to Camarillo, CA, are obtained to operate legally and avoid any legal issues that could impede operations.
• Infrastructure and Technology Setup:  Establish a robust technical infrastructure that supports high-quality live streaming, including server capacity, software for streaming, and reliable internet connections, to ensure a seamless experience for users.
• Hiring Key Personnel:  Recruit and hire essential staff, including technical support, customer service, marketing, and content curation professionals, who are key to maintaining the quality of the service and customer satisfaction.
• Launch Marketing Campaign:  Implement a targeted marketing campaign before and during the launch to build awareness of StreamMajesty among the target audience in Camarillo, CA, and beyond. This includes social media marketing, collaborations with local influencers, and participation in local events.
• Launch Our Live Streaming Business:  Officially launch StreamMajesty Broadcast Services with a select number of live streams to test systems and processes, ensuring that any technical issues are resolved swiftly to maintain a high-quality user experience.
• Partnerships with Content Creators:  Develop partnerships with content creators who can attract and retain a diverse audience. This helps in providing varied content, which is crucial for engaging different segments of the market and ensuring a broad appeal.
• Customer Feedback Loop:  Establish a mechanism for collecting and analyzing customer feedback to continuously improve the streaming service. This includes technical issues, content quality, and overall user experience, ensuring the service evolves in line with customer expectations.
• Monetization Strategy Optimization:  Once operational, continuously review and optimize monetization strategies, including subscription models, pay-per-view events, and advertising, to maximize revenue streams without compromising user experience.
• Achieve $15,000/month in Revenue:  Implement strategies to grow the customer base and increase revenue streams to reach the milestone of $15,000/month in revenue. This could involve expanding the content library, enhancing marketing efforts, and exploring additional services that could attract more users.
• Ongoing Risk Management:  Implement an ongoing risk management plan that identifies potential risks to the business (e.g., technological changes, competition, legal issues) and outlines strategies to mitigate these risks. This ensures the long-term sustainability and success of StreamMajesty Broadcast Services.

VIII. Management Team

Our management team has the experience and expertise to successfully execute on our business plan.

Management Team Members

StreamMajesty Broadcast Services management team, which includes the following members, has the experience and expertise to successfully execute on our business plan:

Amelia Lopez, CEO

With a robust portfolio in leading technological innovations,  Amelia Lopez  stands at the helm of StreamMajesty Broadcast Services as its Chief Executive Officer. Amelia’s journey through the tech landscape is marked by a significant tenure at a live streaming business, where she not only spearheaded operations but also drove the company to achieve unprecedented success. Her strategic foresight and ability to navigate the complex dynamics of live streaming markets have been instrumental in her previous roles. Amelia’s leadership is characterized by a deep understanding of digital media trends, consumer behavior, and the evolving technological landscape. Her expertise in scaling businesses and her visionary approach to overcoming challenges make her uniquely qualified to guide StreamMajesty Broadcast Services towards achieving lasting success in the competitive broadcast services industry.

IX. Financial Plan

Funding requirements/use of funds.

To accomplish our growth goals, StreamMajesty Broadcast Services needs $380,000 in funding. Key uses of this funding will be as follows:

Financial Projections

5 Year Annual Income Statement

5 Year Annual Balance Sheet

5 Year Annual Cash Flow Statement

What Is a Live Streaming Business Plan?

A live streaming business plan is a document that outlines the strategies you have developed to start and/or grow your live streaming business. Among other things, it details information about your industry, customers and competitors to help ensure your company is positioned properly to succeed. Your live streaming business plan also assesses how much funding you will need to grow your business and proves, via your financial forecasts, why the business is viable.  

Why You Need a Business Plan for your Live Streaming Business

A business plan is required if you are seeking funding for your live streaming business. Investors and lenders will review your plan to ensure it meets their criteria before providing you with capital. In addition, a live streaming business plan helps you and your team stay focused. It documents the strategies you must follow and gives you financial projections you should strive to achieve and against which you can judge your performance.  

Live Streaming Business Plan Template PDF

Download our Live Streaming Business Plan PDF to help guide you as you create your business plan for your own live streaming business.  

How to Start a Live Streaming Business

Live streaming business owners make money by broadcasting live video gaming footage on popular platforms while making use of ad revenue. Popular websites like Twitch.TV and Smashcast (formerly Azubu) create great platforms for gamers to share their content. By acquiring a large following, (500+ average for Twitch.TV) the player becomes qualified to become a partner for the live streaming site. The streaming site will pay based on the internet traffic for the individual’s channel. Live streaming channels also solicit donations from their fans.

You may also be interested in additional side hustle ideas .

Ready to turn your business idea into a reality? We recommend forming an LLC as it is the most affordable way to protect your personal assets. You can do this yourself or with our trusted partner for a small fee. Northwest ($29 + State Fees) DIY: How to Start an LLC

Start a live streaming business by following these 10 steps:

• Plan your Live Streaming Business
• Form your Live Streaming Business into a Legal Entity
• Register your Live Streaming Business for Taxes
• Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
• Set up Accounting for your Live Streaming Business
• Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Live Streaming Business
• Get Live Streaming Business Insurance
• Define your Live Streaming Business Brand
• Create your Live Streaming Business Website
• Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your live streaming business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas .

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

What will you name your business?

• What are the startup and ongoing costs?
• Who is your target market?

How much can you charge customers?

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Live Streaming Business Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship , you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name , we recommend researching your business name by checking:

• Your state's business records
• Federal and state trademark records
• Social media platforms
• Web domain availability .

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

Find a Domain Now

Powered by godaddy.com, what are the costs involved in opening a live streaming business.

A high-speed Internet connection costs about US$50 to $100 per month. You will also need a gaming computer for about $1,000, with a high-resolution monitor(s) that costs around $350 each and game players with controls (Xbox, Wii, Sony PlayStation) for each type of game you want to play, which are around $300 to $400 each.

There is a 30-day free trial for Twitch.TV and after that, there is a monthly subscription fee of $5.99 to $10.99 per month depending on the features desired.

What are the ongoing expenses for a live streaming business?

The ongoing expenses are a high-speed Internet connection, updating gaming equipment and a computer with a high-resolution monitor(s), and buying the games (although sponsored streamers can get games for free). This is about fifty to several hundred dollars per month.

Popular streamers also typically hire one or more assistants to help manage the workflow of communicating with fans, talking with sponsors, updating website information, setting up paid appearances, and organizing attendance at conventions and gaming tournaments. Assistants make about $250 per week for part-time help.

Who is the target market?

The customers are video game enthusiasts who want to learn how to become better players by watching how professionals play certain games.

How does a live streaming business make money?

The revenues come from advertisements, profit-sharing from channel subscription fees, sponsorship, in-person appearances at events, and earnings from winning game tournaments.

Streamers who have enough followers to qualify as partners are allowed to have a subscription button on their individualized web page within the streaming system. Subscribers to their streaming channel pay a monthly fee of $4.99 for that certain channel and get to have special features as well. Around 50% of the $4.99 goes to Twitch.TV, while the other 50% is paid to the streamer.

Viewers can also give donations to the streamers they like. Streamers who are top-rated, with lots of followers, can get fees from sponsorship just like professional sports players.

How much profit can a live streaming business make?

Professional streamers, who have enough subscribers (500+) to become partners, make US$3,000 to US$5,000 per month for full-time streaming. This means playing at least 40 hours each week. Additionally, they earn a portion of the advertising revenues which equates to about $250 per 100 subscribers for each month. The highest paid and most popular streamers make over $300,000 per year.

How can you make your business more profitable?

In addition to having a streaming presence, it is important to create a following by posting videos on a YouTube channel. There are two video gamers in the top ten YouTube channels and they earn millions of dollars per year. Here are the latest figures reported by Forbes of the top ten highest paid YouTubers that are also gamers (at least part-time):

Mark Fischbach who goes by the name Markiplier on YouTube brought home a cool US$5.5 million during 2016 for his video commentaries on video games, along with his other eclectic content.

The Swedish PewDiePie who shows video snippets of himself playing video games and his comedic sketches was the top earner on YouTube during 2016 with an astounding US$15 million in revenues. He had over 13 billion views on YouTube during 2016 and lots of profits from his best-selling book, entitled “ This Book Loves You .” He also promotes mobile games. His latest game is “ Tuber Simulator .” It is the number one mobile game app in the Apple app store. It was so popular it crashed the servers due to the excessive demand.

Streamers who also become YouTube celebrities can make a lot of money from advertisements, sponsorship, endorsements, public appearances, and winnings in professional gaming tournaments.

Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC's free Small Business Startup Guide - a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

One crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked when starting your live streaming business is the importance of establishing a solid business foundation. While sole proprietorships and partnerships are the most common entity types for small businesses, they're a far less stable and advantageous option than LLCs.

This is because unincorporated business structures (i.e., sole proprietorships and partnerships) expose you as an owner to personal liability for your business's debts and legal actions, while LLCs protect you by keeping your personal assets separate from your business's liabilities.

In practice, this means that if your live streaming business were to face a lawsuit or incur any debts, your savings, home, and other personal assets could not be used to cover these costs. On top of this, forming your business as an LLC also helps it to appear more legitimate and trustworthy.

More than 84% of our readers opt to collaborate with a professional LLC formation service to kickstart their venture. We've negotiated a tailored discount for our readers, bringing the total down to just $29.

Form Your LLC Now

Note: If you're interested in more information before getting started, we recommend having a look at our state-specific How to Start an LLC guide (DIY) or our in-depth Best LLC Services review (for those opting for a professional service).

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website . If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil .

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

• Separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
• Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

• Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
• Build your company's credit history , which can be useful to raise money later on.

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a Live Streaming business

• Check with your town, city or county clerk’s office
• Review Federal and State licenses and permits on the U.S. Small Business Administrative website.

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses .

Intellectual Property Agreement

This live streaming company will operate through a partnership with a larger streaming platform which initially requires a prerequisite membership account to be able to post live streams.

• By agreeing to the Terms and conditions of the Streaming Site (I.E Twitch ), you are agreeing to allowing users to view your intellectual property (Live Stream) even after the time that you post it.
• Once the Partnership is established, this agreement holds a higher priority due to money being exchanged for a advertising space on the page where the video meets a minimum average number of viewers.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance . This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance . If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

FInd out what types of insurance your Live Streaming Business needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Live Streaming Business.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you aren't feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners , we'll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.

Recommended : Get a logo using Truic's free logo Generator no email or sign up required, or use a Premium Logo Maker .

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator . Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market a live streaming business

Social media is an effective way to promote your gaming skills. Joining Internet associations of video gamers and participating in game forums are great ways to establish a network of friends that like the same games. Another good strategy is to play games online with as many people as possible, in order to to get good at them and build up a following of those who respect your gameplay.

How to keep customers coming back

Making success as a streamer is about being popular on the Internet. Be respectful of your audience and play the games when you announce in advance that you will on the times that you say you will.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business .

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

• All legitimate businesses have websites - full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
• Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
• Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Recommended : Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders .

Other popular website builders are: WordPress , WIX , Weebly , Squarespace , and Shopify .

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2023 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it's fair pricing.

Is this Business Right For You?

One prerequisite for a successful live streaming business is to have top-level gaming skills in order to gain a following of viewers who will take time out of their day to watch and learn gaming styles from the streamer.

Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?

Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!

Entrepreneurship Quiz

What happens during a typical day at a live streaming business?

Each day a professional streamer needs to answer the comments and emails from fans and make updates on Twitter. Then, the streamer needs to update news and perhaps make a posting of previous game play on social media. After this, the streamer plays video games live for the audience to watch according to a preannounced schedule. The streamer may play continuously for many hours (up to 18 hours in a row).

The average gaming session is at least four hours long. It is best to play continuously to keep viewers interested and take as little time out for intermissions as possible. The most popular streamers usually eat and go to the bathroom without stopping the gameplay. The typical times of day for gameplay start in the afternoon and continue until late at night or even until the next morning.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful live streaming business?

The ability to play the video games extremely well is critical, along with the ability to make interesting comments that keep viewers intrigued. Moreover, having excellent skills at becoming an influencer on social media will help bring more viewers to your streaming channel. It helps to be very friendly with popular streamers. Some of the nicer ones will help smaller streamers gain an audience by making recommendations to their subscribers to check out the newbies’ streams.

What is the growth potential for a live streaming business?

Using Twitch.TV as our example, there are about 14,000 professional streamers on the system. Each month, Twitch.TV has about 100 million unique visitors. Dividing those visitors by the number of streamers, shows there are about 7,000 visitors per streamer. This number continues to grow each year.

Not sure if a live streaming business is right for you? Try our free Business Idea Generator and find your perfect idea.

TRUiC's YouTube Channel

For fun informative videos about starting a business visit the TRUiC YouTube Channel or subscribe to view later.

Take the Next Step

Find a business mentor.

One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.

Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.

Learn from other business owners

Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from founders themselves.

Resources to Help Women in Business

There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:

If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a live streaming business?

Successful live streamers are highly strategic and effective gamers. This allows them to excel above the competition. Others may be less adept gamers but capitalize instead on their unique personality traits, including a humorous voice, or offering clever commentary on their games.

How and when to build a team

The time to add an assistant is when the maintenance of the fan communication is interfering with the time needed to play the games online. Most streamers get one of their friends to help them as they become more popular.

If a streamer becomes a top earner there is plenty of money to share with an assistant. Working as a professional streamer, playing your favorite videos games with your best friend helping you is a dream job for many people. You have to be very good and stay motivated to be your best because the competition from other excellent game players is severe.

Useful Links

Industry opportunities.

• Application for Twitch Partnership/ requirements to become a twitch partner (qualify for subscription/advertising payments)
• Learn about more Online Business Ideas

Real World Examples

• How Individual, large scale streamers help small-scale streamers grow in popularity.
• Profile of a Successful Denver Streamer

Further Reading

• How to set up a profitable live stream

Have a Question? Leave a Comment!

Step-by-step guide to launching your own streaming service

Launching a streaming service is a big step for any business or organization, but with the right tools and strategies, it can be a highly effective way to reach and engage with your audience. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to enhance an existing service, this comprehensive guide will help you get started on the right foot.

Step 1: Make a Strategy

The first step in starting a streaming service is to develop a detailed business plan. This should include information about the types of content you will offer, your target audience, your pricing and monetisation strategy, and your marketing and promotion plan.  In addition, you should conduct market research to understand the competition and identify opportunities for differentiation. This initial process should also include how you will need to acquire the content that your service will offer. This can be done through licensing agreements with content creators or partnerships with other companies. It's important to have a diverse and high-quality selection of content in order to attract and retain users. Moreover, you should have a plan for organising and promoting your content, so that users can easily find what they are looking for. 

Step 2: Make Technology Decisions ‍

Once you have a solid business plan in place, the next step is choosing the right software. There are a variety of options available, ranging from open-source solutions to commercial offerings, so it's important to do your research and choose a platform that meets your specific needs and budget. Some factors to consider include the features offered, the level of support provided, and the ease of use. Moreover, it is imperative to launch your service on a platform that boasts flexibility, scalability, and ease of use. This way, you can effortlessly adjust to evolving user requirements and business objectives. If you require assistance in determining the technology that best suits your needs, we recommend exploring our Solution Builder.

Step 3: Set Up the Infrastructure

Once you've chosen your software, it's time to set up the infrastructure for your streaming service. This includes setting up a server or cloud-based solution, configuring your network, and establishing a solid internet connection. It's also important to consider the storage and bandwidth requirements of your service, as this will impact the quality and reliability of your streams. ‍

Step 4: Create Quality Content

The content you provide is the foundation of your streaming service, so it's important to create high-quality, engaging content that your audience will love. This can include live streams, pre-recorded videos, and even podcasts. You may also want to consider partnering with content creators and influencers to reach a wider audience. ‍

Step 5: Promote Your Service

Promoting your streaming service is essential to its success. You can start by using your existing marketing channels, such as your website, social media, and email marketing, to reach your target audience. You can also consider partnering with other businesses and organizations to reach new audiences and expand your reach. ‍

Step 6: Monitor and Analyze Your Results

Finally, it's important to monitor and analyze your results to see what's working and what's not. You can use tools like Google Analytics, 3rd party analytic software and social media analytics to track your traffic and engagement, and make changes as needed to improve your results. ‍

The Components You Need to Launch and Run a Streaming Service

There are a few key components that are needed for a streaming service to work. Let's dive into it! ‍

• Video hosting - a server that hosts the video content. The streaming service will store the video files on one or more servers, and users can access these files over the internet. Among the most well-known video hosting services is Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service), which is a cloud storage service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It allows users to store and retrieve any amount of data, including video files, from anywhere on the internet. Amazon S3 is a popular choice for hosting video content due to its scalability, reliability, and security. It can handle large amounts of traffic and data transfer without any downtime. Additionally, it offers features such as encryption, data backup, and disaster recovery to protect the video content. ‍
• A content delivery network (CDN) to distribute the video to users. A CDN is a network of servers that are located around the world, and they are used to deliver the video content to users as quickly and efficiently as possible. An example of a CDN provider is Akamai. It uses a global network of servers to deliver video content to users quickly and reliably. ‍
• Encoding and transcoding technology to convert the video into a format that can be streamed over the internet. The video files will need to be encoded into a format that can be streamed, and the streaming service will use transcoding technology to convert the video into different formats depending on the user's device and connection speed. ‍
• Security measures to protect the video content and prevent unauthorised access. Streaming services must implement a variety of security measures to protect their content and prevent unauthorised access, such as encryption, authentication, and digital rights management (DRM). ‍
• Analytics and reporting tools to track user behaviour and performance. Streaming services need to track a variety of metrics, such as how many users are watching a video, how long they are watching it for, and where they are watching it from. This data is used to improve the service and make it more user-friendly. ‍
• A user interface (UI) that allows users to browse and search for content. The streaming service will need to provide a user-friendly interface that allows users to browse and search for content, as well as manage their accounts and settings. This also includes a player that can play the video on the user's device. This player will handle tasks like buffering, seeking, and adapting the video quality to the user's connection speed. ‍
• Recommendation algorithms to suggest content to users based on their interests and viewing history. Streaming services often use recommendation algorithms to suggest content to users based on their interests and viewing history. This can help users discover new content that they might like. ‍
• Integrations with other platforms and services, such as social media, payment systems and other 3rd parties.  ‍
• Monetisation - Monetization is an important aspect of running a successful streaming service. It refers to the various ways that a service can generate revenue from its content and user base. Different ways to monetise your video content includes: 
• ‍ Subscription fees: Many streaming services charge users a monthly or annual fee in order to access their content. This is the most common monetization model, and it allows users to access all of the service's content for a flat rate.  ‍
• ‍ Advertising: Some streaming services, particularly those that offer free content, make money by showing ads to users. This can be done through pre-roll ads (ads that play before the video), mid-roll ads (ads that play during the video), or post-roll ads (ads that play after the video).  ‍
• In-app purchases: Some streaming services offer additional content or features that can be purchased within the app or website. This can include things like extra episodes of a TV show, exclusive content, or premium features.  ‍
• Licensing and partnerships: Streaming services can also make money by licensing their content to other companies or by partnering with other companies to offer their content on their platforms. The specific monetisation strategy will depend on your service's business model and the type of content you will offer.

These are just some of the many technical details involved in building and running a streaming service. As you can see, there is a lot of technology and expertise required to make these services work effectively. ‍

Video Content Management For Streaming Services

Having a good video content management system (CMS) is another important part of a streaming service. The video CMS is the core of your streaming service ecosystem, and it acts as the central hub for all of your content, allowing you to efficiently organise and manage it. You can use a Video CMS to categorise your videos by topic, date, or any other criteria, and you can also use it to add metadata such as titles, descriptions, and tags to your videos. This can help your viewers search for and discover your content.

A good CMS can also help you track and analyse important metrics such as how many people are watching your videos and how long they are watching for, which can help you understand your audience and improve your content. Additionally, a good video CMS can help you manage the technical aspects of streaming. Streaming video requires a lot of bandwidth and can be affected by factors such as network congestion and device capabilities. A good CMS can help you optimise your videos for different devices and network conditions, ensuring that your videos are delivered to your viewers in the best possible quality. This can help you provide a high-quality viewing experience for your audience, which can help you retain and attract more viewers. ‍

Content Curation For Streaming Services

As part of a Video CMS you want the ability to organise and categorise your videos so that users can easily browse and search for what they are looking for. In addition, content curation abilities within a video CMS can help you promote the content. Such as highlighting the best and most popular content on the service, so that users are aware of it and can easily access it. This can improve the user experience for your viewers and ultimately help your streaming business succeed.  ‍

So, when looking for streaming technology, consider investing in a good CMS to help you manage and grow your business.

Why You Should Buy Not Build Your Own Streaming Service

If you're at the point of considering launching your own streaming service, you may be wondering whether to go at it alone or enlist some help. Starting a streaming service can be a complex and challenging endeavor, and having support along the way can make all the difference. In the list below, we have outlined some of the key considerations to keep in mind.  ‍

• Cost savings: Building technology from scratch can be a costly and time-consuming process. By buying existing technology, you can save money and avoid the costs of developing and testing the technology yourself. ‍
• Access to expertise: If you choose to buy technology, you are also buying the expertise and experience of the technology's creators. This can be valuable, especially since the technology is complex or requires specialised knowledge. ‍
• Faster time to market: Building technology from scratch can take a long time, which can delay the launch of your streaming service. By buying/licensing existing technology, a company can get your service up and running more quickly. ‍
• Scalability: If your company needs for technology change or grow over time, buying existing technology can be more flexible and scalable than building it from scratch.

How to Pick The Right Partners and Functionality for Your Streaming Service

If you have decided to enlist some help in creating your streaming service, there are several factors to consider when choosing the right partners and technologies.  ‍

• Expertise and experience: Look for a technology partner that has experience in building and deploying the type of technology that you need for your streaming service. This can help ensure that the technology is well-designed and reliable. ‍
• Flexibility and scalability: Your technology needs may change over time, so it's important to choose a partner that can adapt to your changing needs. Look for a partner that offers scalable solutions that can grow with your business. ‍
• Integration capabilities: If you are using other technology or platforms in your streaming service, look for a partner that can easily integrate with them. This can help ensure a seamless user experience and avoid compatibility issues. ‍
• Support and maintenance: Choose a partner that offers ongoing support and maintenance for their technology. This can be valuable if you encounter any issues or need help with updates or upgrades. ‍
• Cost: Of course, cost is also an important factor to consider. Look for a partner that offers competitive pricing and flexible pricing options.

By considering these factors, you can choose the right technology partner for your streaming service. It's also a good idea to do some research and read reviews from other customers before making a decision.

How Vimond Media Solutions Can Help You Start a Successful Streaming Service

In Vimond we provide a range of services and technology solutions for the online video industry. We offer a comprehensive platform for starting and running a streaming service, including tools for video processing, content management, monetisation and delivery. Our technology has been carefully developed and refined over the past 10 years to help streaming services attract and retain users. 

To learn more about how Vimond can provide you value, you can check out some of our customer stories , or maybe you want to dive into the technical aspect? Simply just sign up for our docs! Either way, we are here to help, so don't be shy! Slide us a message! Or tell us your favorite movie, we are always on the lookout for movies and TV-series tips 📺🤓

Take Vimond for a spin!

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Business Plan Template for Netflix

• Great for beginners
• Ready-to-use, fully customizable Subcategory
• Get started in seconds

Ready to make your mark in the entertainment industry? Look no further than ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Netflix! Whether you're an entrepreneur with a groundbreaking idea or an existing business ready to take your streaming platform to the next level, this template has got you covered.

With ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Netflix, you can:

• Outline a winning strategy that sets you apart from the competition
• Identify your target markets and understand their needs and preferences
• Analyze the competitive landscape to stay one step ahead
• Define revenue streams and monetization strategies that maximize profitability
• Create a comprehensive roadmap that guides you towards success

Don't just dream of becoming the next big thing in streaming—turn your vision into reality with ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Netflix. Start planning your path to success today!

Business Plan Template for Netflix Benefits

When utilizing the Business Plan Template for Netflix, you can expect the following benefits:

• Streamline your business strategy by outlining clear goals and objectives
• Identify target markets and understand their needs and preferences
• Analyze the competitive landscape and devise strategies to stand out in the market
• Define revenue streams and forecast financial projections for sustainable growth
• Create a roadmap for success, outlining key milestones and actionable steps to achieve them
• Present a comprehensive and professional plan to potential investors or stakeholders

Main Elements of Netflix Business Plan Template

ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Netflix is the perfect tool to help entrepreneurs and businesses in the entertainment industry launch or expand their streaming platform. Here are the main elements of this template:

• Custom Statuses: Keep track of the progress of each section of your business plan with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do.
• Custom Fields: Use custom fields like Reference, Approved, and Section to add important details to your business plan, such as references, approval status, and section categorization.
• Custom Views: Access different views to organize and visualize your business plan. Use the Topics view to focus on specific areas, the Status view to track progress, the Timeline view to create a roadmap, the Business Plan view to see the plan as a whole, and the Getting Started Guide view to get familiar with the template.

With ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Netflix, you can streamline your planning process and set your streaming platform up for success.

How To Use Business Plan Template for Netflix

If you're looking to create a comprehensive business plan for a streaming service like Netflix, follow these steps using the Business Plan Template in ClickUp:

1. Define your mission and vision

Start by clearly defining your mission statement and vision for your streaming service. What is the purpose of your platform and what do you hope to achieve? This will help set the tone for your business plan and guide your decision-making process.

Use a Doc in ClickUp to outline your mission statement and vision for Netflix.

2. Identify your target audience

To build a successful streaming service, you need to know who your target audience is. Research and identify the demographics, interests, and viewing habits of your potential customers. This will help you tailor your content and marketing strategies to appeal to your target audience.

Create custom fields in ClickUp to document your target audience's preferences and characteristics.

3. Analyze the competition

Conduct a thorough analysis of your competitors in the streaming industry. Identify their strengths and weaknesses, and determine what sets your service apart. This analysis will help you identify opportunities and challenges in the market and position your service for success.

Use the Table view in ClickUp to create a comparison chart of your competitors and their key features.

4. Develop a content strategy

Your content is the heart of your streaming service. Define the types of content you will offer, such as movies, TV shows, documentaries, or original productions. Determine how you will acquire or produce content, and outline your content release schedule.

Create tasks in ClickUp to outline your content strategy and assign responsibilities to team members.

5. Plan your marketing and distribution

Effective marketing and distribution are crucial for the success of your streaming service. Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes online and offline channels, social media campaigns, influencer partnerships, and targeted advertising. Determine how you will distribute your content, whether through a website, mobile app, or partnerships with other platforms.

Use the Calendar view in ClickUp to schedule and track your marketing campaigns and distribution plans.

6. Financial projections and funding

Determine your financial projections for your streaming service. Estimate your revenue streams, including subscriptions, advertising, and partnerships. Calculate your expenses, including content acquisition, production costs, marketing, and operational expenses. Identify potential sources of funding, such as investors or loans, and create a detailed financial plan.

Use Dashboards in ClickUp to track your financial projections and monitor your revenue and expenses.

By following these steps and using the Business Plan Template in ClickUp, you can create a comprehensive plan for your streaming service like Netflix. Remember to regularly review and update your business plan as your service evolves and the market changes.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Netflix

Entrepreneurs or existing businesses in the entertainment industry looking to launch a new streaming platform or expand their existing services can use the ClickUp Business Plan Template for Netflix to outline their strategy, identify target markets, analyze the competitive landscape, define revenue streams, and create a roadmap for success.

Here's how to make the most of this template:

Hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a comprehensive business plan:

• Use the Topics View to organize your plan into different sections, such as Executive Summary, Market Analysis, Marketing Strategy, Financial Projections, etc.
• The Status View will help you track the progress of each section, whether it's complete, in progress, needs revision, or to do.
• Utilize the Timeline View to set deadlines and visualize the overall timeline of your business plan.
• The Business Plan View provides a holistic overview of your plan, allowing you to see all the sections at once.
• Use the Getting Started Guide View to provide step-by-step instructions for team members to follow.
• Customize your plan by adding custom fields:
• Use the Reference field to link supporting documents or resources.
• The Approved field can be used to indicate whether a section has been reviewed and approved.
• The Section field allows you to categorize each section based on its importance or priority.

By following these steps and utilizing the various views and custom fields in the ClickUp Business Plan Template for Netflix, you can create a comprehensive and strategic business plan for your streaming platform.

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• OTT Service Business Plan Sample
• OTT Business Plan

This sample business plan for a streaming TV service company outlines strategies and objectives for launching and operating a successful platform in the digital entertainment industry. It provides key example business objectives, such as becoming a leading provider of on-demand streaming content, offering a diverse range of programming to cater to various audience demographics. The sample service descriptions identify types of content offered such as movies, TV shows, documentaries, and original productions, designed to appeal to target audiences such as millennials, families, and niche interest groups. The sample plan also defines typical facilities requirements, highlighting the need for advanced streaming servers, content delivery networks, and secure payment systems to support seamless operations. It provides an outline of systems and operations procedures for content acquisition, licensing, and distribution, along with media production strategies involving collaborations with filmmakers and content creators. A sample budget allocation and resource management is included to manage finances for content acquisition, marketing campaigns, and technological infrastructure to achieve the company’s objectives and drive growth in the competitive streaming TV market.

OTT Service Business Plan

Executive summary.

Brief introduction to the business, including its mission, vision, and core values.

Business Objectives

Outline short-term and long-term goals.

Key Highlights: Summarize key points from each section of the plan.

Company Description

Business Model: Explain the type of OTT service (e.g., SVOD, AVOD, TVOD).

Company History: Provide background information about the company.

Unique Value Proposition: Highlight what differentiates your service from competitors.

Market Analysis

Industry Overview: Describe the OTT and streaming TV industry, including trends and growth projections.

Target Market: Identify and describe your target audience.

Competitive Analysis: Analyze competitors, including their strengths and weaknesses.

Market Needs: Detail the needs and preferences of your target market.

Services and Content

Content Strategy: Outline the type of content you will offer (e.g., original productions, licensed content).

Content Acquisition: Explain how you will acquire content.

User Experience: Describe the user interface and experience, including features like recommendations, search functionality, and user profiles.

Marketing and Sales Strategy

Marketing Plan: Detail marketing strategies and channels (e.g., social media, influencer partnerships, advertising).

Customer Acquisition: Outline strategies for attracting new users.

Sales Strategy: Explain your pricing model and any subscription plans or ad revenue strategies.

Branding: Describe your brand identity and positioning in the market.

Operations Plan

Technology Infrastructure: Detail the technology stack and platforms used (e.g., content delivery network, video player, DRM).

Content Delivery: Explain how content will be delivered to users (e.g., streaming quality, device compatibility).

Customer Support: Describe customer support services and how you will handle user inquiries and issues.

Management Team

Key Personnel: Introduce the management team and their qualifications.

Organizational Structure: Provide an organizational chart and describe roles and responsibilities.

Advisors and Partners: Mention any key advisors or strategic partners.

Financial Plan

Revenue Model: Explain how the business will generate revenue.

Funding Requirements: Detail any funding needed and how it will be used.

Financial Projections: Provide financial forecasts, including income statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets.

Break-even Analysis: Determine when the business will become profitable.

Risk Analysis

Market Risks: Identify potential risks in the market and industry.

Operational Risks: Outline risks related to operations and technology.

Financial Risks: Discuss potential financial risks and mitigation strategies.

Compliance and Legal Risks: Address any regulatory or legal issues relevant to the OTT industry.

Supporting Documents: Include any additional documents that support your business plan (e.g., resumes of the management team, detailed market research data, technical specifications).

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How to Create a Production Company Business Plan [FREE Template]

H ighly successful video companies start with a strong production company business plan. Whether your company has been around for a while, or you’re a freelancer ready to take your services to the next level, this post will provide you with actionable strategies for success to compete more effectively right now.

It all beings with formulating the business plan that will get you where you want to go. If you don’t have a business plan, don’t worry. We provide a  free business plan template below and will walk you through it. 

Step by step.

• Production Company Business Plan
• The Executive Summary
• Perform a Video Company Self Assessment
• How to Get Started
• Financing a Video Production Company
• Marketing Plan
• Day to Day Operations

Freebie: Business Plan Template for Video Production

Download your FREE printable business plan template for your video production. Just enter your email address and we'll instantly send it to you!

business plan template

1. what is a production company business plan.

Essentially it's a tool for raising funds, creating a roadmap, or altering course and plotting out the next steps.

One purpose of any business plan to so convey to investors, or a bank, why they should put money into this business.

Think of creating a business plan you could bring to them

What does that mean?

It means you need this business plan for a production company to prove that you will make money. To prove it to you, but also to any investors.

After all, nobody invests to lose money. Or break even. So with that in mind, let's forge ahead into the actual writing of the business plan.

how to make a business plan

2. what is an executive summary.

Every business plan starts from the top down, with an executive summary.

What is that, exactly?

An executive summary is a short part of a larger proposal or report that summarizes the main points so the reader can become quickly educated on the whole document without having to read it all.

So it’s a detailed overview.

Of course, "executive summary" has a nice ring to it...

Your job here is to lay out the big picture of your plan. Some questions to ask yourself: Why do you want this business in the first place?

Similarly, what inspired you to start it? What's going to make it work?

Next, start to answer the questions your investors might have. Try getting into their head-space.

"Why would YOU invest in this business?"

You might want to write about the competition. The targeted demographic. Be specific here.

What need does your business fill? Which kinds of customers and clients are you targeting?

Think about your target market

Furthermore, what else sets you and your business apart?

Especially relevant is using concrete examples and not only ideas. Can you cite previous work you've done?  

This brings us to...

Your production companies competition

What does the rest of the field looks like. Your investor will want to know if they don't already.

What sets this company and this production company business plan apart from others?

Knowing the entire field of competitors you have is a good idea, even if it's a very long list.

Your production company business plan must factor in what else is being offered. That way you can adjust, and target a more specific niche.

Or, you can figure out what you can do better.

For example: what can you identify in your competitor's list of services that you know you can nail?

This is what your video company plan needs to convey.

Finally, remember to think of it from the investor's standpoint. How is this an opportunity for them?

how to create a business plan

3. why a video company self-assessment.

This step is easy to do, but hard to do well.

Can you take a good long look at your video production studio? With the intent to circle problems? Areas that need improvement?

The second part of this step might be easier. Find the areas where your video production studio can really shine.

In contrast, you don't want to elaborate on weaknesses in your video production company business plan. Rather, you want to identify them so you can find ways to address them.

You need to have answers to the questions these flaws might bring to the mind of your investors.

  You are not required to sing “Man in the Mirror” 

Then go beyond looking in the mirror.

Look back at the field before you.

This is a business plan for a production company. What opportunities exist for that?

Most of all, try and tailor this production house business plan to specific needs.

Here are a few methods of company self-analysis:

This is a way to identify changes in your industry, to target potential growth opportunities. The acronym stands for:

P olitical Factors

E conomic Factors

S ocial Factors

T echnological Factors

 P roduction company business plan would include a PEST

We've mentioned elements of SWOT:

W eaknesses

O pportunities

The one to focus in on here is threats. Don't assume everything will work out for the plan just the why you'd like it to.

Because it won't. Investors will know that. You should not only know it, you should expect it.

Most important of all: prove that you're prepared for whatever may happen.

Here's a cool way to approach your SWOT analysis. Try applying your strengths to your opportunities and see what kind of leverage you can create.

Then theoretically expose your weaknesses to your threats. Are you in trouble? Do you need to address something to better protect your company?

Think of this as planning for a battle. Therefore, you don't want to ignore cracks in the wall if your enemy is bringing a battering ram.

Business plan can benefit from SWOT

Strategy, structure, systems, style, shared values, staff, and skills.  The 7S model  was developed by business consultants  Robert H. Waterman Jr. and Tom Peters . It's also known as the McKinsey 7S framework.

The idea here is that your business needs these elements to be aligned and "mutually reinforcing". Let's go over each "S".

Strategy: How does this business plan to gain an advantage.

Structure: How do you divide the various operations of the company.

Systems: Procedure for measurement, reward and resource allocation.

Skills: the companies core and distinctive capabilities.

Staff: Human resources.

Style: Behavior patterns of the key groups like managers.

Shared values are in the middle of them all on the diagram. It's somewhat self-explanatory.

In theory, using these methods of self-analysis will help you a great deal. Due to them you'll know, and decide, all sorts of things about your production company.

The 7 S model of analysis

Start putting these ideas onto paper now! If you haven’t already…

Gentlemen, start your engines

4. how to get started.

A business plan for a production company must lay out how you will get started. This is also referred to as a "roll out plan".

How you engineer your beginning is critical to your cash flow. What do you need to get started?

And can you start at a sustainable level?

Will you open a physical office space right off the bat?

Overhead is a major cost. If this is more of a production house business plan then you’ll want to factor that in.

Do you have existing clients?

Equipment or gear already in place?

A video production business plan suggests that your focus will be on video production. Things like equipment will be critical.

In addition to considering this an entertainment production company business plan you may also want to focus on creative development.

How you want to focus effects how you want to phrase things. And it matters almost immediately.

START FEES YOU CAN AVOID

It's a good idea to propose that you start small.

There are two reasons for this.

The first is that you will scare away investors if you ask for too much up front, almost without fail they can tell if you are asking for more than it seems like you need.

It also throws into question how serious you are about sustaining success.

Which leads to the second reason.

It'll be much harder for you to sustain success if you ask for big upfront funding that you aren't sure you can earn back plus profit.

Let's say because you know of a few jobs you'll have early on, that you ask for less up front.

You'll be able to get rolling right away, earning back the initial investments and then some.

Above all you want to start off with easy wins.

Or as close to easy wins as you can get when launching or re-launching a video production business plan.

Seems like it would somewhat obvious not to ask for more than you can earn back...

Rather, it's a mistake people make all the time.

Speaking of which...

do have the capital?

5. financing a company.

Any business needs capital. As a result, you need a section where you lay out the cash flow for the production house business plan.

What kind of money do you expect to have coming in, and how much do you expect to be spending?

Make the budget, while also estimating how you'll be earning.

If you can't demonstrate this, then you need to go back to the drawing board.

Just pose like this and you’ll reassure any investor

You will want to get involved with an accountant at some point soon.

But remember, this is a business plan for a production company. So you may have a lot of costs coming at you early just to get started.

What is a marketing plan?

Your video production business plan is almost complete. Another section worth including would be one on marketing.

Here is a good additional resource on small business accounting .

You want to prove that business will be coming in, and not assume it will on faith alone.

Building a strong portfolio is a must. Consider again what niche you may be able to serve best. Find a solid "bread and butter" to start with.

Remember, good businesses expand when they need to. They don't bite off more than they can chew right out of the gate.

INVEST IN A GOOD WEBSITE

Do some research on how you’ll be building the best website for your product.

Get your production company a few social media accounts, and start trying to create a presence there. You'll need to find many ways to attract clients, and show your work.

Do some additional research on how to market a production company.

All this needs to find its way into the marketing section of your production company business plan.

what's your daily workflow?

7. day to day operations.

The day to day operations are a critical part of the plan. Have you visualized what the daily workflow will be?

Now is the time to do that. Who is going to be on your team, and how will it grow and change over time?

Determine what tasks will take priority each day, and how to best utilize your resources and finances.

This will be a key step in determining if your production company business plan is sustainable.

Ask yourself a few of the following questions:

How much time per day will you spend building your client base? What elements of each job will you tackle in-house? Which tasks might you outsource?

What equipment and gear do you own?

When will it need to be replaced and/or upgraded?

Are you going to hire anyone to start? Will they be full-time employees?

Will you hire independent contractors per project? How many, roughly?

As mentioned in the finance section, you need to know how you'll plan your reporting for taxes and your bookkeeping process.

These questions will help you start to determine what each "day at the office" will look like.

The clearer a picture you can paint here, the better.

Write a Business Plan

Get as specific as possible in each section of your entertainment company business plan. The more you know... right?

Now, let's get a little more advanced. In our next post we'll dive into writing a 4 part business plan. 

Up Next: Write a 4-Part Business Plan →

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Free Stream Schedule Template Maker

Download a free streaming schedule template and utilize modern designs for easy online editing. advertise your events online with just a few clicks.

Promote your upcoming live appearance on Twitch or your channel . Inform your followers of the scheduled time to catch you live and easily create professional ads.

Download a custom Twitch Streaming Schedule Template

At Edit.org, we regularly update our extensive collection of templates with live stream schedules . These templates are specifically designed to assist content creators and streamers in announcing and planning their live streams . Utilize them on your preferred online streaming platforms, whether it's YouTube Gaming, Twitch , Zoom, or Facebook Gaming. Capture your audience's attention by showcasing your live stream schedule to the community that follows you.

Customizing these templates is as simple as typing a text message . You can download the digital image with an exclusive and personalized design featuring your chosen colors, fonts, photos, and drawings. Additionally, you have the flexibility to include important details such as:

• Days and times of the live streams . When do you plan to broadcast live and for how long?
• Stream title . The clickbait name or topic of the live stream.
• Content to be streamed . Inform your fans if you are scheduled to play specific games, create particular content or perform surprise activities during the broadcasts.
• Space for additional comments . In some templates we include an additional space for the streamer to add notes or a reminder that he/she considers important.

Creating schedules using these templates with designated cells will not only assist in attracting and retaining viewers but also enhance your organization, ensuring you dedicate ample time to nurture your community and work towards achieving your dreams .

How to edit a Twitch Stream Schedule template on Edit.org

• Click on an image in this article. Below, you'll discover a variety of live schedule layouts, including a prominent waterfall design.
• Customize the layout to suit your preferences. Modify colors, text, backgrounds, information, or logos.
• Automatically save your progress in the online cloud, allowing you to revisit your finished or partially completed design at any time.
• Download the design in JPG or PNG format for digital sharing, or in PDF for high-quality printing.

Customize a weekly Stream Schedule template

Twitch schedule templates allow streamers to plan when they will go online to offer live broadcasts. This is essential to maintain a consistent schedule and have a loyal audience. It's been studied that viewers return to Twitch, Instagram or YouTube channels that broadcast shows on a set schedule - it's very important to create habits in your audience !

Professionalize your presence in this sector, showcasing your commitment to delivering high-quality content consistently . Demonstrate your seriousness about providing a reliable experience to your extensive audience. When sharing these posts on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, you also gain the ability to analyze the most popular and effective moments in terms of audience engagement.

With no design knowledge, you can create professional and impactful covers to share the schedules on your social networks . The process is 100% online, fun and effective.

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Social Media Plan - 12 Templates and Examples for All Types of Businesses

With the fierce competition for people’s attention on social media, a lack of a solid plan spells disaster. You can’t just post content and hope your audience will love it. 

What you need is a detailed strategic playbook—a social media plan that covers every aspect, including target audience, content strategy, workflows, data analysis, and more.

If you’re unsure how to create a social media plan, we’ve got you covered. We’ve prepared templates and examples you can use to get your plan ready in no time.

What is a Social Media Plan?

A social media plan lays out all the essential information needed to successfully build and market your brand on social networks.

It’s your playbook or blueprint that specifies the strategies, processes, and steps to achieve your social media goals. It also sets the guidelines or metrics to measure and assess the success of your social media strategies.

A social media plan typically covers the following information:

• Social media channels to be used (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram)
• Goals and motivations (e.g., gain new followers, improve community engagement, increase website traffic)
• Social media marketing tactics
• Target audience profile
• Content strategy and calendar
• Delegation of duties and responsibilities
• Social media policies and guidelines
• Key performance indicators
• Social performance audit

To prepare your plan, you might need multiple documents in which you write the information specified above. The documents don’t need to be fancy—what matters is that the information is detailed and well thought out.

12 Social Media Plan Templates for All Businesses

There’s no strict guideline on how a social media plan should be made. You decide what information to include and how to present it.

However, the plan must be well-structured to reflect your ideas and visions properly. If you want to share it with your teammates, they should easily understand your plan.

To give you an idea of what a strong social media plan looks like, refer to our social media plan templates below, which are perfect for any brand.

1. Business Visions and Tactics Social Media Plan Template

This plan bridges your business objectives to your social media goals. It includes your business visions for a particular period and then outlines how they translate into social media goals. Moreover, the plan details how to achieve and measure the success of these goals.

In this example, the business aspires to grow. This can be achieved by enhancing the brand’s social presence (i.e., people’s awareness of the brand’s social media persona). Metrics such as followers’ count and post likes can be used to measure the brand's social presence. To achieve this goal, tactics include consistent content posting and influencer marketing.

2. Comprehensive Social Media Campaign Plan Template

This plan details a specific social media campaign, including significant dates, links to essential resources, and the brand’s call to action.

3. Social Media Customer Persona Plan Template

This plan requires in-depth research of your potential customers. Your goal here is to define your “ideal customers” on social media according to several attributes.

Here’s a sample customer persona profile for a handmade jewelry brand:

Your next marketing move must be tailored to your defined customer persona.

4. Social Media Content Plan Template

This is a comprehensive schedule of your future social media content posts. It’s usually a calendar that includes information about your upcoming content.

Think of it as a planner with a chronological timeline of your planned post. It contains all the pertinent information needed to successfully publish your content in the future.

Use HighPerformr’s social media calendar to stay on top of your posting schedule.

5. Product Launch Social Media Plan Template

Get your audience hyped for your next product launch. This plan provides a comprehensive guide to introducing your latest product to your target audience with a detailed timeline and analysis approach.

6. Social Media Budget Plan Template

It’s crucial to check your budget to ensure the smooth execution of your social media plan. This plan lets you estimate the overall budget necessary for your social media marketing.

7. Social Media Performance Audit Template

This one requires some self-awareness. Evaluate your current performance (based on several metrics) and consider how you can improve your current strategies. Review each social network you use and assess whether they perform well in terms of your objectives.

8. Social Media Multiple Channel Management Template

Managing multiple social networks is no easy task. To keep everything under control, you can use this centralized plan to track content schedules and task delegation across platforms.

Use HighPerformr’s multiple automation features to seamlessly post across multiple networks.

9. Social Media Content Planner and Tracker Template

This plan gives you a bird’s-eye view of the progress of your planned content. It lets you track the status of your content from conceptualization to live publication.

10. Social Media Strategy Plan Template

This template breaks down every step of your overall strategy and outlines the expected time frame. This plan keeps you on track to achieve crucial milestones in social media marketing.

11. Comprehensive Social Media Approach Plan Template

This template consolidates all important aspects of a social media strategy—audience, content, metrics, goals, etc. It is an amalgamation of the previous templates.

12. 30-day Social Media Plan Template

Reaching social media success in a mere 30 days might seem impossible. However, you may witness significant growth in your online presence and marketing by accomplishing one goal per day.

Of course, your daily tasks must be attainable, realistic, and measurable to make this plan effective.

Get Your Social Media Plan Into Action With HighPerformr

Turn your actionable plan into reality with HighPerformr’s innovative features for an impactful social media presence:

• Social AI: Use AI to produce high-quality posts based on your ideas and keywords and let it track trends to understand your audience better.
• Post Templates: Post high-quality content consistently with our ready-made template for different purposes.
• Analytics: Measure success and social media ROI with our high-caliber analytics tools.

Achieve social media excellence. Try HighPerformr ’s free features today.

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Podcast Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Podcast Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their podcasts. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a podcast business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a Podcast Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your podcast as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for Your Podcast

If you’re looking to start a podcast, or grow your existing podcast, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your podcast in order to improve your chances of success. Your podcast business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Podcasts

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a podcast are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for podcasts.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a podcast.

If you want to start a successful podcast or expand your current one, you need a plan. Below we detail each section of a podcast business plan:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of podcast you are operating and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a podcast that you would like to grow, or are you operating podcasts in multiple markets?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the podcast industry. Discuss the type of podcast you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target audience. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will provide a podcast overview.

For example, you might operate one of the following types of podcasts:

• Interview podcast : this type of podcast involves one or two hosts who speak with one or more guests each episode.
• Conversational podcast: this type of podcast involves two podcast hosts that have entertaining conversations about specific themes and topics, similar to a radio show.
• Storytelling/Investigative podcast: this type of podcast has one or more hosts that use each episode to tell a story or delve into a news/current events topic.

In addition to the podcast overview you will operate, the Company Analysis section needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of listeners and/or subscribers, number of positive reviews, reaching X amount of subscribers, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the podcast industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the podcast industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section:

• How big is the podcast industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your podcast? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your podcast business plan must detail the audience you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals of a certain niche, households, students, etc.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of podcast you operate. Clearly, university students would respond to different marketing promotions than individuals of a niche targeting cooking segments, for example.

Try to break out your target audience in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the audience you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target audience. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your audience.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other podcasts.

Indirect competitors are other options that audiences have to subscribe from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes radio shows, news networks, TV, online streaming, etc.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other podcasts with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be podcasts located very close to your niche.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of podcast shows do they operate and what is their content?
• What types of audience do they serve?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the audience’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ audience what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide podcast content that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you provide better and more relevant topics?
• Will you provide better audience engagement?
• Will you offer better streaming platforms?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a podcast business plan, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of podcast that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific services you will be offering. For example, in addition to a podcast, will you provide online and media engagement, blogs, and any other products?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location (reach) of your podcast. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your podcast streamed locally or will it have a nationwide audience?

Promotions : The final part of your podcast marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive listeners/subscribers to your podcast. The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Music streaming apps
• Social media marketing
• SEO marketing

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your podcast, including developing new and relevant content for each show, engaging with audience members and/or listeners, marketing the podcast, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to obtain your XXth listener/subscriber, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your podcast to a new streaming platform.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your podcast’ ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing podcasts. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a podcast or have a successful career in media production.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you start streaming your podcast locally or will you stream nationwide to gain a larger network of listeners/subscribers? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your podcast, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a podcast:

• Cost of podcast supplies and equipment
• Cost of marketing the podcast
• Payroll or salaries paid to production staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your list of topics your podcast will offer, types of audience you will be targeting, and the streaming platforms your podcast will be featured on.  

Putting together a business plan for your podcast is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the podcast industry, your competition, and your audience. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful podcast.  

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Template Highlights

• Eight (short) sections: Business Opportunity, Industry Analysis, Target Market, Company Description, Timeline, Marketing Plan, Financial Plan, and Funding Requirements.
• Easy instructions for each part.
• Zhuzh it up a bit with your company logo and branding.
• Download it as a PDF or Word file.
• Print it, email it, send it via Morse code.

Why all businesses should create a business plan

For startups and enterprises alike, there are many reasons to create a one-page business plan. For example, it can help you:

• Show your progress and how you intend to grow : Your business plan lists vital information on your company, such as your goals, market research results, and success milestones.
• Determine a realistic budget to ensure success : If you don’t create a proper plan, you might underestimate fixed and variable costs and, therefore, lack the financial capacity to succeed.
• Provide concrete information to potential investors : By having a detailed business plan in place, you’ll be able to effectively convey your business goals to internal stakeholders, and you’ll stand a better chance of winning over investors.
• Fulfill the requirements for securing a business loan : Many financial institutions won’t even consider giving you a loan without seeing your plan.

Should you create a business plan from scratch?

You can do this, but it’s often more hassle than it’s worth. If you’ve never made a business plan before, you’ll need to do a lot of research on what to include and ensure you create a professional and eye-catching document.  If you download our free one-page business plan template, you’ll save time and ensure you cover every relevant detail.

How to use the one-page business plan template

Here are the steps for filling out our template:

• Enter your contact details to download the template in Microsoft Word or as a PDF.
• Gather your relevant business documents, such as market research results and financial statements, in case you need to include details from them.  
• Add information to all the fields, including Company Description, Target Market, Industry Analysis, Implementation Timeline, Funding Required, and Financial Summary.
• Get feedback from business partners, employees, or other parties to ensure that all information is correct and up to date.
• Proofread to ensure there are no errors. These look unprofessional, leaving a bad impression of your business.  
• Save your business plan in various locations and formats. This helps you share your plan with stakeholders via email or present it at company meetings.

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One page business plan.

One-Page Business Plan Template

This brief business plan template encourages you to stick to your core message and provide investors with just the information they need to know about your new venture.

The Business Opportunity

What is the problem your business will solve? Focus on the customer’s needs.

Give your elevator pitch. Be succinct, clear, and persuasive.

Be sure to include your value proposition -- What do you offer that no one else does?

Industry Analysis

List key factors for success in your industry.

Who is your main competition?

Company Description

Identify important facts about your business:

• Founding date

• Mission statement

• Type of organization

• Core strengths

• Main leadership

Target Market

Describe your customer segments.

Will you serve a particular geographical area?

Implementation Timeline

Provide a brief summary of how you will roll out the business. Consider depicting the different phases in a diagram. You can use the timeline below as a template.

Marketing Plan

Describe what methods you will use to acquire new customers.

Why would your target market prefer your product or service to another option?

Financial Summary

Cost Structure: What are your fixed and variable costs?

Revenue Streams: How will your business make money?

Funding Required

Present the amount of funding that you are seeking from investors and how it will be used.

HubSpot Tip: Be sure to edit and review your plan for typos before distributing it. Errors in a short document can be distracting to the reader and make you look unprofessional.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should i create a business plan, what types of companies need a business plan, how do i write a one page business plan, what should my business plan focus on, is this template free, can i edit this template, related tags:.

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Simple Business Plan Template (2024)

Updated: May 4, 2024, 4:37pm

Table of Contents

Why business plans are vital, get your free simple business plan template, how to write an effective business plan in 6 steps, frequently asked questions.

While taking many forms and serving many purposes, they all have one thing in common: business plans help you establish your goals and define the means for achieving them. Our simple business plan template covers everything you need to consider when launching a side gig, solo operation or small business. By following this step-by-step process, you might even uncover a few alternate routes to success.

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Whether you’re a first-time solopreneur or a seasoned business owner, the planning process challenges you to examine the costs and tasks involved in bringing a product or service to market. The process can also help you spot new income opportunities and hone in on the most profitable business models.

Though vital, business planning doesn’t have to be a chore. Business plans for lean startups and solopreneurs can simply outline the business concept, sales proposition, target customers and sketch out a plan of action to bring the product or service to market. However, if you’re seeking startup funding or partnership opportunities, you’ll need a write a business plan that details market research, operating costs and revenue forecasting. Whichever startup category you fall into, if you’re at square one, our simple business plan template will point you down the right path.

Copy our free simple business plan template so you can fill in the blanks as we explore each element of your business plan. Need help getting your ideas flowing? You’ll also find several startup scenario examples below.

Download free template as .docx

Whether you need a quick-launch overview or an in-depth plan for investors, any business plan should cover the six key elements outlined in our free template and explained below. The main difference in starting a small business versus an investor-funded business is the market research and operational and financial details needed to support the concept.

1. Your Mission or Vision

Start by declaring a “dream statement” for your business. You can call this your executive summary, vision statement or mission. Whatever the name, the first part of your business plan summarizes your idea by answering five questions. Keep it brief, such as an elevator pitch. You’ll expand these answers in the following sections of the simple business plan template.

• What does your business do? Are you selling products, services, information or a combination?
• Where does this happen? Will you conduct business online, in-store, via mobile means or in a specific location or environment?
• Who does your business benefit? Who is your target market and ideal customer for your concept?
• Why would potential customers care? What would make your ideal customers take notice of your business?
• How do your products and/or services outshine the competition? What would make your ideal customers choose you over a competitor?

These answers come easily if you have a solid concept for your business, but don’t worry if you get stuck. Use the rest of your plan template to brainstorm ideas and tactics. You’ll quickly find these answers and possibly new directions as you explore your ideas and options.

2. Offer and Value Proposition

This is where you detail your offer, such as selling products, providing services or both, and why anyone would care. That’s the value proposition. Specifically, you’ll expand on your answers to the first and fourth bullets from your mission/vision.

As you complete this section, you might find that exploring value propositions uncovers marketable business opportunities that you hadn’t yet considered. So spend some time brainstorming the possibilities in this section.

For example, a cottage baker startup specializing in gluten-free or keto-friendly products might be a value proposition that certain audiences care deeply about. Plus, you could expand on that value proposition by offering wedding and other special-occasion cakes that incorporate gluten-free, keto-friendly and traditional cake elements that all guests can enjoy.

3. Audience and Ideal Customer

Here is where you explore bullet point number three, who your business will benefit. Identifying your ideal customer and exploring a broader audience for your goods or services is essential in defining your sales and marketing strategies, plus it helps fine-tune what you offer.

There are many ways to research potential audiences, but a shortcut is to simply identify a problem that people have that your product or service can solve. If you start from the position of being a problem solver, it’s easy to define your audience and describe the wants and needs of your ideal customer for marketing efforts.

Using the cottage baker startup example, a problem people might have is finding fresh-baked gluten-free or keto-friendly sweets. Examining the wants and needs of these people might reveal a target audience that is health-conscious or possibly dealing with health issues and willing to spend more for hard-to-find items.

However, it’s essential to have a customer base that can support your business. You can be too specialized. For example, our baker startup can attract a broader audience and boost revenue by offering a wider selection of traditional baked goods alongside its gluten-free and keto-focused specialties.

4. Revenue Streams, Sales Channels and Marketing

Thanks to our internet-driven economy, startups have many revenue opportunities and can connect with target audiences through various channels. Revenue streams and sales channels also serve as marketing vehicles, so you can cover all three in this section.

Revenue Streams

Revenue streams are the many ways you can make money in your business. In your plan template, list how you’ll make money upon launch, plus include ideas for future expansion. The income possibilities just might surprise you.

For example, our cottage baker startup might consider these revenue streams:

• Product sales : Online, pop-up shops , wholesale and (future) in-store sales
• Affiliate income : Monetize blog and social media posts with affiliate links
• Advertising income : Reserve website space for advertising
• E-book sales : (future) Publish recipe e-books targeting gluten-free and keto-friendly dessert niches
• Video income : (future) Monetize a YouTube channel featuring how-to videos for the gluten-free and keto-friendly dessert niches
• Webinars and online classes : (future) Monetize coaching-style webinars and online classes covering specialty baking tips and techniques
• Members-only content : (future) Monetize a members-only section of the website for specialty content to complement webinars and online classes
• Franchise : (future) Monetize a specialty cottage bakery concept and sell to franchise entrepreneurs

Sales Channels

Sales channels put your revenue streams into action. This section also answers the “where will this happen” question in the second bullet of your vision.

The product sales channels for our cottage bakery example can include:

• Mobile point-of-sale (POS) : A mobile platform such as Shopify or Square POS for managing in-person sales at local farmers’ markets, fairs and festivals
• E-commerce platform : An online store such as Shopify, Square or WooCommerce for online retail sales and wholesale sales orders
• Social media channels : Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest shoppable posts and pins for online sales via social media channels
• Brick-and-mortar location : For in-store sales , once the business has grown to a point that it can support a physical location

Channels that support other income streams might include:

• Affiliate income : Blog section on the e-commerce website and affiliate partner accounts
• Advertising income : Reserved advertising spaces on the e-commerce website
• E-book sales : Amazon e-book sales via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
• Video income : YouTube channel with ad monetization
• Webinars and online classes : Online class and webinar platforms that support member accounts, recordings and playback
• Members-only content : Password-protected website content using membership apps such as MemberPress

Nowadays, the line between marketing and sales channels is blurred. Social media outlets, e-books, websites, blogs and videos serve as both marketing tools and income opportunities. Since most are free and those with advertising options are extremely economical, these are ideal marketing outlets for lean startups.

However, many businesses still find value in traditional advertising such as local radio, television, direct mail, newspapers and magazines. You can include these advertising costs in your simple business plan template to help build a marketing plan and budget.

5. Structure, Suppliers and Operations

This section of your simple business plan template explores how to structure and operate your business. Details include the type of business organization your startup will take, roles and responsibilities, supplier logistics and day-to-day operations. Also, include any certifications or permits needed to launch your enterprise in this section.

Our cottage baker example might use a structure and startup plan such as this:

• Business structure : Sole proprietorship with a “doing business as” (DBA) .
• Permits and certifications : County-issued food handling permit and state cottage food certification for home-based food production. Option, check into certified commercial kitchen rentals.
• Roles and responsibilities : Solopreneur, all roles and responsibilities with the owner.
• Supply chain : Bulk ingredients and food packaging via Sam’s Club, Costco, Amazon Prime with annual membership costs. Uline for shipping supplies; no membership needed.
• Day-to-day operations : Source ingredients and bake three days per week to fulfill local and online orders. Reserve time for specialty sales, wholesale partner orders and market events as needed. Ship online orders on alternating days. Update website and create marketing and affiliate blog posts on non-shipping days.

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6. Financial Forecasts

Your final task is to list forecasted business startup and ongoing costs and profit projections in your simple business plan template. Thanks to free business tools such as Square and free marketing on social media, lean startups can launch with few upfront costs. In many cases, cost of goods, shipping and packaging, business permits and printing for business cards are your only out-of-pocket expenses.

Cost Forecast

Our cottage baker’s forecasted lean startup costs might include:

Gross Profit Projections

This helps you determine the retail prices and sales volume required to keep your business running and, hopefully, earn income for yourself. Use product research to spot target retail prices for your goods, then subtract your cost of goods, such as hourly rate, raw goods and supplier costs. The total amount is your gross profit per item or service.

Here are some examples of projected gross profits for our cottage baker:

Bottom Line

Putting careful thought and detail in a business plan is always beneficial, but don’t get so bogged down in planning that you never hit the start button to launch your business . Also, remember that business plans aren’t set in stone. Markets, audiences and technologies change, and so will your goals and means of achieving them. Think of your business plan as a living document and regularly revisit, expand and restructure it as market opportunities and business growth demand.

Is there a template for a business plan?

You can copy our free business plan template and fill in the blanks or customize it in Google Docs, Microsoft Word or another word processing app. This free business plan template includes the six key elements that any entrepreneur needs to consider when launching a new business.

What does a simple business plan include?

A simple business plan is a one- to two-page overview covering six key elements that any budding entrepreneur needs to consider when launching a startup. These include your vision or mission, product or service offering, target audience, revenue streams and sales channels, structure and operations, and financial forecasts.

How can I create a free business plan template?

Start with our free business plan template that covers the six essential elements of a startup. Once downloaded, you can edit this document in Google Docs or another word processing app and add new sections or subsections to your plan template to meet your specific business plan needs.

What basic items should be included in a business plan?

When writing out a business plan, you want to make sure that you cover everything related to your concept for the business,  an analysis of the industry―including potential customers and an overview of the market for your goods or services―how you plan to execute your vision for the business, how you plan to grow the business if it becomes successful and all financial data around the business, including current cash on hand, potential investors and budget plans for the next few years.

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Krista Fabregas is a seasoned eCommerce and online content pro sharing more than 20 years of hands-on know-how with those looking to launch and grow tech-forward businesses. Her expertise includes eCommerce startups and growth, SMB operations and logistics, website platforms, payment systems, side-gig and affiliate income, and multichannel marketing. Krista holds a bachelor's degree in English from The University of Texas at Austin and held senior positions at NASA, a Fortune 100 company, and several online startups.

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Video Television Production Business Plan

Start your own video television production business plan

Evergreen TV Productions

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">.

EvergreenTV Productions, Inc. is a multi-faceted company, with the potential to branch into new venues as the company grows. There are currently three phases to development, beginning with our home division. By developing this division to include three stores in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, we can generate enough revenue to assist in the growth of two other divisions; tour and travel, and the business to business division. However, we will need additional funding to accomplish this plan.

The Home Division produces digital video scrapbooks by digitizing customers’ photos, setting them to music, and using selected digital effects to create the video memory. Our operations manual is a business system designed to produce the maximum number of videos per week while maintaining a rigid standard for quality. Using this system, and following this video production business plan, we will generate the revenue needed to allow us flexibility in accepting other projects more commonly associated with a production company, leading into the next division.

The Tour and Travel Division provides specialized production on a wide range of hand-picked projects, depending upon the client’s needs. This division creates videos of local interest for play in doctors offices’ waiting rooms, videos to promote area businesses, and tour/travel videos for tour companies. We will develop this division into a self-sufficient branch within the first year.

The Business to Business (B2B) Division markets the news stories of college and university communications students, and provides a resume posting service for said students. Those stories are sold to small market tv stations nationwide. This division is the heart of EvergreenTV Productions, and the reason for incorporation. After seven months of development, our website is complete. We are ready to revolutionize television news programming. Selecting only the best, we gather an impressive selection of “timeless” news stories produced by college and university students. Market research shows that nearly every day, small market tv stations need “filler” news, either local, regional or national, to complete their newscasts. Many subscribe to costly services, with little choice for story selection. EvergreenTV Productions will provide them with quality news stories, “filler news” which these stations can use for any time, any day, any cast. This division of EvergreenTV Productions is meeting two needs. First, those of students anxious to get professional experience and an introduction into the tv news industry. By promoting their news stories and publishing their resumes on our website, we’re helping them get that first foot in the door. Secondly, the needs of small market tv stations which cannot afford to budget tens of thousands of dollars for news programming.

Short Term:

• Open two stores in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area by the beginning of year two. Each store will follow a business system designed to operate at maximum efficiency while maintaining the highest standards of quality, as per a franchise.
• Produce an hour-long video of points of interest with the Tampa/St. Petersburg area to sell to doctor’s offices in the area by the end of month six. Revenue generated by tape sales will be used to support travel and expenses to meet goal three.
• Generate an inventory of 15 stories for the business to business division by the end of month six, and 50 stories by the end of month nine.
• Obtain 30 sales to small market tv stations by the end of year one.
• B2B Division sales increasing to XX by the third year.
• Build B2B news stories inventory to a minimum of 300 stories by the third year.
• Open two home division stores per year in various markets throughout state. i.e., Naples, Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, Pensacola. Each store following our business system to maintain consistency and product control.
• Maintain a profit, to reinvest into business and further expansion.

Keys to Success

Home Division:

• Product quality. Begins with a complete customer’s understanding of the process. Customers should be comfortable turning over their treasured photos for production, and should be completely satisfied with the end product.
• Implementation of business system. Every employee should be fully trained and able to assist other employees in the goals and objectives as defined within the business system. This ensures that the first key to success is achieved.
• Marketing. Initial market saturation within key customer demographics is essential, followed by an extensive referral program, as outlined in the business system guidelines. Presentations to select demographics, such as retirement villas and professional photographers is vital. Building alliances and co-promotions programs with like businesses (such as wedding photographers, disc jockeys, travel agencies and photo processing centers) is key to further growth.

Tour and Travel Division:

• Product quality/customer satisfaction. All productions must meet the complete satisfaction of the client, regardless of genre. Employees must be trained to anticipate client’s needs and company’s ability to meet these needs. No project is too small to ignore the importance of quality and customer satisfaction.
• Development of referral program. This division will not actively seek projects, but will respond to the needs of referral clients. A well-defined web of referrals will contribute to the consistency of client’s expectations and this division’s output.

Business to Business Division:

• Product quality. Extensive review of each story submitted. Guidelines sent to communications professors to encourage the development of these stories.
• Marketing. Consistent, repetitious and personal contacting of colleges, universities, technical schools, as well as tv stations in the bottom 115 Nielsen markets. Fresh news releases notifying students and stations of upcoming stories. Faxes, newsletter mail-ins, and a constantly updated website promoting the students and product.
• Management. On-time product delivery. Budgets under control. Legal and accounting advice concerning new development or budgeting, such as QuickBooks instruction and copyright/trademark requirements.

“In the factory Revlon manufactures cosmetics, but in the store Revlon sells hope.” Charles Revson, founder of Revlon.

While EvergreenTV Productions, Inc. operates as a production company, it sells personal memories, opportunities and trust.

The home division creates video scrapbooks set to music, but sells memories and quality service. Customers must trust that we cherish their photos and will produce every video as if for our own families. Our employees must feel equal to the standards expected of them, and feel free to contribute new ideas to improve upon our business model. Employees are also our internal customers, and should be treated with the same respect given to customers who walk through the door.

The tour and travel division maintains an open mind to new video projects, so the client understands that his goal is our objective. While we will suggest alternatives and bring our experience to the table, we hold the client’s goal as the primary target. If we cannot achieve our client’s goal, we will present that information in our initial encounter and suggest other possible production means, rather than altering the project to our comfort level.

Company Summary company overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure.">

EvergreenTV Productions is a multi-faceted production company operating on three basic levels.

The Home Division of EvergreenTV Productions is centered around one product. Using the most advanced, all-digital editing equipment, our company turns standard photos into video “scrapbooks” of various length and style, all set to selected music backgrounds. Customers are given a free consultation to review the process, help in selecting needed music, and given an explanation of each of the four packages of videos from which they may choose. Each package is a detailed rate plan, with varying costs. By using this free consultation, customers are assured a unique and personalized video.

The Tour and Travel Division handles various projects which may present themselves to our production company. This division is not primarily a revenue generator, but is vital to the growth of the company. Projects will be hand picked based upon a referral system. By minimizing the number of projects, we control quality and reputation as a production company which specializes, rather than an all-encompassing production facility which forsakes quality for quantity of projects. This division is responsible every quarter for producing a new hour long video of areas of interest around Tampa Bay.

The Business to Business Division (B2B) is the heart and soul of EvergreenTV Productions, the center of the vision for which the company began. It is a marketing service for college and university students of broadcasting, and a news programming service for small market tv stations. News directors are encouraged to contact the students for job openings, and students are given an account history of which stations purchased their story. These stories are marketed to the bottom 115 (Nielsen market) tv stations nationwide.

EvergreenTV Productions, Inc. started in Tampa, Florida in October 2000. It is a privately owned, Florida corporation, Subchapter S.

Company Ownership

EvergreenTV Productions is a privately-held Subchapter S corporation owned in majority by its founder and president, Louanne Walters. There is one other director, Bobby G. Walters, Louanne’s father, who is also vice-president. Louanne owns 70%, with Bobby owning 30%. Shares are available for additional ownership.

Company Locations and Facilities

All equipment and office management space is held within one room, approximately 10×10 feet at Louanne Walters’ home.

We are currently looking for an initial storefront, and have priced several in the North Tampa and Carrollwood areas. Needed space is 500-750 sq. ft. In these areas, price per square foot runs $1-$1.50, or approximately $500-$1,125 per month for rent. Many of these locations include utilities.

Start-up Summary

Expenses and funding for the business start-up are shown below.

Products and Services

As stated in the Company Summary section, Evergreen TV Productions is a company of three divisions, selling both products and services according to each division.

Product and Service Description

Services include:

• Marketing college and university students’ news stories to small market tv stations nationwide.
• Posting students’ resumes for a certain period (three months) on its website.
• Assigning each student an account from which he/she can contact stations which purchased his/her tape for potential job opportunities.
• Assigning each station an account from which the news director may contact students as potential future reporters.

Products include:

• Video scrapbooks, produced from photos digitized and set to music.
• Tour and travel videos of local, business or other interest for use in area businesses, as advertising of area businesses, or to promote tour agencies.
• All types of “evergreen” or “timeless” news stories, such as Health, Travel, Business, Leisure, Sports, Politics, Feature Personalities, etc., which may be of interest to stations and their viewers.

Competitive Comparison

We stand apart from our competition in price and value.

Home Division: Currently, production companies are hesitant to offer video scrapbooks due to the amount of work necessary for a minimal return on revenue. They would much rather produce corporate productions with a high fee. Locally, a few companies will produce these scrapbooks, but they charge enormous fees. The reason for this is that they do not have a business system in place to allow them to produce these scrapbooks on a timely schedule with minimal cost. From an informal phone survey we gathered rates for a 10 minute video from $500 to $2,000. Additionally, this phone survey showed no true committment to the production elements of music and digital effects. Again, this is due to having no business system in place to provide these essential elements. It can be compared to a hamburger stand trying to become McDonald’s with no actual system in place to keep quality consistent.

Tour and Travel Division: We offer high value and quality to our customers, and treat every project as if it were the only project. Production companies in general have a reputation for sloppy and careless producing, for overbooking projects, and for inconsistent and exorbitant charges. Our referral acceptance program ensure we will not overbook, we will have a higher degree of responsibility with each customer who is referred, and we cannot charge one customer amount X, and another customer amount Y, as they will probably know each other. The referral program sets us apart, and reassures otherwise wary customers.

B2B Division: CONUS sells yearly subscriptions of regional news to tv stations nationwide for $20,000/year. Dr. Dean Edell sells yearly subscriptions of health news only, for nearly $30,000/year. MedStar sells yearly subscriptions of health news only, for $24,000/year. Mr. Food, Mrs. Fixit, TravelNet and many others all rank in the $20,000 and above category, and all offer only one topic, either health, food, travel, or how-to’s, but not something from each.

At our online website, EvergreenTV Productions offers a variety of topics to chose from, and stations can pick their own five stories each week to match their news or specific story trends, at a lower cost. They can customize their filler news, instead of throwing in whatever is available, making their newscasts flow smoothly, and eventually helping them generate viewers and thus sales, and all at a much more affordable cost.

Sales Literature

EvergreenTV Productions will rely heavily on presentations to retirement villas, business clubs, and other social outlets for advertising the Home Division. The B2B Division will rely upon one on one sales calls to colleges/universities and tv stations, and upon the Internet for e-mails, faxes and advertising of products and services.

Fulfillment

All end product supplies can be purchased locally from Office Depot, Sam’s Club, or Staples, or from a production company on the Internet at minimal cost. End product supplies include tape labels, and VHS/Beta/DVC video tape.

For the B2B Division, we do not buy our stories, but trade our marketing and resume services to students for their stories. A legally drawn-up contract is held between EvergreenTV Productions and each student, once his/her story is accepted. By agreeing, the student gives us the story for any commercial use, and he/she agrees to use that story only in job-searching. We then sell the story for profit and expenses (such as video tapes for dubbing purposes).

We also own over $12,000 worth of video and editing equipment, and can do our own stories, at no further cost to the company.

We use both Windows and Macintosh technology in our company. Windows and Office products are used mainly for all databases, word processing, and accounting needs. Macintosh products are used primarily for video editing, and loading video onto our website. We also have all the necessary components for a digital video production center, including cameras, mini-disc recorders, microphones, and lights. All other items can be rented per project at a low cost. Eventually, we would like to include DVD-R drives on our computers, to allow us to copy to DVD, rather than simply VHS tape (Home Division).

In addition to standard computers, scanner-copier-printer centers, we also use electronic faxing via the Internet, cell phone, DSL Internet subscriber line and several video tape recorders of various formats, including Beta SP, SVHS, DVC, and 3/4″. We are currently in communication with a media streaming Internet company regarding posting these news stories on the Internet to be downloaded directly to the tv stations who purchase the stories. This would eliminate the need for hard tape, and would give the stations instant access to stories they could download to their specific tape format.

Future Products and Services

Within the next five years, we will add storefronts statewide, all following consistent guidelines in our business system.

We would like to franchise this store nationwide.

Within the next three to five years, we will add production of our own brand of travel news to our product line.

Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">

Home Division: There are no production companies in the area which currently focus on video scrapbooks. Several smaller companies “can” and “will” produce this for a high cost to the customer. With the advertising by both Apple and Sony focused on home digital video production, the awareness of this type of production is growing within the community, but as yet, no company has stepped up to the plate to offer this product. Consumers are becoming more educated about what can be done, but they do not know how to do it themselves.

For several months, EvergreenTV Productions has promoted this concept via word of mouth to small businesses, consumers on the street, and educated professionals. All show a keen interest in buying the product.

Tour and Travel Division : Many production facilities exist in the Tampa Bay Area; and all are capable of producing professional projects. As this is a referral division only, we do not plan to compete regularly for business. Instead, we will build a web of quality prospects by maintaining high productions standards, and accepting only those clients who come highly recommended. This is not our main focus, but is a tool to generate business and reputation.

B2B Division: EvergreenTV Productions focuses on the bottom 115 (Nielsen) tv markets. These are the markets whose station budgets don’t easily allow an expense of $20,000+ per year for programming services. We will offer the affordable alternative.

EvergreenTV Productions conducted a mail-in survey of 113 stations in the bottom 65 markets. The majority of these do subscribe to CONUS, Dr. Dean Edell, MedStar, or Medical Breakthrough. Of the 10 responses received, four stations did not subscribe to any news provider, but did indicate an interest in “filler news” at a reasonable cost. The conclusion is that many stations need stories, but cannot stretch their budgets to accommodate the high cost of programming. At this time, no service exists like EvergreenTV Productions programming alternative. Numbers for projected growth are not possible without history.

Market Segmentation

Three loosely defined market segments are identified. The “Home Division” category  is by far the largest potential segment and represents the consumer most likely to be our client. 

Target Market Segment Strategy

Home Division: Strategy for the home division is two-fold. First, we must find the appropriate means to communicate our product to potential customers. Because nearly everyone today has the ability to take photos and has a wide selection of photos at home, we must first narrow down our customer base by appealing to the emotions people attach to their photos. Older persons with larger families are more inclined to want to share their family histories. Newlyweds want their family and friends to share in their newfound happiness. By emphasizing these traits (nostalgia and euphoria) we can begin to gain a following for our product. Second, we must find a suitable location for our storefront, which enables us to find customers who share these traits. Malls and movie theaters appeal to “togetherness,” shopping together for gifts, weekend outings, brunch/lunch/dinner dates. The right location will give us access to our primary customers, those who will help us launch the product in the area by word of mouth.

Tour and Travel Division: This division’s strategy relies entirely on our referral program. Doctors’ offices and travel agencies give us a wider demographic schematic, as patients and families of patients are confined to a waiting room during a visit. Instead of watching afternoon televised programming, doctors will be able to provide their clients with informative, educational and entertaining programming as compared to many daytime talk shows.

B2B Division: Because EvergreenTV Productions utilizes the stories of university students, it is important to recognize the average age of a station’s reporters. A previous survey conducted by our company did confirm our experience, in that most small market tv stations hire only young “cub” reporters, as experienced reporters tend to move onward to larger markets and bigger stations. The quality of our product will match the quality of the station’s news. Therefore it is essential to target the bottom markets. This is also important to recognize from the service end of our business, as news directors will be interested in hiring reporters from our pool of news stories.

Market Growth

Home Division: We will be better able to track market growth in this division following the first two quarters of sales. At this time, with no active competition, we expect our growth rate to double and triple weekly. As Tampa Bay is a large retirement community, these numbers could be increasing for several quarters. We then expect to see a slight down curve as the product finds its niche within the community, with a more consistent level of sales.

Market Needs

Home Division: With the advent of digital editing capabilities on home computer systems, more consumers are aware of the potential of creating video scrapbooks, but most are not familiar enough with the technology to accomplish a simple video. Apple and Sony are selling large numbers of these computers despite a recent turndown in the computer industry. Digital still cameras are a must have, with consumers expanding their vocabularies to include “Memory Stick,” “Pixels,” and “Jpegs.” Yet, in the Tampa Bay area, no production companies are actively marketing video scrapbooks. We can use the above product interest, and the continued success of photo processing centers, to create a gauge for interest in this product. However, as with any relatively new product, we will not know the market’s true needs until several quarters of sales.

B2B Division: A void currently exists in the area of news programming. Larger stations are able to budget tens of thousands of dollars per year to support their needs. Smaller stations often rely on extending the weather and sports segments, or sitting on credits at the end of cast to “eat up extra time.” This reduces the newscasts’ value, and thus reduces the price of selling advertising as commercials, which is where tv stations make money.

Other small markets may subscribe to one or two programming services, at the expense of hiring quality personnel. These services limit the news directors and producers, because they have to run whatever story comes down on the satellite link that day. It may have nothing to do with other stories in a cast, or interest to the local viewing audience.

EvergreenTV Productions allows the stations to pick their own stories and run them when needed. In addition, by ordering weekly, they can choose from a constantly upgraded catalogue and pick stories which relate to news they are already running or have run recently. In other words, on a slow news day, CONUS may offer a story from a station in another state about a family lawsuit which has no relevance to that station’s viewers. EvergreenTV Productions, however, may offer a story about “Buying a puppy for your five year old.” It is timeless, and applies to a greater percentage of the viewing audience than the distant family’s lawsuit.

Within the service branch of this division, there is a greater range of competition, but few meet student’s needs. Many news talent agencies and resume services exist. However, none of them offer posting of resumes, marketing of resume tapes, and especially an opportunity to earn professional experience while the student is still in college, at no cost to the student. By positioning themselves with EvergreenTV Productions, students can hone in on various stations who have purchased their stories. They can link directly to those stations for future jobs, rather than send out a multitude of resume tapes in a shotgun style to get a foot in the door. And, they will not have to pay our company 10% of their first salary!

Market Trends

Home Division: The advent of home computers capable of digital editing can certainly be considered a market trend, and one that is highly influential to our home division. As more consumers know of the technology, more interest is created in our product. While large corporations spend millions in advertising to promote these computers, we can take advantage of this advertising second-hand. The interest is created by the large corporations, and we use like advertising and terminology to increase interest in our particular product. A second major trend is with photo processing centers, such as those at Walgreens, offering pictures on CD-ROMS. These centers are already taking pictures to the next level, with the purpose of sharing these memories with family and friends. The logical next step is to put these pictures together in a creative and professional video scrapbook, then copy them to VHS tape or DVD.

B2B Division: One major trend in the television news industry is staffing cut-backs. Newsrooms are using fewer reporters and photographers and replacing them with bought programming. Instead of paying $18,000/year for a reporter and $16,000/year for a photographer, smaller markets are buying news programming services at $20,000/year and saving on salary and health care expenses, while increasing the number of stories running per day. On average, a reporter will turn out one or two stories per day, while CONUS offers the ability to run two or three stories per day.

Another trend focuses on freelancing opportunities for reporters. Many are now working on their own, producing stories bought by several different companies. As tv begins to reflect the magazine industry in freelancing opportunities, more and more reporters will make a living working for themselves. In a long-term analysis, EvergreenTV Productions will be able to utilize these freelancers to do specific stories which fit the mission of our company.

A third trend is greater reliance on the Internet for programming. With the advent of TIVO, viewers can choose what they want to watch when they want to watch it. An even further long-term analysis could lend EvergreenTV Productions the opportunity to provide news that viewers can access specifically without going through their local tv stations. In the short term, local news stations may soon be able to download news stories directly to their control centers, without needing a tape for playback. By initially locating on the Internet, EvergreenTV Productions is putting itself in the position to take advantage of the increasing opportunities of Internet business, while at the present time offering easy access to a catalog of stories for order.

Service Business Analysis

Home Division: We are primarily a production company within the retail industry. Some industries are similar, but as this is new technology, it is a unique industry. At the current time, we know of only a few other production companies which consistently turn out video scrapbooks. The photography industry is similar in creating still pictures for retail.

• Production companies: Most are individually owned and rarely produce small projects such as video scrapbooks. We do not know of any production companies designed solely for this type of product, but do know of several small corporations who have similar guidelines. The downside to these companies is that they are limited in timely production ability. They cannot accept 10 orders for video scrapbooks simultaneously, as they are set up to produce one scrapbook every two to three days, rather than two to three hours.
• Photography companies: Like-minded companies which produce wedding, family, vacation, etc., still photos for families to treasure. They do not produce video scrapbooks from these photos.

Tour and Travel Division: We are limiting our production output in this division to a referral basis only. In general, the production company industry is very large, with companies specializing in corporate training videos, tour videos, advertising, etc. They rarely limit their productions to referral only, which means most often they will specialize in one area. To the customer, this means outsourcing to several production companies to meet his needs. A corporate president may have to hire two production companies to produce a training video and a travel video.

B2B Division: We are both a marketing service and news provider. Therefore, half of our business deals within the marketing industry, promoting students, while the other half deals within the news industry, selling news programming to news stations.

• Industry magazines: For a nominal fee, students seeking employment can post a want ad, specifying the type of job they are looking for. These magazines have good responses from tv stations advertising jobs, but have a lower success rate for students seeking jobs.
• Internet websites: For a nominal fee, students may post their resume and information on an industry targeted website such as www.tvjobs.com. Thousands of students and currently employed reporters compete for the same positions, again with lower success rates.
• Network-based programming: Affiliates belong to network news services which provide daily programming on hourly feeds. These stories are limited in region and topic, extremely time-sensitive, and restricted to the affiliation only. NBC affiliates belong to NBC Newschannel. ABC affiliates belong to NewsOne, etc.
• Subscription programming: For an annual rate, any affiliate may subscribe to these programming services. Their downside is in limiting the stories they offer to one specific topic such as healthcare, travel, or politics, rather than offering a wide variety of topics from which to choose. In addition, stations do not have a choice in which stories to run each day. Either stations can take one story daily from a satellite feed, or stations are sent a week of stories on tape.

Business Participants

Home Division: Most production companies have a full plate with a wide assortment of projects. They are benefiting from the growing need for corporate advertising/projects, and prices on production equipment are continuing to fall.

B2B Division:

Student Services:

• There are hundreds of national talent agents within the tv industry. A select few work with esteemed firms and take on only proven, exceptional talent. Hundreds of others are available to college students for a fee of 10-13% of their salaries. This is where agents make money, searching for a job for the students, gaining an interview, then reaping the rewards. Fewer reporters are looking for agents due to the fee and the increasing abilities of the Internet. Like travel agents, talent agents are finding their once lucrative positions threatened by the Internet.
• There are dozens of job search services available, more in the past few years due to the insurgence of the Internet. Most require an upfront fee of $10-15 per month for resume posting service, and the privilege of searching for jobs on their website from those stations which have subscribed to them. They will continue to do well as long as reporters are seeking positions.

Station Services:

• While there are many production companies, few offer news to tv stations. Most programming services are based in larger markets where their product has taken hold. They offer topic specific news for tv stations nationally, at a high cost. Most generate stories by one well-known personality and offer only one story possibility per day. They make the majority of their revenue from mid-to-large markets. They have a strong position in the industry, and because they are topic specific, do not threaten each other. Internet news on demand, where viewers can watch their favorite station from their home computers, is the biggest threat.
• Freelance reporters infrequently sell their stories to stations.

Distributing a Service

Home Division: Customers are accustomed to going into retail locations to make purchases or place orders. Having a storefront will provide them with this opportunity. Initially, we will host presentations to explain the product at various outlets such as retirement villas and apartment clubhouses.

B2B Division: TV Stations buy directly from the programming source. A sales representative may call or visit a station for a programming product, or the station may purchase directly via the Internet.

Initially, it will be vital for us to visit one-on-one with small market stations to obtain a base clientele. Those stations across the country will be targeted via telephone and direct mailing promotional kits. Those stations which responded to our initial marketing survey are prime first clients–those who have already defined their needs according to our questionnaire.

Competition and Buying Patterns

Home Division: As with any retail line, customers feel more comfortable and believe they are truly getting their money’s worth when they are given one-on-one attention. It is this attention we will give them in our 30-minute free consultations. Our customers will be more inclined to refer our business and product to friends and family if they believe we do not see them as simply a sale, but as people with needs being met. At the same time, it is essential we see the photos the customer is bringing in, and have the customer present to ask questions and verify the photo placement within the video. This initial attention to detail will also provide our customers with the knowledge that we will produce exactly the video they have in mind.

B2B Division: TV stations are prone to purchase news stories based on the bottom line. If one programming service becomes too expensive, the station will spin off to another programming service for a few thousand dollars less. Small market tv stations do not have this option, as most services are too expensive for their budgets.

EvergreenTV Productions will offer quality news stories at a very competitive price–in fact, half the cost of most other programming services–to gain access to those smaller markets. In addition, having a variety of news topics makes us a hot choice. Stations do not have to spend thousands for only one brand of news, i.e., health stories. They can choose from a wide variety, health, politics, financial, innovative, unusual, personalities, etc.

Main Competitors

Home Division (Video Scrapbook Production Companies):

Family Tree Videos: Strengths: A franchise production company geared toward genealogy, but includes producing video scrapbooks. Good-looking productions revolving around family interviews, documentation, and photos. Weaknesses: The formula is too complex to generate quality products in quantity. Many smaller production companies learn this method first, then give up due to lost time and not enough revenue. Independent Companies: Strengths: Nationwide, dozens of independently owned production companies produce video scrapbooks. Most are your neighbors, businesses you want to trust. Weaknesses: Quality is inconsistent and depends entirely upon the owner’s ability. If you’re not a close friend or family member, you may not get the product you really want or thought you ordered. Due to time constraints and the need for revenue, many of these smaller companies will put video scrapbooks on the back burner for bigger projects, such as weddings.

B2B Division (Programming Services):

Dr. Dean Edell: Strengths: Well known after years of radio and tv broadcasting. Big service, using satellite feeds to get stories to stations. National image, high volume. Weaknesses: Very expensive. At the top of the scale at $24,000+ per year. Limited to one topic, health news. MedStar: Strengths: Competitive pricing, less expensive than Dr. Dean. Utilizes chain of universities for national syndication. Weaknesses: Still too high a cost for smaller markets. Limited to one topic, health news. TravelNet: Strengths: National syndication, high volume. Has satellite feeds to stations. Weaknesses: Generic writing for travel pieces. Limited to one topic, travel news. Too high a cost for smaller markets. Mrs. Fix It: Strengths: Appealing change of gender, national image, excellent writing and presentation. Weaknesses: Too high a cost for smaller markets, limited to one topic, do-it-yourself home/yard/car improvements.

Many other services fall within this category, too many to mention. Some are purely regional and do not appeal nationally. Most are of high cost to small market stations. None that we’ve found offers a variety of news topics.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

• Create a “gotta have it” campaign. Our marketing efforts need to focus on a) introducing our specific brand of video scrapbooks and b) telling our customers why they and their friends all need one.
• Emphasize service and quality. Especially as this is a fairly new product to be launched into the market, customers need to know that we will cherish their memories and create a quality video.
• Emphasize variety and cost savings. We must differentiate ourselves from the large programming services by detailing the variety of news stories and affordable pricing.
• Build a relationship with schools and stations. Build long-term relationships with professors, deans and news directors to continue service and sales annually.
• Focus on key schools and markets. We need to focus on building a client base of schools who know and believe in our student oriented objectives, and who will help promote those objectives yearly. We also need to build loyalty and consistent quality with target small market tv stations/news directors.

Competitive Edge

Home Division: Our competitive edge in producing video scrapbooks is in our business system, which allows us a) to produce large numbers of videos while retaining quality, thus giving more customers a grade A product with a short turn-around time, b) to maintain consistency at every location, so customers can be assured they will get the same quality at one store that their friends/family received at another, and c) to train all employees using consistent customer service guidelines from initial consultation through any complaints/issues.

B2B Division: For TV stations, our competitive edge is having a variety of news topics to offer, and at a much more affordable cost to small market tv stations than larger programming services can offer.

For students, our competitive edge is offering a FREE resume service, FREE marketing service for that first job out of school, and a DIRECT connection to news directors in markets known to hire graduating broadcasting students.

Sales Strategy

• We need to sell the memories and emotions of these videos, not the product. While we produce videos, we create and tap into a lifetime of emotions cherished by our customers. Our advertising and marketing need to reflect this concept.
• We need to understand exactly what our service is, so our customers will also understand. Our customers must feel confident that we value their memories and emotions as much as our own, and will treasure them individually. An order for a video is not a product order, but a piece of family gold we are holding in safekeeping.
• We need to sell both the company and the product. As this is a new venture into an antiquated system, generating sales will require an enthusiastic approach in order to renovate the tv news programming concept. In-person sales are essential in the primary stages of generating sales. A reputation for service excellence, news variety and affordable pricing will continue the momentum of sales in the future.
• We have to sell our service and support to schools nationwide. Gaining the support of deans and professors is a vital element to generating inventory on a yearly basis. By developing a loyal clientele of professors, we ensure continued inventory growth annually.

Sales Forecast

Yearly sales forecasts are shown below and the initial year’s monthly forecast is shown in the appendix.

Strategic Alliances

Home Division: Strategic alliances with photographers, photo processing centers and travel agents will be key to generating sales in the first few quarters. We plan to initiate a co-marketing campaign, by possibly adding on 30-second commercials at the end of each video, promoting a photographer or travel agency. These will be tasteful and placed at the end of the tape, but will also co-promote a like business. In the future, we could sell these spots to like businesses to generate revenue.

Additionally, our alliances with retirement villas will be instrumental from start-up. While these will not involve co-promotions, it will be necessary to build a strong relationship so the villa officials welcome us to their facilities.

B2B Division: We heavily depend upon building a strong alliance with schools to create a substantial inventory to generate sales. The greater the size of inventory, the greater the variety we have to offer stations. We need to concentrate on making as many contacts with schools as possible. If we cannot offer students a marketing position, i.e., a substantial time frame in which we market their stories and post their resumes, we will not have their interest and it would follow, their stories to add to our inventory.

After the first year, the inventory will grow at a consistent rate. However, the first year’s inventory size could well determine our company’s sales success.

Marketing Strategy

Home/Travel Divisions:

• Build relationships with primary target customers (Market Segmentation section) and like businesses, such as photography shops, photography processing centers, and travel agencies.
• Emphasize service and quality while building a referral basis.
• Emphasize variety and affordability.
• Emphasize service while building relationships.
• Focus on schools with tv stations and broadcast communications programs.
• Focus on small market tv stations, bottom 115 Nielsen markets.

Positioning Statement

Home Division: Initially, for people celebrating an event or recognizing a lifetime of memories who would like to share photos of those memories in a video scrapbook with friends and family, our videos provide a special and unique gift opportunity. Unlike standard production companies which produce video scrapbooks in a random and time-consuming fashion, our videos meet consistently professional standards in quality in a timely manner. (See Competitive Comparison section.)

B2B Division: For students about to graduate and seek their first job within the tv news industry, EvergreenTV Productions offers an incredible marketing and resume posting service. Unlike www.tvjobs.com and others, it offers these services for free, and for a longer period of time (i.e., three months as opposed to one month).

For small market tv stations which need news stories daily to fill their newscasts, EvergreenTV Productions offers an affordable programming service. Unlike larger programming services such as Dr. Dean Edell and TravelNet, it offers a variety of programming at half the cost.

Pricing Strategy

Home Division: Our business system has helped define our pricing strategy. If our video scrapbooks are too time-consuming, the customer will be charged an exorbitant amount. If our video scrapbooks are even middle to low quality, we cannot charge the customer low enough. By making the productions both time-efficient and consistent in high quality, we can maximize our pricing to acceptable market levels. Our strategy is also based upon the fact that we are introducing video scrapbooks on a large scale into the market, with no previous history for this product. As our video style becomes more popular, we will be able to adjust the pricing accordingly. We are offering four package styles from which our customers may choose. By charting the most popular package, we will better determine the right price for our product.

B2B Division: Our pricing strategy is key to our offering. If we charge too much, or even 3/4 the price of larger programming services, we are undercutting our potential orders. The market of small market stations cannot bear the higher prices offered by larger programming services.

Likewise, by offering a free resume and marketing service to students, we are ensuring continued interest in our service in exchange for news stories. We need to be positioned to offer payment for these stories a few years down the road. As the popularity of EvergreenTV Productions grows, so will the number of programming services offering similar services.

Promotion Strategy

Home Division: Initially, we will depend upon presentations and business relationships to reach new customers.

• Retirement villas “social nights:” We have been invited to attend certain nights set aside at retirement villas for residents and family members in which we will present Photo Memories thru discussion and a brief video presentation.
• Photographers, photo processing centers, and travel agencies: We will form business referral relationships with like businesses to promote the product.

B2B Division: We depend on direct contact with communications deans and professors as our main way to reach students. That contact will be made to specific schools.

• Promotional Kits. We are sending colleges, universities and technical schools with tv stations on campus promotional kits which will include our objectives and student guidelines for various topics.
• Campus Visits and Phone Calls. We are contacting the professors and deans directly, either through campus visits or phone calls, to gain the support needed from deans and professors, who in turn are encouraging their students to submit news stories to us.

Distribution Strategy

Home Division: Our primary distribution will be through our storefront, which will also be the order center, consultation location, and production office. To make it easier for our customers at retirement villas, we offer to accept orders at and deliver to these locations.

B2B Division: Our distribution will focus mainly around our website, taking orders and processing them through direct mailings. In the initial period, we will be distributing tapes during person-to-person presentations.

We are prepared to mail on order, via the USPS. Stations may order for regular three-day delivery, up to overnight shipments, depending upon their needs.

Part of the business’s success will be based on planned tasks and timely completion of those steps. The table below lists steps, timeline and estimated budgets.

Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans.">

EvergreenTV Productions is owned and operated by its founders, Louanne Walters and Bobby Gene Walters. It is a small company with immediate plans for hiring one or two employees per store. Each employee’s responsibilities will be outlined in our business system “Operations Manual.”

As we grow into the Tour and Travel and B2B Divisions, we will evaluate which positions need to be filled first. Long term growth includes plans for an Operations Manager, who will report to the President and handle all accounting and marketing responsibilities. Three managers will answer to the Ops Mgr, one per division. Each manager will be primarily responsible for accounting and marketing within his/her division, and will handle all hiring/training needs.

We currently receive a great deal of advice from outside sources, such as our accountant and attorney; however, we follow the advice which meets our goals and needs.

Organizational Structure

As a start-up, our divisions and departments are inter-related and handled for the most part by Louanne Walters. With time and revenue, we will expand to accommodate several departments: sales & marketing, service and administration, product development, and finance. Each division manager will fill these departments according to specific needs and the company’s business system operations manual.

The following chart outlines the anticipated organizational set-up for the first three to five years of EvergreenTV Productions, Inc.

Management Team

Louanne Walters, president: 33 years old, extensive experience in the radio and tv news industries. Formerly a tv news producer, reporter and anchor. Degree in broadcast communications, seven years with three NBC affiliates (KPOM, Ft. Smith, Arkansas – KRIS, Corpus Christ, Texas – KWQC, Davenport, Iowa) and one year as video programmer with Royal Caribbean International. Extensive public relations background as anchor and cruise director with Royal Caribbean International. Strong writing skills, strong story development and news sense. Attending courses at Small Business Development Center USF. Louanne also has strong sales skills, and is formerly a Toyota new car product specialist, and Voice Stream territory representative.

Bobby G. Walters, vice-president: 61 years old, extensive management background during 33 years with USAF. Degree in business and management. Twelve years as manager with local Wal-Mart stores.

Management Team Gaps

We believe we have strong leadership for developing the concept behind EvergreenTV Productions. At present, our weakest area is in accounting. We are currently taking an accounting course produced by “Great Courses on Tape,” focusing on finance and accounting. Additionally, we have hired Jim Wessman, CPA to advise and aid us in the development of EvergreenTV Productions. Jim is a qualified management counselor, and QuickBooks advisor.

We also need to hire division managers with a well-rounded management background, including human resources, accounting, benchmarking and goal-setting abilities.

Following the opening of stores for the Home Division, we will need to hire an operations manager, with an MBA and at least five years experience with a start-up organization.

Personnel Plan

Details of store staffing is presented in the Personnel Table, below and in the appendix.

We assume hiring employees on hourly pay the first year, and adding a few salaried management positions with benefits the second year. Our management salaries (marketing manager, president, operations manager) as shown below include taxable benefits. Payroll taxes for all employees are shown in the Profit and Loss.

Financial Plan investor-ready personnel plan .">

The most important element in the financial plan is the critical need for additional capital to assist in business operations through the remaining start-up process, and to maintain a positive cash balance for the first fiscal quarters. We do not anticipate any changes to our financial plan through accounts receivables or inventory, as our company operates upon the “payment upon receipt” principal for all goods, and our inventory cycle does not meet the standard criteria.

Moving from a home office to a storefront with employees, introduces greater liabilities. During the past seven month start-up process, we have largely committed to EvergreenTV Productions through personal savings, cashed stocks, personal credit lines and personal long-term loan options.

Important Assumptions

The financial plan depends on important assumptions, most of which are shown in the following table. The key underlying assumptions are:

We assume access to equity capital and financing sufficient to follow and maintain our financial plan as shown in the tables. We anticipate our financing to hold higher long-term interest than our current loan against stock. We assume that as our company grows, we will be able to utilize a larger credit line, decreasing our expenses in cash. Likewise, our short-term credit line will be available with a lower short-term interest rate, making more cash available.

We assume opening and promoting three stores within the Tampa Bay area before reaching saturation. Likewise, we assume relatively quick initial growth within the Home Division, following our plan of two stores open within the first year, and 10 stores statewide within five years.

We assume many tv markets are, or will become, Internet proficient. We assume most colleges and universities are, or will become, Internet proficient. We assume slow initial growth within the B2B Division. However, the majority of our long-term payments are for one time, or long-term purchases which will not need to be replaced in the first five years.

Key Financial Indicators

The benchmark chart shows the nature of our company. We estimate consistent turns on inventory, as our inventory is available for resale on a constant basis. In our Home Division, we do not keep inventory, but customers bring their photos to us. In our B2B Division, our inventory consists of news stories we will keep on hand for multiple sales. Several stations may purchase the same story, we simply make a copy of that story. Our blank tape inventory will be replenished monthly to avoid keeping a large inventory of tapes.

Our Gross Margin increases with increased sales, but as we have a very low direct cost of sales, this number will only increase fractionally compared to sales.

Sales and Operating Expenses are our closest measurements in this forecast. While sales increase dramatically, operating expenses increase with new stores, additional employees and taxes. However, by maximizing the number of employees within each store, we are also maximizing our location and limiting further expenses that additional storefronts would incur. We are also able to save drastically on advertising expenses, which would naturally increase with each new location.

Break-even Analysis

We assume running costs which include rent, utilities, office expenses, and an average of travel, advertising and miscellaneous costs. Miscellaneous costs are equal to quarterly costs such as business cards, brochures, bulk tape supplies and occasional equipment rental. Payroll increases every other month as we add new employees.

Projected Profit and Loss

Profit and Loss projects look very good, with the usual start-up loss limited to the first two months. The monthly projections for the first year are included in the appendix.

Projected Cash Flow

Cash flow projections are good, as shown in the annual table below, and the monthly table in the appendix. There are only two months of negative cash flow the foreseen the first year, and the all important cash balance shows steady increases.

Projected Balance Sheet

The balance sheet below and in the appendix show steady increase in net worth over the life of the plan.

Business Ratios

Business ratios for the years of this plan are shown below. Industry profile ratios based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code 7812, Motion Picture and Video Production, are shown for comparison.

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TV Station Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business ideas » Media Industry » TV Station & TV Shows

Are you about starting a TV station? If YES, here is a complete sample TV station business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.

Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a TV station. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample TV station marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for TV stations. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

Why Start a TV Station?

A TV station business is fun, profitable and interesting for someone who has great business acumen, an appreciable level of perseverance and smartness. With the right location, top-notch services and good marketing, you can indeed make good money from this line of business.

Suggested for You

• Film and Video Production Business Plan [Sample Template]
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• YouTube Video Channel Business Plan [Sample Template]
• How to Start a TV Talk Show Business
• How to Start a Reality Show Business

Starting a TV station business also needs a significant investment capital, solid planning, and concentration to detail in order to keep the business profitable.

So, if you have decided to start your own TV station, then you should you carry out thorough feasibility studies and market survey. Business plan is yet another very important business document that you should not take for granted when launching your own TV station business.

Below is a sample TV station business plan template that can help you to successfully write your own with little or no difficulty.

A Sample Television Station Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

Television stations operate studios and facilities that deliver audiovisual content to the public via over-the-air transmission. The types of programming offered can be made by broadcasters or by affiliates that exist outside the industry.

The Television Station industry is in the mature phase of its life cycle and luckily for the industry, the advent of digital media has provided an opportunity for the industry to experience vibrant growth. Of course the industry is becoming more concentrated, as seen by a few large global firms dominating the market and gaining a huge market share of the available market.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC), once the primary barrier to entry into the Television Broadcasting industry, have steadily declined over the years. The marketplace for broadcast TV has changed drastically since its inception; according to market research, 17.0 percent of US households rely solely on over-the-air broadcasts for their television needs.

Cable and satellite now dominate the industry, and according to eMarketer’s latest survey on digital consumption, an estimated 50.8 percent of Americans watch at least some of their TV from online services. The FCC, rather than create protectionist measures that limit new types of media from competing against major broadcasting companies, has instead welcomed this competition.

The Television Stations Industry is indeed a very large industry and pretty much thriving in all parts of the world. Statistics has it that in the united states of America alone, there are about 2,247 licensed and registered television stations responsible for employing about 123,318 employees and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $56 billion annually with an annual growth rate projected at 2.7 percent.

It is important to state that the establishments with lion shares of the available market in this industry are Fox, NBC Universal, Walt Disney Company and Viacom Inc. A recent report published by IBISWorld shows that over the five years to 2017, the Television Broadcasting industry struggled somewhat to attract viewers and generate advertising revenue, though industry revenue has increased.

As consumers quickly adopted mobile devices, thereby increasing their ability to subscribe to online streaming platforms, advertisers lowered their spending on broadcast television and increased their efforts on digital and online media.

Over the five years to 2022, television broadcasters will respond to a shifting media environment by restructuring their business models to better integrate programming with digital platforms.

TV stations cannot be phased out despite the change in visual technology approaches and the emergence of new media (YouTubes et al). It is easier for television stations to leverage on modern technology to reach out to their target market.

2. Executive Summary

All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. is a U.S based sports television station that will be located in Los Angeles – California. We have been able to secure a standard office facility in a central business district in Inglewood.

We are a sports television station that is set to compete in the highly competitive television industry not only in the United States market, but also in the global market because our clientele base will not be restricted to just businesses and organizations in the United States but in the international market who would want to advertise on our TV station.

All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. will air live sports events from all across the United States. Our business goal is to become one of the leading sports TV station in the United States of America with high profile corporate and individual clients scattered all around the globe.

Our workers are going to be selected from a pool of talented and highly creative broadcasters and media experts in and around Los Angeles – California and also from any part of the world as the business grows.

We will make sure that we take all the members of our workforce through the required training that will position them to meet the expectation of the company and to compete with leading sports TV stations in the United States and of course throughout the globe.

At All Sports™ TV Station, Inc., our client’s and viewers best interest will always come first, and everything we do will be guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s business needs completely.

All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. is founded by Thomson Goldberg and his friend and business partner for many years Lesly Henderson. They both graduated from University of California, Beckley with BA in Mass Communications and they have a combined experience that revolves around journalism, sports broadcasting, and business management.

3. Our Products and Services

All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. was established with the aim of maximizing profits in the TV industry. We want to compete favorably with leading sports television stations in the United States and of course throughout the globe which is why we have but in place a competent team that will ensure that we meet and even surpass our customers’ expectations.

We will work hard to ensure that All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. does not just air sports events in the United States of America, but also in other parts of the world. Our products and services are listed below;

• Operating broadcasting studios and facilities
• Producing television (sports) programming content
• Transmitting programming to affiliated broadcast stations
• Public relations services for sport clubs
• Creating sports related advertising campaigns
• Other related sports media and advertising advisory and consulting services

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to establish a world class sports television station whose programs will not only be viewed Los Angeles – California but also throughout the United States of America, and other parts of the world.
• Our mission is to provide professional sports television broadcasting services that will provide platforms for businesses, individuals and non-profit organizations in promoting their brands and reaching out to a wide range of potential customers all over the globe. We want to build a sports television station that can favorably compete with other leading brands in the industry.

Our Business Structure

All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. is a world class sports television station that intends starting small in Los Angeles – California, but hope to grow big in order to compete favorably with leading sports television stations in the United States and of course throughout the globe.

We are aware of the importance of building a solid business structure that can support the picture of the kind of world class business we want to own, which is why we are committed to only hiring the best hands within our area of operations.

At All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. we will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, hardworking, and creative, result driven, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all our stakeholders.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our senior management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more as agreed by the board of trustees of the company. In view of the above, All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

• Chief Executive Officer
• Creative Director

Advertising cum Digital Marketing Specialist

Human Resources and Admin Manager

Sports Presenters

• Sales and Marketing Executive

Content Creator

Client Service Executive

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO:

• Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
• In control of providing direction for the business
• Generates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Accountable for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization

Creative Director:

• Serves as project manager for the organization; works directly with employees
• Responsible for designing programs and advertising concepts
• In charge of copy writing and laying out chronological advertisement plans
• Develops strategic plan by studying technological, and financial opportunities; presenting assumptions; recommending objectives
• Preserves quality service by establishing and enforcing organization standards
• Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; benchmarking state-of-the-art practices; participating in professional societies
• Ensures that the organization work in line with international best practices
• Handles media planning and representation
• Responsible for creating advertising campaigns
• Responsible for disseminating advertising campaigns through the television
• Handles other related media and advertising advisory and consulting services
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily office

Sales and Marketing Manager

• Accomplishes external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
• Models demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer
• Recognizes development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
• Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
• In authority for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develop, execute and evaluate new plans for expanding sales
• Create new markets cum businesses for the organization
• Empower and motivates the sales team to meet and surpass agreed targets

Accountant/Cashier:

• Liable for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for All Sports™ TV Station, Inc.
• Serves as internal auditor for the organization
• Presents sports program for the organization
• Responsible for developing catchy sport programs
• Interviews guest in the studio and in the field
• Responsible for creating contents for the organization as it relates to sports program and advertising
• Welcomes clients and potential clients by greeting them in person, online or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that contacts with clients provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the creative director in an effective and timely manner
• Steadily stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information are supplied to clients when they make enquiries.

6. SWOT Analysis

All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring to assist our organization in building a well – structured sports television station that can favorably compete in the highly competitive TV broadcasting industry in the United States and the world at large.

We know that if we get things right before starting our sports TV station, we will not have to struggle before attracting loyal clients and building our viewership to a level where we can breakeven in record time.

We hired the services of Dr. Edwards Christopher, a HR and Business consultant with bias in business structuring to help us conduct SWOT analysis for our company and he did a pretty good job for us. Here is a of the result we got from the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of All Sports™ TV Station, Inc.;

Our core strength lies in the power of our workforce. We have a team of creative, result driven and highly proficient sports journalists and broadcast experts, a team with excellent qualifications and experience in various niche areas in the sports industry.

Aside from the synergy that exists in our carefully selected workforce, our services will be measurable, result driven and guided by best practices in the industry.

As a new TV station with bias in sports broadcasting in Los Angeles – California, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance especially from top profile clients in the already saturated and highly competitive sports television broadcasting industry; that is perhaps our major weakness.

• Opportunities:

The opportunities available to sports television stations is massive considering the number of individuals and corporate organizations who would want to advertise in our station. As a standard sports television station, we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that is available in the industry.

Just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a new sports television station in the same location where our target market exists and who may want to adopt same Business model like us.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

If you are conversant with the television stations industry, you will agree that in the bid to reach out to a larger viewer base, television stations are now leveraging on internet broadcasting and mobile apps. This goes to show that the television industry will continue to evolve due to the advancement of computer technology.

8. Our Target Market

There is a wide range of viewers, corporate and individual clients who cannot successfully run their businesses without the services and support of a standard television station; a company that can help them reach out to their target market and effectively promote their corporate brand and image.

In view of that, we have created strategies that will enable us reach out to various corporate organizations, non – profits, government agencies and individual who we know can’t afford to do without our services. We have conducted our market research and survey and we will ensure that we meet and surpass the expectations of our clients. Below is a list of the people and organizations that we will market our services to;

• Banks, Insurance Companies and other related Financial Institutions
• Blue Chips Companies
• Manufacturers and Distributors
• Real Estate Owners, Developers, and Contractors
• The Government (Public Sector)
• Schools (High Schools, Colleges and Universities)
• Celebrities, Politicians, Public Figures and Public Speakers
• Sport Organizations
• Political Parties
• Branding and Advertising agencies
• Entrepreneurs and Startups

Our Competitive Advantage

Surviving in the business world as a sport television station requires more than your expertise, but also how to network with key people that matters when it comes to landing advertising contracts.

Our competitive advantage lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team of creative, result driven and highly proficient television experts, a team with excellent qualifications and experience in various niche areas in the sports television industry.

Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the television industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to meet and surpass the expectations of all our clients. All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. will generate income by offering the following services;

• Disseminating advertising campaigns through our TV station

10. Sales Forecast

One thing is certain, there would always be sports organizations, corporate organizations, government agencies, non – profits and individuals who would need to advertise in television stations to help them increase sales or promote their brands and corporate image.

All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. is well positioned to take on the available market in the sports television stations industry and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough profits from the first six months of operation and grow our sports television to enviable heights.

We have been able to critically examine the sports television marketing space, we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projection is based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to similar startups in Los Angeles – California.

• First Fiscal Year: $700,000
• Second Fiscal Year: $2 Million
• Third Fiscal Year: $5 Million

N.B : This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same services as we do within the same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there is stiff competition in the television industry, hence we have been able to hire some of the best marketing experts to handle our sales and marketing.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited based on their vast experience in the advertising industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall business goal of All Sports™ TV Station, Inc.

Our corporate goal is to grow All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. to become one of the leading sports television stations in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out a strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in the United States of America but also in other parts of the world.

All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our sports television station by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to sports organizations, corporate organizations, government agencies, non – profits, and key stake holders in and around Los Angeles – California
• Promptness in bidding for advertising contracts from the government and other cooperate organizations
• Advertise our business in relevant business magazines, newspapers, and radio stations
• List our business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
• Create different packages for different category of clients in order to work with their budgets and still run their adverts or programs in our station
• Leverage on the internet to promote our business
• Engage direct marketing approach
• Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our in – house publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.

We are set to become the number one choice for both corporate clients and individual clients in the whole of the United States and beyond which is why we have made provisions for the effective publicity of our sports television station. Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise All Sports™ TV Station, Inc.;

• Place adverts on both print (newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our sports television stations
• Install our billboards in strategic locations all around Los Angeles – California
• Engage in roadshows from time to time in targeted neighborhoods
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
• List All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. in local directories/yellow pages
• Advertise All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site.
• Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our company logo.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

At All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. we will keep the prices of our advertising services below the average market rate by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance from corporate organizations who would hire our services. In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to all our customers at regular intervals.

• Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. is all inclusive because we are aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.

Here are the payment options that All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. will make available to her clients;

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment with cash
• Payment via credit cards
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for our services without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

It is a known fact that in setting up any business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake.

If you intend to go big by renting a place, then you would need a good amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are well taken care of, and that your facility is conducive enough for workers to be creative and productive.

The materials and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked.

The detailed cost analysis for starting a standard sports television station might differ in other countries due to the value of their money. However, this is what it would cost us to setup All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. in the United of America;

• Business incorporating fees in the United States of America will cost – $750
• The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $3,500
• Leasing/renting an office space in a good location in Los Angeles – California that will accommodate the number of employees and our studios (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $250,000
• The cost for furnishing and equipping the office (broadcasting devices, cameras, computers, printers, projectors, servers/internet facility, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $30,000
• The amount required to purchase the needed software applications – $3,500
• Launching an official Website will cost – $500
• The amount need to pay bills and staff members for at least 2 to 3 months – $180,000
• Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $10,000
• Miscellaneous – $20,000

Going by the report from the market research and feasibility studies conducted, we will need about eight hundred and fifty thousand ( 850,000 ) U.S. dollars to successfully set up a small scale but standard sports television station in the United States of America.

Generating Startup Capital for All Sports™ TV Station, Inc.

All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. is a business that will be owned, financed and managed by Thomson Goldberg and his friend and business partner Lesly Henderson. They are the sole financier of the business which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital for the business to just three major sources. These are the areas we intend generating our startup capital;

• Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings and sale of stocks
• Generate part of the startup capital from friends and other extended family members
• Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about $300,000 ( Personal savings $250,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000 ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $500,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents have been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

It is an established fact that the future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business then it won’t be too long before the business closes shop.

One of our major goals of starting All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.

We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to offer our advertising and related services a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are well prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.

All Sports™ TV Station, Inc. will make sure that the right foundation, structures and standard operating processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner of our business strategy.

We know that if this is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List/Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check: Completed
• Business Incorporation: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts various banks in the United States: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Securing a standard office and studio facility in a good location in Los Angeles – California: Completed
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of all forms of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating part of the startup capital from the founders: Completed
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
• Design of Logo for the business: Completed
• Secure trademark for our products: In Progress
• Graphic Designing and Printing of Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the needed broadcasting and studio equipment, cameras, furniture, office equipment, software applications, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the business: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with vendors and key players in various industries: In Progress

Simple Business Plan Templates

By Joe Weller | April 2, 2020

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In this article, we’ve compiled a variety of simple business plan templates, all of which are free to download in PDF, Word, and Excel formats.

On this page, you’ll find a one-page business plan template , a simple business plan for startups , a small-business plan template , a business plan outline , and more. We also include a business plan sample and the main components of a business plan to help get you started.

Simple Business Plan Template

Download Simple Business Plan Template

Word  |  PDF

This simple business plan template lays out each element of a traditional business plan to assist you as you build your own, and it provides space to add financing information for startups seeking funding. You can use and customize this simple business plan template to fit the needs for organizations of any size.

One-Page Business Plan Template

Download One-Page Business Plan Template

Excel  |  Word  |  PDF  | Smartsheet

Use this one-page business plan to document your key ideas in an organized manner. The template can help you create a high-level view of your business plan, and it provides easy scannability for stakeholders. You can use this one-page plan as a reference to build a more detailed blueprint for your business. 

For additional single page plans, take a look at " One-Page Business Plan Templates with a Quick How-To Guide ."

Simple Fill-in-the-Blank Business Plan Template

Download Simple Fill-in-the-Blank Business Plan Template

Use this fill-in-the-blank business plan template to guide you as you build your business plan. Each section comes pre-filled with sample content, with space to add customized verbiage relevant to your product or service.

For additional free, downloadable resources, visit " Free Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan Templates ."

Simple Business Plan for Startup

‌  Download Startup Business Plan Template — Word

This business plan template is designed with a startup business in mind and contains the essential elements needed to convey key product or service details to investors and stakeholders. Keep all your information organized with this template, which provides space to include an executive summary, a company overview, competitive analysis, a marketing strategy, financial data, and more. For additional resources, visit " Free Startup Business Plan Templates and Examples ."

Simple Small-Business Plan Template

Download Simple Small-Business Plan Template

This template walks you through each component of a small-business plan, including the company background, the introduction of the management team, market analysis, product or service offerings, a financial plan, and more. This template also comes with a built-in table of contents to keep your plan in order, and it can be customized to fit your requirements.

Lean Business Plan Template

Download Lean Business Plan Template

This lean business plan template is a stripped-down version of a traditional business plan that provides only the most essential aspects. Briefly outline your company and industry overview, along with the problem you are solving, as well as your unique value proposition, target market, and key performance metrics. There is also room to list out a timeline of key activities.

Simple Business Plan Outline Template

Download Simple Business Plan Outline Template

Use this simple business plan outline as a basis to create your own business plan. This template contains 11 sections, including a title page and a table of contents, which details what each section should cover in a traditional business plan. Simplify or expand this outline to create the foundation for a business plan that fits your business needs.

Simple Business Planning Template with Timeline

Download Simple Business Planning Template with Timeline

Excel  | Smartsheet

This template doubles as a project plan and timeline to track progress as you develop your business plan. This business planning template enables you to break down your work into phases and provides room to add key tasks and dates for each activity. Easily fill in the cells according to the start and end dates to create a visual timeline, as well as to ensure your plan stays on track.

Simple Business Plan Rubric Template

Download Simple Business Plan Rubric

Once you complete your business plan, use this business plan rubric template to assess and score each component of your plan. This rubric helps you identify elements of your plan that meet or exceed requirements and pinpoint areas where you need to improve or further elaborate. This template is an invaluable tool to ensure your business plan clearly defines your goals, objectives, and plan of action in order to gain buy-in from potential investors, stakeholders, and partners.

Basic Business Plan Sample

Download Basic Business Plan Sample

This business plan sample serves as an example of a basic business plan that contains all the traditional components. The sample provides a model of what a business plan might look like for a fictional food truck business. Reference this sample as you develop your own business plan.

For additional resources to help support your business planning efforts, check out “ Free Strategic Planning Templates .”

Main Components of a Business Plan

The elements you include in your business plan will depend on your product or service offerings, as well as the size and needs of your business. 

Below are the components of a standard business plan and details you should include in each section:

• Company name and contact information
• Website address
• The name of the company or individual viewing the presentation
• Table of Contents
• Company background and purpose
• Mission and vision statement
• Management team introduction
• Core product and service offerings
• Target customers and segments
• Marketing plan
• Competitive analysis
• Unique value proposition
• Financial plan (and requirements, if applicable)
• Business and industry overview
• Historical timeline of your business
• Offerings and the problem they solve
• Current alternatives
• Competitive advantage
• Market size
• Target market segment(s)
• Projected volume and value of sales compared to competitors
• Differentiation from competitors
• Pricing strategy
• Marketing channels
• Promotional plan
• Distribution methods
• Legal structure of your business
• Names of founders, owners, advisors, etc.
• Management team’s roles, relevant experience, and compensation plan
• Staffing requirements and training plans
• Physical location(s) of your business
• Additional physical requirements (e.g., warehouse, specialized equipment, facilities, etc.)
• Production workflow
• Raw materials and sourcing methods
• Projected income statement
• Projected cash flow statement
• Projected balance sheet
• Break-even analysis
• Charts and graphs
• Market research and competitive analysis
• Information about your industry
• Information about your offerings
• Samples of marketing materials
• Other supporting materials