sample business plan property development

Property Development Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Property Development Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Property Development business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their property development companies.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Property Development business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Redstone Development is a new property development company located in Salt Lake City, Utah. We focus on residential property development for single-family and multi-family homes. We handle all steps of the process, from sourcing the land to selling the finished property. Redstone Development aims to be the most trusted source of affordable housing in the Salt Lake City metro area.

Redstone Development is owned and operated by Jack Grant, a real estate development industry veteran who is well-versed in the entire property development process. Jack has over 30 years of experience developing residential properties and holds a Master’s in Real Estate Development. His education, experience, and industry connections will ensure that Redstone Development becomes one of the area’s most successful property development businesses.

Product Offering

Redstone Development will handle the entire development process, including sourcing land, securing all necessary approvals and permits, construction, and sale of the finished property.

The company focuses on building single-family homes and multi-family apartment complexes in the heart of Salt Lake City. All projects are designed to make these homes aesthetically appealing and luxurious. However, they will also be affordable to ensure that anyone in the Salt Lake City area can afford to live in our properties.

Customer Focus

Redstone Development will serve home buyers and real estate investors who live and work in Salt Lake City, Utah, or the surrounding area. Salt Lake City is a growing city in need of additional housing. More people come to this beautiful city every year, which reduces the number of available homes and apartment units. Therefore, we will target buyers who are struggling to find affordable housing.

Furthermore, there are thousands of first-time home buyers in the area. These buyers are an ideal target market for the company.

Management Team

Redstone Development will be owned and operated by Jack Grant. He recruited his former administrative assistant, Sheila Johnson, to be his Office Manager and help manage the office and operations.

Jack has over 30 years of experience developing residential properties and worked for several of our competitors. He also holds a Master’s in Real Estate Development from the University of Utah. His education, experience, and industry connections will ensure that Redstone Development becomes one of the area’s most successful real estate development businesses.

Sheila Johnson has been Jack Grant’s loyal administrative assistant for over ten years at a former property development firm. Jack relies strongly on Sheila’s diligence, attention to detail, and focus when organizing his clients, schedule, and files. Sheila has worked in the property development industry for so long that she understands all aspects required to run a successful property development company.

Jack will also employ several other full-time and part-time staff to assist with all aspects of running a real estate development business.

Success Factors

Redstone Development will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Location: Redstone Development’s office is near the center of town, in the shopping district of the city. It is visible from the street, where many residents shop for both day-to-day and luxury items.
• Client-oriented service: Redstone Development will have a full-time assistant with property development experience to keep in contact with clients and answer their everyday questions. Jack realizes the importance of accessibility and will further keep in touch with his clients through monthly newsletters.
• Management: Jack has been highly successful working in the property development sector. His unique qualifications will serve customers in a much more sophisticated manner than many of Redstone Development’s competitors.
• Relationships: Having worked and lived in the community his whole life, Jack knows many local leaders, real estate agents, and other influencers in the local property development industry.

Financial Highlights

Redstone Development is seeking $1,000,000 in debt financing to launch its property development business. The funding will be dedicated to purchasing our first property, construction costs, securing the office space, and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward six months of overhead costs, including payroll, rent, and marketing costs. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Office space build-out: $50,000
• Office equipment, supplies, and materials: $20,000
• Land purchase and construction expenses: $530,000
• Six months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $250,000
• Marketing costs: $50,000
• Working capital: $100,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Redstone Development.

Company Overview

Who is redstone development.

Redstone Development is a new property development company located in Salt Lake City, Utah. We focus on residential property development for single-family and multi-family homes. We handle all steps of the property development process, from sourcing the land to selling the finished property. Redstone Development aims to be the most trusted source of affordable housing in the Salt Lake City metro area.

Redstone Development is owned and operated by Jack Grant, who is a real estate development industry veteran and well-versed in the entire property development process. Jack has over 30 years of experience developing residential properties and holds a Master’s in Real Estate Development. His education, experience, and industry connections will ensure that Redstone Development becomes one of the area’s most successful property development businesses.

Redstone Development’s History

After 30 years of working in the property development industry, Jack Grant began researching what it would take to create his own property development company. This included a thorough analysis of the costs, market, demographics, and competition. Jack has compiled enough information to develop his business plan and approach investors.

Once his market analysis was complete, Jack began surveying the local office spaces available and located an ideal location for the property development headquarters. Jack incorporated Redstone Development as a Limited Liability Corporation on October 1st, 2022.

Once the lease is finalized on the office space, renovations can be completed to make the office a welcoming environment to meet with clients.

Since incorporation, Redstone Development has achieved the following milestones:

• Located available office space for rent that is ideal for meeting with clients
• Identified the first property to develop
• Developed the company’s name, logo, and website
• Hired an interior designer for the decor and furniture layout
• Determined equipment and fixture requirements
• Began recruiting key employees

Redstone Development’s Services

Redstone Development will handle the entire property development process, including sourcing land, securing all necessary approvals and permits, construction, and sale of the finished property.

Industry Analysis

The real estate and property development industries have been strong over the past few years. As of 2021, the real estate industry was valued at $3.69 trillion and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% from now until 2030.

This growth will be driven by increasing demand for personal housing. Millennials and Gen-Z are beginning to rent their first apartments or buy their first homes. After years of living with family or roommates, they are ready to have a space to call their own. This trend is leading to a substantial demand for housing that many cities are struggling to supply.

The main challenge to the property development industry is the decrease in market size in the land development industry. Over the past five years, the industry saw an average annual decline of 0.7%. However, we believe that the pandemic was a considerable factor in this decline. Currently, the land development market is valued at $12 billion USD, and we expect it to grow substantially due to the growth of similar industries and the increasing demand for housing, as mentioned above.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Redstone Development will serve home buyers and real estate investors in Salt Lake City, Utah, and its surrounding areas.

The community of Salt Lake City has thousands of first-time home buyers, residential real estate investment firms, and people looking for affordable housing options in the area. The company will also target millennials specifically since the majority of first-time home buyers are in this age group.

The precise demographics for Salt Lake City, Utah are:

Customer Segmentation

Redstone Development will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Home buyers
• Real estate investors
• Millennials
• Apartment/Condominium management companies

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Redstone Development will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Upscale Property Developers, Inc.

Upscale Property Developers, Inc. is a property development company in Salt Lake City. In business for over 40 years, Upscale Property Developers, Inc. provides oversight for the entire property development process for new single-family and multi-family residences, commercial offices, and government buildings across the area. Upscale Property Developers, Inc also offers a variety of property renovation, demolition, and revitalization services for existing buildings.

Although Upscale Property Developers, Inc. provides homes with a luxury aesthetic, they are also the most expensive property developments on the market, thus resulting in many first-time home buyers being priced out of the market.

Premium Property Development Solutions

Established in 1990, Premium Property Development Solutions is a property developer of new commercial and residential properties in Salt Lake City. The company specializes in eco-friendly building materials and upscale design options for individual and corporate clients. Clients can customize their building design or choose from a variety of standard design options. The company employs experienced property developers and designers who are well-versed in green building design.

Premium Property Development Solutions is more affordable than Upscale Property Developers Inc. but is still out of most first-time home buyers’ price ranges.

Salt Lake Residential

Salt Lake Residential is also a local property development company that manages the complete property development process from sourcing and permitting to construction and sale. They are mostly known for their unique apartment complex designs but are equipped to take on a variety of different builds. The company has been in business for about ten years and has developed a reputation for building quality homes for affordable prices.

Although Salt Lake Residential has a similar value proposition of luxury homes at affordable prices, this company lacks the green building and eco-efficiency component to their business model, thus losing out on business from eco-conscious home buyers.

Competitive Advantage

Redstone Development enjoys several advantages over its competitors. Those advantages include:

• Location: Redstone Development’s office is near the center of town, in the city’s shopping district. It is visible from the street, where many residents shop for both day-to-day and luxury items.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Redstone Development will offer the following unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Service built on long-term relationships and personal attention
• Big-firm expertise in a small-firm environment
• Client-focused property development, where the company’s interests are aligned with the client
• Effective project management
• Affordable pricing

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Redstone Development is as follows:

Website/SEO

Redstone Development will invest heavily in developing a professional website that displays all of the features and benefits of the property development company. It will also invest heavily in SEO so the brand’s website will appear at the top of search engine results.

Social Media

Redstone Development will invest heavily in a social media advertising campaign. The marketing manager will create the company’s social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. It will use targeted marketing to appeal to the target demographics.

Print Advertising

The company will invest in professionally designed advertisements to be printed in real estate publications. Redstone Development will also list its properties for sale in key local publications, including newspapers, area magazines, and its own newsletter.

Community Events/Organizations

The company will promote itself by distributing marketing materials and participating in local community events, such as local festivals, business networking, or sporting events.

Redstone Development’s pricing will be moderate so consumers feel they receive great value when purchasing properties from the company.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Redstone Development.

Operation Functions:

• Jack Grant will be the Owner and President of the company. He will oversee all staff and manage client relations. He will also oversee all major aspects of the development projects. Jack has spent the past year recruiting the following staff:
• Sheila Johnson – Office Manager who will manage the office administration, client files, and accounts payable.
• Kenneth Bohannon – Staff Accountant will provide all client accounting, tax payments, and monthly financial reporting.
• Beth Martinez – Marketing Manager who will provide all marketing for Redstone Development and each property it manages.
• Jack will also hire a team of architects, engineers, interior designers, and contractors to design and build the properties.

Milestones:

The following are a series of steps that lead to our vision of long-term success. Redstone Development expects to achieve the following milestones in the following six months:

1/1/202X         Finalize lease agreement

2/1/202X         Design and build out Redstone Development

3/1/202X         Hire and train initial staff

4/1/202X         Purchase first property for development

5/1/202X         Kickoff of promotional campaign

6/1/202X         Find second property for development

Jack has over 30 years of experience developing residential properties and worked for several of our competitors. He also holds a Master’s in Real Estate Development from the University of Utah. His education, experience, and industry connections will ensure that Redstone Development becomes one of the area’s most successful property development businesses.

Jack will also employ several other full-time and part-time staff to assist with all aspects of running a real estate development business as outlined in the Operations Plan.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

Redstone Development’s revenues will come primarily from the sale of completed properties. The company will sell new single-family homes, multi-family townhomes, and apartment complexes/condominium properties to individual buyers and investors.

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required to staff a property development office. The expenses will be the payroll cost, rent, utilities, office supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Key assumptions.

The following outlines the key assumptions required to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and to pay off the startup business loan.

• Average monthly payroll expenses: $50,000
• Office lease per year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement.

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

Property Development Business Plan FAQs

What is a property development business plan.

A property development business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your property development business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your Property Development business plan using our Property Development Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Property Development Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of property development businesses , some examples include: Single-family detached housing, Multifamily housing, Developing and Subdividing Lots, and Commercial buildings.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Real Estate Development Business Plan?

Property Development businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding. This is true for a real estate developer business plan and a real estate investment business plan template.

What are the Steps To Start a Property Development Business?

Starting a property development business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Write A Property Development Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed real estate development company business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include market research on the real estate market and potential target market size, information the services you will offer, marketing strategies, pricing details and a solid financial plan.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your property development business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your property development business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Property Development Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your property development business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your property development business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Property Development Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your property development business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your property development business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.

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A Sample Property Development Business Plan Template

A property development company is a company that is involved in buying land, financing real estate, building, or having builders build and develop projects for commercial purposes. Property development companies renovate and re-lease existing buildings, purchase raw land, and sell developed land or parcels to others. They are involved in developing a property from beginning to end.

A report released by the National Association of REALTORS® shows that over 5.64 million existing homes were sold in 2020. Also, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 822,000 newly constructed homes were sold in the same year. In 2019, 64.9 percent of families owned their primary residence, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances.

Steps on How to Write a Property Development Business Plan

1. executive summary.

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. is an American-based and licensed real estate cum property development company. Our head office will be located in a standard and centrally located facility in the heart of New York City, New York.

We will engage in property development projects for a wide range of clients. We will work towards becoming one of the largest property development companies in New York and the whole of the United States of America. Jason Theodora is the founder and CEO of Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc.

Company Profile

A. our products and services.

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will be involved in;

• Houses and housing estate developments
• Apartments and other residential developments
• Commercial developments
• Industrial developments
• Other developments (Investment Properties)
• Real estate consultancy and advisory services

b. Nature of the Business

Our property development company will operate the partnership business model. We will work with investors who are willing to partner with us to grow their investment portfolios in the real estate market.

c. The Industry

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will operate under the real estate sales and brokerage industry.

d. Mission Statement

Our mission is to be at the forefront of buying property and partnering with landowners, then develop a plan for what to build or rebuild on that property. We will bring in investors and predict how much money the new homes or businesses will bring in.

e. Vision Statement

Our vision of to be listed among the top three property development companies in the whole of New York.

f. Our Tagline (Slogan)

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. – The Genius of Property Development!

g. Legal Structure of the Business (LLC, C Corp, S Corp, LLP)

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will be formed as a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP).

h. Our Organizational Structure

• Chief Executive Officer
• Project Manager
• Company’s Lawyer/Secretary
• Admin and HR Manager
• Head of Construction and Renovation
• Business Developer/Sales and Marketing
• Customer Service Executive/Front Desk Officer

i. Ownership/Shareholder Structure and Board Members

• Jason Theodora (Owner and Chairman/Chief Executive Officer) 51 Percent Shares
• Hilary Kings (Board Member) 14 Percent Shares
• Harrison Williams (Board Member) 10 Percent Shares
• Rachael Abraham (Board Member) 10 Percent Shares
• Stella Norman (Board Member and Sectary) 10 Percent Shares.

SWOT Analysis

A. strength.

• Ideal location for property development (thriving real estate market)
• Highly experienced and qualified employees and management
• Access to finance from business partners
• Robust relations with property owners and properties investment moguls
• Good returns on investment for investors.

b. Weakness

• Financial Constraints
• Our business will be competing with well-established property developers and other home remodeling companies
• Inability to retain highly experienced and qualified employees longer than we want

c. Opportunities

• New York is a thriving market for property development companies and the real estate industry.
• Good support structure for property development companies.

i. How Big is the Industry?

The market size, measured by revenue of the real estate sales and brokerage industry is put at $156.2 billion in 2023 hence it will be safe to safe the industry is amongst the biggest industries in the United States of America.

ii. Is the Industry Growing or Declining?

All available data points to the fact that the real estate and brokerage industry is growing. The market size of the industry is expected to increase 0.4 percent in 2023.

iii. What are the Future Trends in the Industry

The real estate sales and brokerage industry is changing, and players in the industry are improvising. No doubt, technology and climate change (the go green initiative) will change the landscape of the industry going forward.

iv. Are There Existing Niches in the Industry?

No, there are no existing niche ideas when it comes to the property development business. This is because the property development line of business is a subset of the real estate and brokerage industry.

v. Can You Sell a Franchise of your Business in the Future?

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. has plans to sell franchises in the nearest future and we will target major cities with thriving real estate markets in the United States of America.

• The arrival of new property development companies within our market space
• Unfavorable government policy and regulations.
• Community resistance
• Liability problems
• Continuously changing consumer demands especially as it relates to style and design of properties et al.

i. Who are the Major Competitors?

• New World Development Co. Ltd
• Wheelock and Company
• AvalonBay Communities
• Greystar Real Estate Partners
• Wood Partners
• Mill Creek Residential
• Continental Properties Company, Inc.
• Trammell Crow Company
• The JBG Companies
• Lowe Enterprises
• Simon Property Group
• General Growth Properties
• SITE Centers
• Kimco Realty Corp
• Brixmor Property Group
• Panattoni Development Co.
• McDonald Development Co.
• USAA Real Estate Co.
• LaSalle Investment Management
• Gibraltar Syndication & Development Company

ii. Is There a Franchise for Property Development Business?

Well, for now, there are no known franchise opportunities in the property development business.

iii. Are There Policies, Regulations, or Zoning Laws Affecting Property Development Business?

Yes, there are county or state regulations and zoning laws for the business. Zoning laws are found in virtually every municipality in the United States, affecting land use, lot size, building heights, density, setbacks, and other aspects of property use.

In addition to that, it is important to state that in the United States, government agencies and departments routinely grant variances to rules and regulations. Often, you only have to fill out a short form. In other cases, your request may have to be publicly heard before your city council, zoning board, or other body. Please check with your zoning or planning department to find out what options are available to you.

Marketing Plan

A. who is your target audience.

i. Age Range

Our target market comprises adults above 18 years old who have the finance to do business with us.

ii. Level of Educational

We don’t have any restriction on the level of education of those we are ready to work with as investors or buyers of the properties we develop.

iii. Income Level

The income level of those we are looking to do business with will be between $70,000 and above $124,000.

iv. Ethnicity

There is no restriction when it comes to the ethnicity of the people we are looking to partner with.

v. Language

There is no restriction when it comes to the language spoken by the people we will partner with.

vi. Geographical Location

Anybody from any geographical location will be welcome to partner with us or do business with our company.

vii. Lifestyle

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will not restrict any investor or client from partnering with us or doing business with us based on their lifestyle, culture, or race.

b. Advertising and Promotion Strategies

• Host Themed Events That Catch Attention.
• Tap Into Text Marketing.
• Make Use of Bill Boards.
• Share Your Events in Local Groups and Pages.
• Turn Your Social Media Channels into a Resource
• Develop Your Business Directory Profiles
• Build Relationships with players in the real estate and brokerage industry.

i. Traditional Marketing Strategies

• Marketing through Direct Mail.
• Print Media Marketing – Newspapers & Magazines.
• Broadcast Marketing -Television & Radio Channels.
• OOH Marketing – Public Transits like Buses and Trains, Billboards, Street shows, and Cabs.
• Leverage direct sales, direct mail (postcards, brochures, letters, fliers), tradeshows, print advertising (magazines, newspapers, coupon books, billboards), referral (also known as word-of-mouth marketing), radio, and television.

ii. Digital Marketing Strategies

• Social Media Marketing Platforms.
• Influencer Marketing.
• Email Marketing.
• Content Marketing.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Marketing.
• Affiliate Marketing
• Mobile Marketing.

iii. Social Media Marketing Plan

• Start using chatbots.
• Create a personalized experience for our customers.
• Create an efficient content marketing strategy.
• Create a community for our target market and potential target market.
• Gear up our profiles with a diverse content strategy.
• Use brand advocates.
• Create profiles on the relevant social media channels.
• Run cross-channel campaigns.

c. Pricing Strategy

When working out our pricing strategy, Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will make sure it covers profits, insurance, premium, license, and economy or value and full package for each property,

In all our pricing strategy will reflect;

• Cost-Based Pricing
• Value-Based Pricing
• Competition-Based Pricing.

Sales and Distribution Plan

A. sales channels.

Our channel sales strategy will involve using partners and third parties—such as referral partners, affiliate partners, strategic alliances in the real estate and brokerage industry, and freelancers to help refer clients to us.

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will also leverage the 4 Ps of marketing which are place, price, product, and promotion. By carefully integrating all these marketing strategies into a marketing mix, we can have a visible, in-demand service that is competitively priced and promoted to our customers.

b. Inventory Strategy

The fact that we will need the required building materials means that Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will operate an inventory strategy that is based on a day-to-day methodology for ordering, maintaining, and processing items in our warehouse. We will develop our strategy with the same thoroughness and attention to detail as we would if we were creating an overall strategy for the business.

c. Payment Options for Customers

Here are the payment options that Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will make available to her clients;

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment via credit cards
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via mobile money transfer
• Payment via bank draft

d. Return Policy, Incentives, and Guarantees

At Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc., we develop properties and the nature of products (properties) we offer does not accommodate return policy, but we will guarantee our investors of good returns on their investment (ROI). Our Operating Margin targets for housebuilders across the economic cycle will be placed at 15-20 percent on Gross Development Value (GDV).

e. Customer Support Strategy

Our customer support strategy will involve seeking customers’ feedback. This will help us provide excellent properties, return on investment (ROI) and customer service to all our clients and investors, it will help us understand their needs, experiences, and pain points. We will work with effective CRM software to be able to achieve this.

Operational Plan

Our operational plan will cover capacity planning, location planning, layout planning, quality planning, and methods planning.

Overall, we plan to expand our revenue by 50 percent in the second year and the plan will include a marketing, sales, and operations component. The operations component of the plan would include attracting grants and fundraising strategies that will enable us to boost our properties and service offerings.

a. What Happens During a Typical Day at a Property Development Business?

• The office is open for the day
• Documentation and other administrative works are conducted throughout the day
• Marketers go out in the field to market our properties and services
• If there is an ongoing property development project, the required team and machinery are sent to the field to carry out the project.
• The team and machinery return to base (office) after the day’s job
• Report for the day is written and submitted to the required authority
• The office is closed for the day.

b. Production Process (If Any)

There is no production process when it comes to the property development business.

c. Service Procedure (If Any)

No, there are no defined service procedures for a property development business.

d. The Supply Chain

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will rely on key players in the real estate and brokerage industry to refer business deals to us. So also, we have been able to establish business relationships with wholesale supplies of building materials.

e. Sources of Income

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. make money from;

Financial Plan

A. amount needed to start your property development company.

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. would need an estimate of $4.5 million to successfully set up a property development company in the United States of America. Please note that this amount includes the salaries of all our staff for the first month of operation.

b. What are the Cost Involved?

• Business Registration Fees – $750.
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits – $7,300.
• Marketing, Branding and Promotions – $5,000.
• Business Consultant Fee – $2,500.
• Insurance – $5,400.
• Rent/Lease – $200,000.
• Other start-up expenses including, commercial satellite TV subscriptions, stationery ($500), and phone and utility deposits ($2,800).
• Operational Cost (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $100,000
• Start-up Inventory – $15,000
• Store Equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $4,750
• Furnishing and Equipping – $80,000
• Liquid Cash for Execution of Projects: $3.5 million
• Website: $600
• Miscellaneous: $2,000

c. Do You Need to Build a Facility? If YES, How Much will it cost?

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will not build a new facility; we intend to start with a long-term lease and after 5 years, we will start the process of acquiring our facility.

d. What are the Ongoing Expenses for Running a Property Development Company?

• Transportation cost
• Cost of building materials and supplies
• Utility bills (internet, phone bills, signage and sewage et al)
• Salaries of employees

e. What is the Average Salary of your Staff? List the Job Position and their proposed salary based on industry rate and your startup capital

• Chief Executive Officer – $85,000 Per Year
• Project Manager – $72,000 Per Year
• Head of Construction and Renovation – $70,000 Per Year
• Company’s Lawyer/Secretary – $68,000 Per Year
• Admin and HR Manager – $45,000 Per Year
• Business Developer/Sales and Marketing – $42,000 Per Year
• Accountant – $40,000 Per Year
• Customer Service Executive/Front Desk Officer – $30,000 Per Year.

f. How Do You Get Funding to Start a Property Development Company

• Raising money from personal savings and sale of personal stocks and properties
• Raising money from investors and business partners
• Sell shares to interested investors
• Applying for a loan from your bank/banks
• Pitching your business idea and applying for business grants and seed funding from, government, donor organizations, and angel investors
• Source for soft loans from your family members and your friends.

Financial Projection

A. how much should you charge for your service.

At Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. our fee will be based on the location and type of property we want to develop.

b. Sales Forecast?

• First Fiscal Year (FY1): $3.5 million
• Second Fiscal Year (FY2): $5 million
• Third Fiscal Year (FY3): $9 million

c. Estimated Profit You Will Make a Year?

The ideal profit margin we hope to make at Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will be between 16 and 20 percent on development costs.

d. Profit Margin of a Property Development Company

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will collect developer fees that will range from 5 to 10 percent aside from making profits off every property sold.

Please note in planning our property development project, we will make sure that the bottom line shows a suitable return for the money and effort we put into it.

Growth Plan

A. how do you intend to grow and expand .

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. will grow our property development company by first opening other offices in key cities in the United States of America within the first five years of establishing the business and then will start selling franchises from the sixth year.

b. Where do you intend to expand to and why? (Geographical locations)

Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. plans to expand first to Los Angeles – California, San Francisco – California, Chicago – Illinois, Washington, D.C., Boston – Massachusetts, Miami – Florida, Seattle – Washington, Dallas – Texas, and Philadelphia – Pennsylvania.

The reason we intend to expand to these geographic locations is the fact that available statistics show that the cities listed above have the highest real estate market in the United States. New York has the highest real estate value in the country at $2.8 trillion.

The founder of Vintage Group© Property Development Company, Inc. plans to exit the business via family succession. We have placed structure and processes in place that will help us achieve our plan of successfully transferring the business from one family member to another and from one generation to another.

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A Sample Property Development Business Plan Template

Are you about starting a real estate development company? If YES, here is a complete sample property development business plan template you can use for FREE. Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a property development business.

We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample property marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for property development businesses. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

Why Start a Property Development?

It is therefore no doubt that housing is one very essential ingredient to life. The moment one is able to find a place of abode, there comes a form of huge relief. It is for that reason that the need for the government of different parts of the world to provide basic shelter for its citizens cannot be over flogged.

Every day there are an avalanche of people who dive into the property development business because they know how lucrative this trade is and how money spinning it becomes when one is able to get a hang of it. This is why those who have scaled through the teething stage of the business know that adequate planning is one of the hurdles that just must be scaled so as to get things right.

1. Industry Overview

The property development industry falls into the real estate category and it is indeed a very large industry that has the potential to make entrepreneurs millionaire within a short period of time. Property development industry is a many-sided business that covers all aspect of activities, ranging from acquiring raw lands, to selling or renting or leasing of fully finished and furnished properties.

In essence, developers are responsible for turning ideas into real properties; i.e. they acquire lands, they finance real estate deals, they engage in building projects and they sell, rent, lease and even manage properties on behalf of their clients.

Beyond every reasonable doubt, one of the most profitable, creative and interesting aspect of the real estate industry is property development. As a matter of fact, developers are major players when it comes to determining the prices of properties. Although this type of business venture can be risky, but in order to make it big in the trade as a property developer, you have got to just take calculated risks.

Just like all other investment vehicles, there are potential down sides that you need to look out for as a property developer. One of the major risks in property development is a sudden down turn in the economy. Property development could take a period of two to three years from conception to completion, depending on the size of the project and the cash flow.

As a matter of fact, some projects could even take much longer than that. Because of the time frame involved in developing properties from start to finish, loads of unanticipated things could crop up and it falls in the thick of property cum economy downturn which is not good for the business considering the investment that has gone into the project.

Another factor that is of major concerns and a threat to property development business generally could be cost increase as a result of inflation, currency devaluation as well as economic challenges.

Unforeseen delays from the part of government agencies, litigation and also delays from contractors could lead to substantial cost increase especially if the project is heavily dependent on bank loans. If perhaps during this period there is a change in the supply and demand dynamics of the property sector, the project could as well be affected negatively.

As a property developer, it is very important to be creative, to be able to use your ideas to meet the rapidly changing needs of the society when it comes to properties; you should be able to convert a slum into a beautiful city, if indeed you want to become a major player in the real estate industry.

Over and above, the property development sector is known to be a major contributor in the economy of many nations of the world and the industry is notable for producing some of the richest men in the world.

2. Executive Summary

Solorio’s® Property Development Company is a property development company that will be based in 530 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10033, USA. Our aim of starting this business is to work in tandem with the government of the united states of America to deliver affordable homes and properties for all classes of people in the United States of America.

Our Head Office will be located in New York City, but we will have our branch offices in major cities in all regions of the United States of America. During the first two years of operation we would have set up our offices in the following locations; Las Vegas, Washington, DC, Dallas, Texas and Boston.

Solorio’s® Property Development Company is going to be a self-administered and a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). We will work towards becoming one of the largest owners, managers, and developers of first-class properties (accommodations, public buildings and office properties) in the United States of America.

We are quite aware that property development business requires a huge capital base, which is why we have perfect plans for steady flow of cash from private investors who are interested in working with us. We can confidently say that we have a robust financial standing and we are ready to take on any property development deal that comes our way.

As part of our plans to make our customers our number one priority and to become the leading property development company in New York City, we have perfected plans to work with our clients to deliver projects that can favorably compete with the best in the industry, at an affordable and reasonable price within the stipulated completion date barring any unforeseen circumstance and also to generate great value from any property that we manage (both for our clients and for the company).

Solorio’s® Property Development Company will become a specialist in turning slums into beautiful cities and turning a run –down and dilapidated building into a master piece. And that hopefully will be our brand and signature.

Solorio’s® Property Development Company will be owned majorly by Shannon McKenzie and family. Shannon McKenzie is a property guru that has worked with top Real Estate Companies in the United States of America for many years; prior to starting his own business. Other investors with same investment ideology whose name cannot be mentioned here for obvious reasons are also part owners of the business.

3. Our Products and Services

Solorio’s® Property Development Company will be involved in the core real estate business and because we aspire to become one of the leading property development company in New York City, we have decided to explore every available means of generating money from Property Development. Our business offering can are listed below;

• Developing Properties for our Clients
• Leasing of Properties
• Renting of Properties
• Selling of Fully Furnished Properties
• Selling of Landed Properties
• Leasing of Bare Land
• Manage Properties and Facility for Clients
• Property Makeover Services
• Real Estate Consultancy and Advisory Services

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• To deliver affordable and quality properties to all classes of people in the United States of America.
• At Solorio’s® Property Development Company, our mission and values is to help people and businesses in the United States of America and throughout the world realize their dreams of owning properties.

Our Business Structure

Solorio’s® Property Development Company is aiming to be amongst the leading property development companies in New York City, and the only way for us to attain this position is to structure the business for growth and to hire the best hands we can get in the industry.

We want to build a team that will work together towards achieving the company’s goal and also a business with standard structure and processes; a business that runs on auto pilot. In view of the above, we have made provisions for the following positions in our organization;

• Chief Executive Officer

Project Manager

Civil Engineer

• Structural Engineer
• Quantity Surveyor

Land Surveyor

Company’s Lawyer/Secretary

Admin and HR Manager

Business Developer

• Front Desk Officer

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO:

• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for the day to day running of the business
• Responsible for handling high profile clients and deals
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization
• Reports to the board
• Responsible for the planning, management and coordinating all projects on behalf of the company
• Supervise projects
• Ensures compliance during project executions
• Provides advice on the management of projects
• Responsible for carrying out risk assessment
• Using IT systems and software to keep track of people and progress of ongoing projects
• Responsible for overseeing the accounting, costing and billing of every project
• Represents the organization’s interest at various stakeholders meetings
• Ensures that project desired result is achieved, the most efficient resources are utilized and different interests involved are satisfied.
• Responsible for preparing bids for tenders, and reporting to clients, public agencies and planning bodies
• Ensures that sites meet legal guidelines, and health and safety requirements
• Assesses the environment impact and risks connected to projects
• Responsible for judging whether projects are workable by assessing materials, costs and time requirements
• Draws up blueprints, using Computer Aided Design (CAD) packages
• Discusses requirements with the client and other professionals (e.g. architects and project managers et al)
• Responsible for managing, directing and monitoring progress during each phase of a project
• Responsible for creating building designs and highly detailed drawings both by using the hands and by using specialist computer – aided design (CAD) software
• Working around constraining factors such as town planning legislation, environmental impact and project budget
• Writes and presents reports, proposals, applications and contracts
• Adapts plans according to circumstances and resolving any problems that may arise during construction
• Works with project team and management to achieve a common goal
• Responsible for applying for planning permission and advice from governmental new building and legal department.
• Responsible for undertaking land surveys/measurements using a variety of specialist technical equipment such as theodolites, laser alignment devices and satellite positioning systems et al.
• Responsible for presenting data to clients
• Responsible for producing and advising about construction plans and drawings
• Responsible for advising about technical matters and whether the construction plans are viable
• Responsible for drawing up contracts and other legal documents for the company
• Consults and handles all corporate legal processes (e.g. intellectual property, mergers & acquisitions, financial/securities offerings, compliance issues, transactions, agreements, lawsuits and patents et al)
• Develops company policy and position on legal issues
• Researches, anticipates and guards company against legal risks
• Represents company in legal proceedings (administrative boards, court trials et al)
• Plays a part in business deals negotiation and take minutes of meetings
• Responsible for analyzing legal documents on behalf of the company
• Prepares annual reports for the company
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily office activities.
• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s need s, and communicate with clients
• Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
• Documents all customer contact and information
• Represents the company in strategic meetings
• Helps increase sales and growth for the company
• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the company
• Serves as internal auditor for the company

Front Desk/Customer’s Service Officer

• Receives Visitors/clients on behalf of the organization
• Receives parcels/documents for the company
• Handles enquiries via e-mail and phone calls for the organization
• Distributes mails in the organization
• Handles any other duties as assigned my the line manager

6. SWOT Analysis

In as much as property development business is a very lucrative business, there are loads of investors and entrepreneurs who are interested in owning a business portfolio in the industry, so as such the competition for available business deals will be much.

This is why we invested time and resources to prepare a killer property development marketing plan. Prior to setting up Solorio’s® Property Development Company we employed the services of tested and trusted business and HR consultants to help us conduct critical SWOT analysis for us.

We did this so as to know how to maximize our strength and opportunities and also to look for ways to properly manage our weakness and the threat that we may likely face in the property development industry as a newbie. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Solorio’s® Property Development Company;

Solorio’s® Property Development Company prides itself in the fact that the management team are core professionals and experts in their own chosen fields and they are some of the best in New York City. Despite the fact that we a new property development company, we can confidently say that we have a strong financial strength to handle most of the deals that we will have to handle.

Our weakness could not be farfetched; we are a new property development company, and there is the possibility of clients to think twice before awarding us contracts. Most people would prefer to deal with companies that have been in existence for a long period of time , as against dealing with a new company that they are not sure will deliver as planned.

• Opportunities:

Our business concepts and our mission and vision put us at an advantage in the industry. We are set to not only work with big money bags but also to work with smaller clients whose wish is just to have a roof over their head. Furthermore, we are certain that the location of our business is going to bring multiple business opportunities to us.

Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a property development company are unfavorable government policies, global economic downturn and other big money bags that are major players in the property development industry. There is hardly anything we could do as it concerns this threats, other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

It is no longer news that property development involves various stakeholders with various contributions and responsibilities. In property development you have a synergy involving the property owner, the financier, the property developer and a team of technical experts. The property owner may be an individual or a group and could also be a corporate body.

Before now, the interest of most owners is to sell the property to any willing buyer and move on with their life. However, because of the profitability of the business, there are land owners now who are willing to use their property as a leverage to have an equity stake in the project.

This is a win-win for all the parties since the developer too will use the extra cash savings to accelerate the completion of the project and also to handle other projects. It is obvious that loads of investors are now very much interested in property development business, because it is one of the quickest means of becoming a millionaire and as a matter of fact, it is rare to see a multi – millionaire who does not have a business portfolio in the real estate industry.

One good thing about the property development industry is that it has room wide enough to accommodate as many investors that wants to dive into the industry. We know that we can achieve our business goals and targets in the property development industry in New York City and the United States, which is why we have mapped out our own marketing and sales strategies.

8. Our Target Market

Our target market cuts across people of different classes and people from all walks of life. We are coming into the industry with a business concept that will enable us work with the highly placed people in the country and at the same with the lowly placed people who are only interested in putting a roof under their head.

We are in business to make profits at the same we in business to give our customers the opportunities to own their own properties at an affordable price.

Solorio’s® Property Development Company wants to be known as a company that has the interest of the rich, the middle class and the poor in the United States of America. Below is a list of the people and organizations that we have specifically design our products and services for;

• Families who are interested in renting/leasing or acquiring a property
• Corporate organizations who are interested in renting/leasing or acquiring their own property/properties
• Land Owners
• Properties Owners
• University Campuses (Private Hostels)
• Foreign investors who are interested in owning properties in the United States of America
• The government of the United States of America (Government contracts)
• Managers of public facilities

Our Competitive Advantage

There are major players who have gotten a grip of the property development business in New York, but that does not deter us from entering the trade to build our business to become one of the top property development businesses in New York City. Solorio’s® Property Development Company has a management team members that are considered experts in their own chosen area of specialization.

Our CEO has a robust experience in the real estate industry and he is bringing the experience to help build Solorio’s® Property Development Company to become a top brand as far as property development business is concern. Of course, we are a new company, but we have been able to build our capital base to be able to handle most of the projects that we will bid for and also to acquire properties for the organization.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Solorio’s® Property Development Company is established with the aim of maximizing the profits in the real estate industry via delivering quality and affordable property to our highly esteemed clients. The property business is wide in scope and there are several means of generating income for the company. Below are the sources we intend exploring to generate income for Solorio’s® Property Development Company;

10. Sales Forecast

Prior to launching Solorio’s® Property Development Company we have serious interest in the industry and we have been able to secure some properties that is still under construction. We are optimistic that the projects / properties will be completed within the next two months and we have concluded plans to put the property for lease.

They are office complexes and it is interesting to know that people are already queuing up to rent / lease the available spaces. We are quite optimistic that we will meet out set target of generating enough income / profits from the first month or operations.

We have critically studied the property market and we have examined 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;

• Build/develop at least 2 office complex (3 story building each) within the first 12 months of operation
• Manage a minimum of 5 properties for clients within the first 6 months of operations
• Sell a minimum of 20 hectares of land within the first 12 months of operation
• Develop at least one estate within the first 24 months of operations
• Provide advisory and consultancy services for a minimum of 1 client per month
• Handle a minimum of 12 building makeover projects within the first 12 months of operations

N.B: Please note that we could not put a specific amount to the projection because the prices may differ for different services and for different clients. Part of our business strategy is to work within the budget of our clients to deliver quality property / properties hence it will be difficult to project what we are likely going to make from such deals.

But the bottom line is that we are definitely going to make reasonable profits from any business deal that we execute. The property market is structured in such a way that property developers will always make profits from any deal they handle.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Solorio’s® Property Development Company is aware that there are stiffer competition in the property development market in the United States of America, hence we have been able to hire some of the best business developer to handle our sales and marketing.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited based on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of the organization.

Our goal is to become one of the leading property development companies in New York City and in every other city where we operate, which is why we have mapped out strategies that will help us take advantage of the available market. Solorio’s® Property Development Company will adopt the following marketing and sales strategies;

• Introduce our business by sending introductory letters alongside our brochures to all the corporate organizations in New York and other States in the US.
• Promptness in bidding for contracts.
• Advertise our business in real estate / properties magazines and websites.
• List our business on yellow pages.
• Attend expos, seminars, and business fairs et al.
• Create different packages for different category of clients in order to work with their budgets and still deliver quality housing/ property to them.
• Leverage on the internet to promote our business.

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the hearts of our target market. First and foremost, we want our brand to be visible and well communicated, which is why we have decided to work with different classes of people in the society.

All our publicity materials and jingles are done by some of the best hands in the industry. Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise our property development business;

• Place adverts on both print and electronic media platforms (real
• Sponsor relevant TV shows
• Maximize our company’s website to promote our business
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook ,Twitter, LinkedIn, Badoo, Google+ et al
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in targeted areas from time to time

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Part of business strategy is to ensure that we work within the budget of our clients to deliver excellent properties to them. We are quite aware that there are major players in the property development industry in the United Stated of America who are not interested in small business deals.

Although our prices may not be outrageously lower than what is obtained in the industry, but we are hopeful that whatever price we bill our customer will be amongst the lowest they can get in the industry. The fact that we are going to be billing our clients lower than what is obtainable in the industry does not in any way affect the quality of our properties.

• Payment Options

Our payment policy is all inclusive because we are quite conscious that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will not accept payment by cash because of the volume of cash that will be involved in most of our transactions Here are the payment options that we will make available to our clients;

• Payment by via bank transfer
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our plans without any itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

• The Total Fee for incorporating the Business in New York: $750.
• The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license: $5,000
• The Amount needed to acquire a suitable Facility with enough space in New York City (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive): $80,000.
• The Cost for equipping the office (computers, printers, fax machines, furniture, telephones, filing cabins, safety gadgets and electronics et al): $15,000
• The Cost of Launching a Website: $600
• Additional Expenditure (Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions et al): $5,000
• Working capital (investment fund): $3,000,000 (3 Million US Dollar)

Going by the report from our research and feasibility studies, we will need about $3,200,000 (3.2 US Million Dollars) to set up a property development company in New York City. In property development business, the larger your capital base, the greater the opportunities you can access and the more profits you will make.

Despite the fact that we have a working capital of 3 Million US Dollar, we have been able to create a business relationship with our banks so as to easily access loans when the need arises.

Generating Funding/Startup Capital for Property Development Company

• The CEO Dr. Shavonne McPherson will generate 20 percent of the start – up capital from her personal savings
• 30% of the capital will be generated from partners and investors
• 50% of the capital will be sourced from banks

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

Solorio’s® Property Development Company was established with the aim of building a company that will outlive the founders and partners. Part of the vision of the company is to handover the baton of the company from one generation to another generation; hence we have perfected our plans to put the right structures in place that will aid our succession plan.

We are quite aware that the growth of any business depends solely to the business deals or sales they execute per financial year. We will continue to give our marketing team all the supports they would need to continue to deliver and meet all set targets and corporate goals.

Lastly, we will not relent in taking calculated business risks when it comes to investment and taking on new business challenges and new business frontiers.

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
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of All form of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Renting of Office Facility in New York City: Completed
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating capital from the CEO and Business Partners: Completed
• Applications for Loan from our Bankers: In Progress
• Writing of business plan : Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents (Tenancy Agreements et al), and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility face lift: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business (Business PR): In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with key players in the industry (networking and membership of relevant real estate bodies): Completed

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How to write a business plan for your real estate development venture.

A real estate development venture can be a lucrative and rewarding business.

It offers the opportunity to create value in a tangible asset while also providing a steady stream of income.

But, first thing first, you need to write a business plan.

A business plan is a critical tool for any new project, especially a real estate development venture. It will help you to identify the financial and operational objectives of the project, and provide a clear roadmap for success.

In short, a good business plan will help make sure your real estate development venture is profitable .

What should you consider when writing a business plan for a real estate development venture? What components should be part of the structure? What metrics should be considered for the financial assessment? How can I write a business plan efficiently and effectively?

This article will address and answer all these questions.

Finally, please note that you don't have to start your business plan from scratch.

You can download our business plan for a real estate development venture and adapt it to suit your business needs.

Building a business plan for a real estate development venture

Should you consider writing a business plan for your real estate development venture.

Yes, you should consider writing a business plan for your real estate development venture.

Developing a robust business plan will enable you to:

• learn about the real estate development market
• stay on top of the industry's emerging trends
• uncover what makes a real estate development venture viable
• understand the market demands, architectural preferences, and sustainability goals for real estate development projects
• come up with a unique value proposition for your property construction project
• evaluate competitive strategies
• find distinctive competitive edges for your real estate development venture
• find a business model that will generate positive cash flows
• formulate an airtight strategy to maximize business growth
• assess potential risks involved in a real estate development venture, such as financial feasibility, construction delays, and market demand

Our team has created a business plan for a real estate development venture that is designed to make it easier for you to achieve all the elements listed.

How to organize a business plan for a real estate development venture?

Inside a business plan, you'll find many facts, numbers, and indicators. It must be well structured, to make easy to read and digest.

When we made our business plan for a real estate development venture , we made sure it had a proper structure.

You'll see 5 different sections (Opportunity, Project, Market Research, Strategy and Finances).

1. Market Opportunity

The section number one is titled "Market Opportunity."

Explore this section to access comprehensive data and insights related to the real estate development venture, enabling you to understand market trends and pursue profitable real estate projects.

We revamp this section twice a year for up-to-date data.

2. Project Presentation

In the "Project" section, describe your real estate development venture, including the types of properties, innovative design approaches, sustainability initiatives, and highlight the unique value proposition for buyers and investors.

At the end of this section, provide a brief introduction about yourself and your qualifications for real estate development.

Highlight your experience in the industry, your track record of successful projects, and your vision for creating exceptional properties that meet market demands and enhance communities.

We've provided you with wording. You can modify it to fit your idea perfectly.

3. Market Research

After that, comes the "Market Research" section.

In this section, you will find a market segmentation analysis for your real estate development venture.

It includes a study of competing real estate development projects and emphasizes your venture's competitive advantages. A tailored SWOT analysis is also provided.

4. Strategy

Within the "Strategy" section, a detailed plan spanning three years is presented, highlighting the initiatives and actions necessary to make your real estate development venture highly profitable.

In addition, you'll find a marketing strategy, a risk management strategy, and a Business Model Canvas that has been filled in.

5. Finances

Ultimately, the "Finances" section presents a comprehensive view of the financials and estimates for your project.

How to write an Executive Summary for a real estate development venture?

The Executive Summary serves as an introduction to the business plan for your real estate development venture.

Don't go beyond 2 pages; concentrate on the crucial information.

The aim of this document is to make the reader want to explore your business plan.

In the Executive Summary of your real estate development venture, answer the following questions: what type of real estate development does your venture focus on? who is your target market? who are your competitors in the industry? how do you differentiate from them? what funding do you require?

How to do the market analysis for a real estate development venture?

The market study of your real estate development venture helps you understand external factors such as customer preferences for properties, competition within the real estate market, and emerging trends in property development.

By conducting an extensive market analysis, a real estate development venture can understand market demands, offer innovative real estate projects, optimize pricing strategies, and execute targeted marketing campaigns, ultimately leading to increased property sales, project success, and a prominent position in the real estate industry.

This is what we've outlined in the "Market Research" section of our business plan for a real estate development venture :

• key insights and trends in real estate development, including property development projects, market demand for housing, and sustainable construction practices
• a list of potential audiences for a real estate development venture
• the competitive comparison
• the competitive advantages to build for a real estate development venture

The key points of the business plan for a real estate development venture

What's the business model of a real estate development venture, business model of a real estate development venture.

A real estate development venture's business model revolves around acquiring land or properties and developing them into residential, commercial, or mixed-use projects for sale or lease. Revenue is generated through property sales or rental income.

The business model focuses on identifying development opportunities, conducting feasibility studies, effective marketing to target property buyers or tenants, and building strong relationships with architects, contractors, or real estate professionals.

Success depends on property market analysis, project planning and execution, delivering high-quality developments, fostering positive customer experiences and recommendations, and continuously identifying and evaluating profitable real estate development opportunities in the market.

Business model vs Business plan

Please don't mix up the terms "business plan" and "business model."

A business model describes how a company generates income and operates successfully.

In a business plan, you delineate your business model employing a resource called the Business Model Canvas.

Rest assured, there is a Business Model Canvas (already completed) in our business plan for a real estate development venture .

How do you identify the market segments of a real estate development venture?

Market segmentation for your real estate agency involves dividing your potential clients into different groups based on their real estate needs, property types, and preferences.

These categories may include factors such as residential properties, commercial properties, luxury properties, or clients seeking specific real estate services (e.g., buying, selling, renting).

By segmenting your market, you can offer specialized real estate services and expertise that cater to each segment's specific requirements. For example, you might provide comprehensive residential real estate services, including assistance with buying or selling homes, offer commercial real estate services for businesses seeking office spaces or retail properties, specialize in luxury properties and cater to high-end clients looking for premium real estate options, or focus on specific real estate services such as property management or rental assistance.

Market segmentation allows you to effectively target your marketing efforts, showcase your knowledge of specific property types or markets, and provide personalized and professional real estate services that meet the unique needs and preferences of each client segment.

In the business plan for a real estate development venture , you will find a detailed market segmentation that gives you insights into your potential customers.

How to conduct a competitor analysis for a real estate development venture?

It's clear that you won't be the only real estate development venture in the market. There are other developers working on projects to create residential and commercial properties.

To create a successful business plan, it's crucial to thoroughly analyze your competitors. This involves carefully identifying and studying their offer, while also evaluating their strengths and weaknesses.

Be mindful of their weaknesses (such as inadequate project planning, lack of market research, or poor construction quality).

Why is it crucial to address these aspects? Because these weaknesses can impact the success of real estate development ventures.

By focusing on these areas, you can conduct thorough market analysis, offer innovative and desirable properties, and provide exceptional customer service, positioning your real estate development venture as a trusted and sought-after player in the market.

It's what we call competitive advantages—work on developing them for a distinct business identity.

Here are some examples of competitive advantages for a real estate development venture: strategic property selection, innovative and sustainable designs, strong project management, efficient construction and timelines, attention to market demands and trends, comprehensive financial analysis, successful partnerships and investor relationships.

How to draft a SWOT analysis for a property developer?

A SWOT analysis can help identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and provide valuable insights into the potential success of a real estate development venture.

As you can guess, there is indeed a completed and editable SWOT matrix in our business plan for a real estate development venture

The strengths for a real estate development venture

The "S" in SWOT symbolizes Strengths, indicating the project's internal factors that give it a competitive edge.

For a real estate development venture, potential strengths could include access to capital, a strong team of experienced professionals, expertise in local markets, and an established network of contacts.

The weaknesses for a real estate development venture

When we talk about the "W," we're talking about Weaknesses, which are the weaker parts of the project that need improvement.

For a real estate development venture, potential weaknesses include inadequate capital, lack of industry knowledge, poor market timing, and inadequate resources.

The opportunities for a real estate development venture

The letter "O" denotes Opportunities in SWOT, signifying the potential advantages or favorable external conditions for the project.

In the case of a real estate development venture, potential opportunities could include building a mixed-use complex, constructing an apartment complex, renovating a historic building, and developing a housing subdivision.

The threats for a real estate development venture

The letter "T" denotes Threats in SWOT, signifying the external risks or unfavorable factors that can impact the project's outcomes.

How to elaborate a marketing strategy for a property developer?

A marketing strategy is an important part of a business plan as it outlines how a business will attract customers and drive revenue.

A real estate development venture can attract potential buyers or investors by developing an effective marketing approach that showcases the venture's innovative architectural designs, prime locations, and investment potential.

Investors won't be interested in your property developer business without effective marketing; showcasing your successful projects, innovative designs, and potential for growth is crucial.

Are you utilizing marketing tactics to promote your real estate development venture? Consider creating visually appealing renderings or virtual tours of your properties, attending real estate industry conferences or trade shows, and leveraging online platforms to reach potential investors or homebuyers.

Don't fret if you lack knowledge in marketing and communication – there's no need to worry.

How to build a solid financial plan for a property developer?

A solid business plan must include detailed financial information such as projected income, expenses, cash flow, and balance sheets.

As part of your business planning process, you'll be required to predict the revenue for your real estate development venture.

Of course, this revenue forecast will have to make sense.

Our financial plan for a real estate development venture is easy to use and includes built-in checks to help you identify and correct any assumptions, ensuring you create reliable projections with confidence.

Without a doubt, you will be required to draft a provisional budget for your real estate development venture . Make certain to include all expenses without exception - you can find them all listed in our financial plan!

A key aspect of your financial plan is the break-even analysis, which helps determine whether your real estate development venture will become a profitable company or not.

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Property Development Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

Property Development Business Plan Template

If you want to start a Property Development business or expand your current Property Development business, you need a business plan.

The following Property Development business plan template gives you the key elements to include in a winning property development business plan. It can be used to create a land development business plan and a real estate development company business plan.

You can download our business plan template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Below are links to each of the key sections of your Property Development business plan: I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI. Marketing Plan VII. Operations Plan VIII. Management Team IX. Financial Plan

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Property Development Business Plan Home I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI. Marketing Plan VII. Operations Plan VIII. Management Team IX. Financial Plan

How Do You Write a Property Development Business Plan?

Property development is an exciting and rewarding industry to enter. Your project begins with an idea and the impetus to turn that idea into something physical, be it a residential, commercial, or an industrial property. The first step is learning how to write a property development business plan. This is how you lay out your plans logically and pave the way for a successful project. Without a business plan, the project may easily seem gargantuan; once you’ve written it down and broken it up into manageable steps, it’s easier to tackle.

What Is a Property Development Business Plan?

A business plan is a document which describes what kind of business you want to build, and it breaks down how you will go about doing that. When it comes to a property development business plan, the first misconception is that it’s set in stone. It is a working document which evolves as your thought process progresses, and you clarify each aspect of the project. It lays out the framework to get your thoughts in order and adjust them as you go.

What Does a Regular Business Plan Consist Of?

Writing a business plan needn’t be an immense task. In fact, many people recommend keeping it short and basic to begin with, and then fleshing it out where necessary.

A general business plan consists of:

• A page title and the contents of the document
• A summary of the document
• A description of your business
• A description of your product
• A market analysis
• A competitive analysis
• The general management of your business
• The financial aspects of your business
• Any necessary supporting documents

What is Different for Property Development?

A property development business plan is similar to a general business plan; it’s just more skewed to this particular industry. You will think more about the particulars of the property development industry . Your business plan will consider which aspects will affect your business that do not ordinarily impact other businesses.

Your property development business plan will cover:

• Your business’s structure, be it sole trader, trust, partnership, or company.
• Your funding strategy
• The type of property you want to develop
• Your development strategy
• Your construction strategy
• Where you want to develop the property
• How long the project will take to complete
• Your financial targets and returns
• Whether you are going to let or sell the property after completion
• Your marketing strategy
• Market research

Additional Considerations When Writing

Your property development business plan also needs to take into account factors such as who you are writing it for, is it for investors, third parties or banks? You need to speak directly to them and ensure that the plan is researched and convincing to investors. If you show your property development business plan to a third party, you may want to consider asking your reader to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Now that you have a clearer idea of how to write your property development plan, you can get going. Once it is complete, you can get on to the practical stuff, such as figuring out which property development software to use, finding the right property to develop, speaking to architects, and designing the ideal space.

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How To Write a Business Plan for Property Development Company in 9 Steps: Checklist

By alex ryzhkov, resources on property development company.

• Financial Model
• Business Plan
• Value Proposition
• One-Page Business Plan
• SWOT Analysis
• Business Model
• Marketing Plan
• Bundle Business Plan & Fin Model

Are you dreaming of starting your own property development company? With the real estate market booming in the US, now is the perfect time to turn that dream into a lucrative business venture. According to the latest statistics, the property development industry is experiencing steady growth, with an annual revenue of over $500 billion. This presents a massive opportunity for entrepreneurs like you to capitalize on the demand for new properties and generate substantial profits. But before you jump in, it's essential to have a solid business plan in place. In this blog post, we will guide you through nine crucial steps to help you write a comprehensive business plan for your property development company.

Identify Target Market and Location

In order to successfully start a property development company, it is crucial to identify your target market and location early on in the process. This step will lay the foundation for the entire business plan and help guide your decision-making throughout the development process.

First, identify your target market . Who are the potential buyers or renters of the properties you plan to develop? Are you targeting young professionals, families, retirees, or a specific demographic? Understanding your target market will enable you to tailor your properties and marketing efforts to meet their needs and preferences.

Next, identify the ideal location for your property development projects. Consider factors such as proximity to amenities, schools, transportation, and employment opportunities. Research the real estate market in your desired location to determine if there is demand for property development and if it aligns with your target market's preferences.

Tips for identifying your target market and location:

• Conduct market research to understand the demographics and preferences of your target market.
• Visit potential locations to assess the potential for growth and development.
• Consider working with a real estate agent or consultant familiar with the local market.
• Explore potential partnerships with local businesses or organizations to gain insights into the target market.

By carefully identifying your target market and location in the early stages of your business plan, you can ensure that your property development company is positioned for success. This knowledge will assist you in making informed decisions, developing properties that meet market demand, and ultimately generating profits from your real estate ventures.

Conduct Market Research

In order to successfully develop a property, it is crucial to conduct thorough market research. This step will provide you with valuable insights into the current real estate market trends, buyer preferences, and potential demand for your development project.

Here are some important factors to consider during your market research:

• Identify the target market and location: Determine the specific demographic and geographic characteristics of the market segment you intend to target. This will help you tailor your property development project to meet the needs and preferences of potential buyers or renters.
• Evaluate market demand: Analyze the current demand for properties in your target market. Consider factors such as population growth, employment opportunities, and overall economic conditions that may influence the demand for real estate in the area.
• Assess competition: Research and analyze your competitors in the local market. Identify their strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning. This will enable you to differentiate your property development company and identify unique selling points for your projects.
• Study market trends: Stay up-to-date with the latest market trends and developments in the real estate industry. Monitor changes in buyer preferences, design trends, and emerging technologies that may impact the success of your property development projects.
• Utilize online resources: Take advantage of online platforms, databases, and industry reports to gather information about the local real estate market.
• Engage with local professionals: Network with real estate agents, brokers, and industry experts to gain insights into the local market dynamics and gather valuable advice.
• Visit potential development sites: Conduct site visits to evaluate the suitability of potential properties for your development projects. Assess factors such as accessibility, infrastructure, and neighborhood amenities.
• Stay informed about zoning regulations: Familiarize yourself with the local zoning or planning regulations to ensure compliance and avoid potential obstacles during the development process.

By conducting thorough market research, you will have a solid understanding of the market dynamics and be able to make informed decisions throughout the property development process. This will increase the chances of success for your business and maximize the profitability of your projects.

Determine Project Scope And Objectives

Once you have identified your target market and location, the next crucial step in writing a business plan for your property development company is to determine the scope and objectives of your projects. This step is essential as it sets the foundation for the entire development process.

When determining project scope, consider the size, type, and complexity of the projects you plan to undertake. Are you aiming for residential, commercial, or mixed-use developments? Will you focus on new construction or renovation projects? Clearly defining the scope helps you understand the resources, expertise, and timeline required for each project.

Setting clear objectives is equally important. These objectives should align with your overall business goals and reflect the specific outcomes you aim to achieve for each project. Are you looking to maximize profits through quick property sales, or are you more focused on long-term rental income? Define your objectives to provide direction and guide decision-making throughout the development process.

Assess Competition And Market Demand

Assessing the competition and market demand is a crucial step in developing a business plan for a property development company. Understanding the landscape of competitors and the level of demand in the market will help you make informed decisions and develop strategies for success.

1. Research your competition: Conduct a thorough analysis of other property development companies operating in your target market. Identify their strengths, weaknesses, and unique selling points. This will help you identify gaps in the market and differentiate your company from the competition.

2. Understand market demand: Analyze the current demand for properties in your target market. Consider factors such as population growth, economic indicators, and trends in the real estate industry. Determine whether there is a demand for the type of properties you aim to develop.

3. Identify unique selling points: Differentiate your property development company by identifying unique selling points that cater to the needs and preferences of your target market. This could be offering eco-friendly features, luxury amenities, or innovative architectural designs.

By thoroughly assessing the competition and market demand, you will be equipped with the necessary information to make informed decisions and devise effective strategies for your property development company. This step sets the foundation for success in the highly competitive real estate industry.

Develop A Business Structure And Legal Framework

When starting a property development company, it is vital to establish a solid business structure and legal framework to ensure smooth operations and compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

The first step in developing a business structure is to determine the legal entity for your company. Common options include sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), or corporation. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it's important to consult with a lawyer or accountant to determine the best fit for your specific circumstances.

Once you have chosen the legal entity, you will need to register your company with the appropriate government agencies. This typically involves obtaining a business license or permit, registering the company name, and obtaining any necessary certifications or permits required for property development activities.

In addition to the legal structure, you will also need to develop a comprehensive legal framework for your property development company. This includes drafting contracts for various aspects of your business, such as purchase agreements, lease agreements, contractor agreements, and partnership agreements. These contracts will serve as the backbone of your company's operations and help protect your interests.

It is crucial to consult with a qualified attorney experienced in real estate and property development to ensure that your legal framework covers all necessary aspects and protects your company from any potential liabilities or disputes.

• Consult with professionals: Seek advice from lawyers, accountants, and other professionals to ensure you choose the right legal entity and develop a robust legal framework.
• Compliance with regulations: Research and understand the local, state, and federal regulations that apply to property development companies to ensure full compliance.
• Protection of interests: Draft contracts and agreements that safeguard your company's interests, including provisions for dispute resolution and liability limitations.
• Insurance: Consider obtaining appropriate insurance coverage, such as general liability insurance, to protect your company from unforeseen risks and potential lawsuits.
• Building relationships with experienced real estate attorneys and legal advisors can provide ongoing support and guidance as your property development company grows.
• Keep up-to-date with changes in laws and regulations relevant to the real estate industry to ensure your legal framework remains current and compliant.

By developing a strong business structure and legal framework, you lay a solid foundation for your property development company, allowing you to operate efficiently, mitigate risks, and pursue growth opportunities with confidence.

Create A Financial Plan And Secure Funding

Developing a comprehensive financial plan is crucial for the success of your property development company. It allows you to effectively manage your financial resources and secure funding to support your projects. Here are some important steps to consider:

• Evaluate your financial needs: Analyze the costs associated with property acquisition, development, and ongoing expenses. Determine how much funding you will require to complete each project.
• Assess available funding options: Research various funding sources such as investors, banks, or private equity funds. Consider the pros and cons of each and identify the most suitable option for your company.
• Create a detailed financial plan: Develop a comprehensive plan that includes projected income and expenses, cash flow forecasts, and return on investment analysis. This plan will not only help you secure funding but also guide your financial decisions throughout the project.
• Present your financial plan to potential investors: Clearly communicate the potential risks and rewards associated with your projects. Show investors how their funding will be used, the expected returns, and how you plan to mitigate risks.
• Build relationships with financial institutions: Establish connections with banks and other financial institutions to explore loan options and secure favorable terms. Maintain good credit history and financial records, as these are often crucial in obtaining funding.
• Consider partnering with joint venture partners: Collaborating with experienced developers or investors who have access to capital can provide additional funding opportunities and enhance your company's credibility.
• Thoroughly research potential investors or financial institutions to ensure they align with your company's goals and values.
• Be prepared to negotiate terms and conditions to secure the best funding options for your projects.
• Regularly review and update your financial plan to reflect changes in the market or unexpected expenses.

Creating a solid financial plan and securing funding are essential steps to ensure the financial stability and growth of your property development company. By carefully considering your financial needs, exploring various funding options, and presenting a compelling financial plan, you will be well-positioned to successfully fund and execute your projects.

Identify Key Team Members and Partners

Building a successful property development company requires a strong team of individuals with diverse skills and expertise. Identifying key team members and partners is crucial for executing your business plan effectively. Here are some important factors to consider:

• Project Manager: A skilled project manager is essential to oversee the entire development process, ensuring timely completion and adherence to budgetary constraints.
• Architect: Collaborating with an experienced architect will help in designing functional and appealing properties that meet the needs of the target market.
• Contractor: Finding a reliable contractor who can execute construction projects efficiently and within budget is vital for the success of your property development ventures.
• Real Estate Agents: Establishing partnerships with reputable real estate agents can assist in sourcing potential properties, connecting with buyers, and increasing the visibility of your company.

Tips for Identifying Key Team Members and Partners:

• Do your research: Look for professionals and companies with relevant experience and a proven track record in the property development industry.
• Network: Attend industry events, join professional associations, and leverage your connections to find potential team members and partners.
• Interview and assess: Conduct thorough interviews and evaluate the qualifications, skills, and compatibility of potential team members and partners.
• Seek recommendations: Ask for recommendations from trusted sources within the industry to ensure you are partnering with reliable and reputable professionals.
• Negotiate contracts: Establish clear expectations, roles, and responsibilities through written agreements or contracts to protect the interests of all parties involved.

By identifying and partnering with key team members and partners , you can leverage their expertise, knowledge, and networks to maximize the potential success of your property development company. Remember, building strong relationships and collaborating effectively is crucial for achieving your business goals and delivering exceptional results in this competitive industry.

Develop A Comprehensive Marketing And Sales Strategy

Once you have identified your target market, assessed market demand, and determined the scope of your property development project, it is crucial to develop a comprehensive marketing and sales strategy that will help you effectively reach potential buyers or renters.

Firstly, identify your unique selling proposition (USP) – what sets your developed property apart from competitors in the market? Highlight the key features and benefits that will attract potential buyers or renters and differentiate your property from others.

Next, define your target audience . This will help you tailor your marketing efforts to reach the right people. Consider factors such as age, income level, lifestyle preferences, and location preferences. This will enable you to create targeted advertising campaigns and promotional materials that resonate with your intended audience.

Develop a branding strategy that aligns with your target market and USP. Create a compelling brand identity, including a logo, tagline, and visual elements, that represents the unique qualities of your property development company and appeals to your target audience.

Utilize a multi-channel marketing approach to reach a wider audience. This can include online marketing strategies such as social media advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), and email marketing. Additionally, consider traditional marketing channels such as print advertisements, direct mail campaigns, and participation in industry events or trade shows.

It is crucial to track and analyze the effectiveness of your marketing and sales efforts . Regularly evaluate the results of your campaigns, measure customer response rates, and analyze market trends to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions.

By developing a comprehensive marketing and sales strategy, you can effectively market your property development projects, attract potential buyers or renters, and maximize the profitability of your property development company.

Create A Timeline And Project Management Plan

Once the scope and objectives of your property development project have been determined, it is essential to create a detailed timeline and project management plan. This will ensure that every step of the development process is organized, efficient, and completed within the desired timeframe.

To create a timeline, start by breaking down the project into smaller tasks and milestones. Assign specific dates or deadlines to each task, taking into account any dependencies or constraints that may affect the project's progress. This will help you stay on track and monitor the project's overall timeline.

Additionally, a project management plan should be developed to outline the resources, roles, and responsibilities needed for the successful execution of the project. This plan should include:

• A clear definition of each team member's role and responsibilities
• Identification of key deliverables and milestones
• Allocation of resources, such as budget and manpower
• Identification and mitigation of potential risks
• Monitoring and reporting mechanisms
• Regularly review and update the timeline and project management plan to accommodate any changes or unforeseen circumstances.
• Break down complex tasks into smaller, more manageable sub-tasks to enhance clarity and improve efficiency.
• Establish clear communication channels and hold regular meetings with the project team to ensure everyone is aware of their responsibilities and progress.
• Utilize project management software or tools to streamline communication, task management, and overall project coordination.

By creating a comprehensive timeline and project management plan, you can effectively manage your property development project from start to finish, ensuring that each task is completed in a timely manner and that the project stays on track to meet its objectives.

In conclusion, writing a business plan for a property development company requires careful research, strategic planning, and a comprehensive understanding of the market. By following the nine steps outlined in this checklist, property developers can effectively identify their target market, assess competition and market demand, secure funding, and develop a successful marketing and sales strategy. Additionally, creating a solid business structure, assembling a strong team, and implementing a project management plan will help ensure the smooth execution of property development projects. With the right approach and attention to detail, property developers can create value, generate profits, and contribute to the growth of the real estate industry.

Property Development Company Financial Model

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• Sample Business Plans
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Property Management Business Plan

People buy multiple properties these days, it can be for investment or to act as a future home, office space, some dream project, or whatnot.

And as they have so many properties, they’ll surely need someone to manage them and deal with all aspects of having a property. Also, most people are running short of time more often than not. Hence, they hire property managers to help them deal with their property efficiently and effectively.

So, it comes as no surprise that the property management business is growing. And if you are planning to get into it, all you need is a few tips and a property management business plan.

If you are planning to start a new property management business, the first thing you will need is a business plan. Use our sample property management business plan  to start writing your business plan in no time.

Before you start writing your business plan for your new property management business, spend as much time as you can reading through some examples of real estate-related business plans .

Industry Overview

The global property management market stood at a whopping market value of 13.88 billion US dollars in 2020 and isn’t going to slow down anytime soon.

The major reason for the growth in this industry is the requirement for mobility management as companies are promoting remote work due to the pandemic.

The other factors that have affected the property market are the adoption of technology, software services, and other such things which have brought about a change in trends in the real estate market.

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Things to Consider Before Writing a Property Management Business Plan

Build relevant skills.

Having skills relevant to your business, be it foundational skills for managing property soft skills for dealing with the people in your business, or the deals and exchanges aspect of your business would always act as an added advantage for you. Hence, before getting started, it would be good to develop some basic skills and have a method to keep updating them as you work. Your skills alone can also become your business’s unique selling point.

Join Associations and Build Your Network

Networking is a crucial aspect in every field related to real estate, hence it is essential for your property management business too. Your network should be good and diverse and consist of a variety of people, even if they are your competitors. You’ll never know who might get you your next deal.

You can easily do so by building strong connections and joining relevant associations which give you more opportunities to network.

Use Technology

We owe the speed and efficiency of our work to technology. The same holds for the property management business too. You no longer need to work traditionally and laboriously of managing your properties, and use technology instead to make your work of maintaining all those details easier and more organized.

Build your Website

Building your website early gives you a head start on promoting your business and makes reaching out to your potential clients easier. Hence, if you plan on starting a business, build your website today to help you promote as much as you can.

Chalking out Your Business Plan

Reading sample business plans will give you a good idea of what you’re aiming for and also it will show you the different sections that different entrepreneurs include and the language they use to write about themselves and their business plans.

We have created this sample property management business plan for you to get a good idea about how perfect a property management business plan should look and what details you will need to include in your stunning business plan.

Property Management Business Plan Outline

This is the standard property management business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

• Mission statement
• Vision Statement
• Customer Focus
• Success Factors
• Financial Summary
• 3 Year profit forecast
• Business Structure
• Startup cost
• Products and services
• Market Analysis
• Industry Analysis
• Market Trends
• Target Market
• SWOT Analysis
• Targeted Cold Calls
• Online Marketing
• Publications
• Community Events/Organizations
• Pricing Strategy
• Financial Plan
• Important Assumptions
• Brake-even Analysis
• Profit Yearly
• Gross Margin Yearly
• Projected Cash Flow
• Projected Balance Sheet
• Business Ratios

After getting started with Upmetrics , you can copy this sample property management business plan into your business plan and modify the required information and download your property management business plan pdf or doc file.

It’s the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

Download a sample property management business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go;  download our free property management business plan pdf  to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your property management business. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

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Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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Real Estate Business Plan Examples

Home » Services » Business Plan Consulting » Business Plan Examples » Real Estate

Several of our real estate clients have graciously provided permission for us to share their plans with you. A professional real estate business plan is an important step towards building a business in this challenging industry. Here are two real estate business plan samples created by Cayenne Consulting:

Baxter Development Company

This plan is an example of what we can create when visual impact is a top priority.

Jolly Roger Storage

This plan is a sample a business plan for a large self-storage facility in need of debt financing.

Daari Real Estate

This plan is an example of what we will produce for a real estate client seeking a moderate amount of debt financing.

How to Create a Commercial Real Estate Business Plan

My step-by-step blueprint for success.

By Lee Muhl

Cayenne maintains a very active practice in real estate business plans – including funds and development plans for commercial, residential, and agricultural uses, along with many specialty projects aimed at mixed-use, live-work, hospitality, medical, entertainment centers, smart/sustainable developments, and others. Also created for our clients are detailed “ capital stacks ,” including debt, equity, “impact/cause funding” along with consideration of public investment, grants, and special tax opportunities.

Cayenne’s practice in real estate is broad, but commercial real estate (CRE) makes up a large portion of Cayenne’s real estate consulting services to developers, sponsors, owners, contractors, and vendors.

While each client project is unique and is accorded special consideration and treatment, there are some important issues that arise in many commercial real estate business plan projects.

This post will mention a few of the types of issues that owners, developers, sponsors, or other stakeholders in commercial real estate might take into consideration when you create a commercial real estate business plan.

Keep it Exciting, Simple, and Digestible

While any commercial real estate project will have many details, it’s important to create a compelling, simple, and understandable story.

Who is the audience for the business plan? Funders come in every shape and color. On the debt side, there are direct lenders, traditional banks, convertible debt lenders, etc. On the equity side, real estate investors range from family offices to angels, to angel funds, to private investors who may be HNW (high net worth) or to F&F (friends and family) investing from a self-directed IRA. Your business plan will differ depending on what types of funders are going to see it.

On that note, it’s always a good idea to include two things: (i) a simple Guidance and Disclaimer that the business plan is for funder/stakeholder information and not a securities offering; and (ii) a Glossary of commercial real estate terms which not only helps the reader, but reinforces the reader’s impression that the project’s team is expert in commercial real estate concepts. By way of example, while a funder might be very familiar with IRR (internal rate of return), he/she/it might not be as conversant with terms like CRA (Community Reinvestment Act), FAR/Bonus FAR (Floor Area Ratio/Bonus Floor Area Ratio), flex (multi-use) space, MSA/CSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area/Combined Statistical Area) or New Market Tax Credits. A good business plan helps educate the reader on these items.

Text, Deck, Financials, Artwork, or All?

A commercial real estate business plan can be scribbles on a napkin, 120 pages of text, a 10-slide deck, or a 50-slide beautifully illustrated digital presentation . For example, if the format you want is a presentation deck, it’s good to decide in advance approximately how long it should be, what type of content, and what type of visual look you desire. Should it be page after page of charts and colored shapes, or should it be a nice, illustrated presentation of your concept and market?

For sizable commercial real estate business projects, multiple documents may be needed, that can range from, and include one or all of, Financial Book, Market Study, Business Plan, Deck, FAQs (frequently asked questions), Term Sheets, LOIs (letters of intent), Plats, Renderings, GC (general contractor) bids, 3D imagery, and so on. Much of the time, the whole menu isn’t needed up-front, but many, or all, could come into play before the project reaches completion.

Bottom line, there isn’t a “one size fits all” in commercial real estate business plans. So, before you opt for a Do-It-Yourself template, it’s always good to take a hard look at the actual Scope of Work, identify your end goals, the detailed stages that your business plan and fundings may proceed through, and in what order.

What’s the Simple Story?

Whatever the project is, there should be a way to encapsulate it in one or two sentences.

The idea is not to dumb it down, but to be able to say simply to any funder or stakeholder – here is what it is. The right one sentence can then beckon an audience to longer discussions of the concept.

What’s The Opportunity in the Market?

One key goal is to present to a potential funder or stakeholder the fundamental issue of how valuable the concept can be.

Sometimes this is obvious. Sometimes it isn’t, or it won’t be to your audience, so you will need a clear statement of how much money your company stands to make out of the target market. Far too many entrepreneurs, plans, and providers opt for high-level online overviews that say things like “The 2021 global market in multi-use commercial real estate is $__ billion and CAGR (cumulative annual growth rate) of 21% is expected over the next 5 years.” Those are positive statistics, but they don’t say anything about your project’s potential.

Rather, the core issue to include in your plan is – how much of that global market are you going to grab with your business model? And then prove it with defendable numbers.

Another great addition is a section on “market drivers” which can include concepts such as reduced risk, effective land use, limited competition in the area, a captive tenant base, portfolio diversification, diversity of tenants (e.g., in a multi-use project that combines retail, hospitality, and housing), convenience, and demographic appeal.

Who’s the Visionary/Sponsor/Developer and Who’s on the Team?

One thing we see again and again is that, after all the numbers are crunched, the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed, a funding decision comes down to this: does your funding audience have confidence that you and your team will execute on your commercial real estate business plan? A great team, with a great track record, helps get you past this speedbump, and you should try to include fairly detailed bios of the team showing experience, time in the commercial real estate industry, former companies, former titles and responsibilities, and educational background.

Another plus in this part of the story is a tight, powerful listing of key goals that the team has already accomplished, and a projection of what the next several years will bring.

The Business Model

It’s easy to look at commercial real estate as a familiar concept without a lot of new ideas. But there are many special aspects that a specific project can point to, such as: (i) the market niche is hot at the moment; (ii) planned diversification across regions, cities, and neighborhoods, or (iii) that the project arose from the owner/developer’s “nine-point” project evaluation set of criteria that profile the area, amenities, transportation, funding benefits, target project size and typical time to completion, occupancy rates in the area, expected hold until stabilization, and liquidity solutions available for funders.

Innovations and Success Drivers in the Business Model

While real estate is one of the oldest industries in the world, it is constantly changing in exciting ways. If your project is a multi-family development, why is it different – and hopefully better – than the apartment complex across the street? What are the “success drivers”? Is it better-constructed, greener, smarter, more sustainable, technology-enhanced, more likely to hold value, better designed, more attractive, or in an area with public funding or tax benefits available, etc.? One concept that is increasingly dominant in commercial real estate business plans is presenting amenities. What special amenities separate your development from the rest of the neighborhood?

Another consideration is the huge upsurge in “cause-related,” “social benefit,” or “impact” investing. If your project is designed to provide some real social benefit , it is great to flag this for funders and stakeholders. It can also open up new funding opportunities with CRE investors/funders who are seeking, or are required to seek, social benefit in their portfolios.

What is the Funding Opportunity?

Your commercial real estate business plan should explain how much funding is needed, and in detail, what it will be used for – e.g., development, acquisition, construction, construction take-out, and limited-term senior debt.

In commercial real estate, a presentation of the capital stack is critical, and it is often quite detailed. For example, the project’s capital stack might involve a combination of senior secured debt, additional subordinate debt, and equity financing, as well as grants and tax credits, in accordance with local community development, economic development, and workforce development interests in the municipality, plus tax incentive programs related to Historical Structures, New Markets, Low Income Housing, Opportunity Zones, and Business Improvement Districts.

Building Your Commercial Real Estate Financial Model

While simplicity in telling the story is always important, your financial model could often present a laundry list of benefits. You might point to five to seven different ways that the funding model uses leverage; or you might point to abundant collateralization, or to regulatory benefits such as CRA ( Community Reinvestment Act ) portfolio points, or to tax benefits for investing in an Opportunity Zone , or to the simple point that commercial real estate is, traditionally, a very safe investment, that goes up with inflation and, as a hard asset, it will always maintain some level of value and worth.

For prospective stakeholders, projected yield, MOIC (multiple on invested cash), IRR, and any special liquidity solutions are great to mention. At the end of the day, one point can always be made – commercial real estate is the type of investment that is safer than most, can provide steady income, and offers special financial protections from property value, lease payments, and, often, government incentives.

If the plan is for a commercial real estate fund, it’s always good to identify the special nature and characteristics of the fund, e.g., the fund might be a closed-end, leveraged, managed distribution fund that will only invest in certain types of assets, with certain target capitalization rates (a measure of how risky commercial real estate investment is).

The Property

It’s always good to have a section in the Plan that speaks to the property, or to possible properties that may be selected. This can be exemplified with photos, maps, renderings, drawings, plats, descriptions of the property, amenities, and the locale – in short, a part of the Plan that brings the concept to life – a moment of punctuation that delivers a moment of “Wow, there it is, that’s where the project will be built.”

Competitive Differentiation

A key question is always “how do the project and the funding opportunity stand apart from other developers and profit-seekers that focus on similar property investments?”

What helps here is to identify why the developer/sponsor/owner has a plan for development that is innovative, data-driven, and fueled by ground-level experience.

Another concept that helps here is to identify strategies for enhancing the value in the property/project, or, if applicable, in the portfolio.

Writing Your Commercial Real Estate Business Plan

Now that you’ve thought through all these issues, get ready to craft your commercial real estate business plan that features all the essential sections including: the business plan’s Highlights (a powerful type of Executive Summary), Introduction, the Company, Management, the Market, the Property, the Funding Opportunity, the Financial Strategy, and how you are different from, and better prepared for success than, the Competition. The business plan samples above should prove helpful.

If this all of this sounds overwhelming and you would like help preparing your commercial real estate business plan, contact us and we would be happy to help.

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• See more business plan examples .
• Learn more about our business plan preparation services .
• Learn more about our construction and real estate business planning experience .
• Read testimonials by our construction and real estate clients .

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PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS PLAN: 2023 UK Template & Guide

• by Folakemi Adegbaju
• August 9, 2023
• No comments
• 8 minute read

Table of Contents Hide

The importance of having a business plan, #1. executive summary, #2. company overview, #3. market research, #4. customer analysis, #5. marketing plan, #6. swot analysis, #7. management team, #8. financial plan, #9. appendix, property development business plan template, how do you start a property development business, is property development profitable, how much money do you need to get into property development, how can i start property development with no money, where do property developers get money, what qualifications do i need to be a property developer, what makes a good property developer, do you wish to finish your property development business plan in 1 day, final thought, what does a property development company do, what does a property developer actually do, why do property developers make so much money.

Do you need a business plan to launch or grow your property development business? A business plan or investor presentation of some sort will likely be required to attract investors. A business plan is a crucial foundation for property development companies because it details the management and operations of the company and seeks to attract investors. We have a ready-to-download property development business plan template to make it easier to write your plan.

What is Property Development Business Plan?

A property development business plan is a written document that details your intended business’s structure and operation. The first fallacy is that a property development business plan cannot be changed. In other words, it’s a living, breathing thing that changes as your ideas develop and you flesh out the finer points of the project. It provides a structure within which you can organize and modify your ideas as necessary.

The property development industry requires a business plan that is similar to the standard business plan but with more emphasis on the specifics of the industry. You’ll also give more consideration to the finer points of the property development sector. Your property development business plan will account for any factors that will have an out-of-the-ordinary effect on your company.

You need a business plan if you want to start a property development business or expand an existing one. You can also increase your chances of success in the property development industry by putting together a thorough business plan that you will use to solicit investments and map out the company’s future expansion. Get in touch with us at Business Yield Writers if you struggle to put together a comprehensive plan in writing. Our team has extensive experience in writing successful business plans for the property development industry, and we can use the data and insights gleaned from our collaboration with you to develop a comprehensive plan for meeting your specific goals.

How to Write a Property Development Business Plan

There’s always that anxiety about starting to write a business plan for your business, but you need to know that it’s important that you know how to write a business plan for your property development business. Download our property development business plan template to help you construct a plan of your own.

Although it serves as an introduction to the rest of your business plan, the executive summary is typically written last because it summarises all of the other major sections.

Your executive summary should quickly interest the reader and get them to read the rest of your work. Also, educate them on the nature and current state of your property development business. 

The nature of your company will be described in your company overview.

You could, for instance, focus on a specific kind of property development company, such as:

• Single-family detached housing: Developers who specialize in single-family detached homes create properties that are not attached to any other structures.
• Multifamily housing: Developers specializing in multifamily housing construct apartment complexes, condominiums, and other mixed-use projects.
• Developing and Subdividing Lots:  Subdividing and developing lots involves the purchase of developed or undeveloped land, it’s subsequent clearing and its subsequent sale to builders.
• Commercial buildings: Developers specializing in commercial properties construct and manage office and retail complexes.

The company overview should provide context for the business in addition to describing the nature of the property development company you intend to run.

Market research is essential to any industry and it allows you to have a deep understanding of the market you’ll be going into. The best way to do it is to do market research first. Look at overall data within the market, as well as more niche data sets. You can use this method to create a successful plan for expanding your business.

Your property development business plan’s customer analysis needs to include specifics about the types of clients you currently work with and those you intend to attract in the future.

Customers can be broken down into groups such as individuals, families, and local businesses.

You should also segment your potential buyers by their demographic and psychographic characteristics.

Also, a customer’s wants and needs can be described in detail using a psychographic profile. A company’s ability to attract and retain customers depends on its ability to identify and meet these needs.

More and more people are opting out of using an agent entirely, and this means you have a wide variety of options when it comes to selling and advertising your property.  Find out what’s new in marketing, and talk about the social media other approaches you’re thinking about trying.

 If you’re trying to convince banks or investors to give you money, this section is crucial. The four pillars of SWOT are material costs, current market values, projections, and competitors; write down everything you can think of that fits into these categories.

Your property development business would also benefit from a business plan, even if you are not actively seeking investors. Your understanding of the risks increases, and you can adjust the rest of your strategy accordingly.

Do not put a description of the company’s staff in the middle of your business plan; instead, put it either at the beginning or the end. Director names and bios, a list of any outside consultants you can expect to work with on a long-term basis, and a clear depiction of the organizational structure should all be included.

This section lays out your financial forecasts, arguably the most crucial part of your business plan. Projected profit margins should account for profit as a percentage of revenue, profit as a percentage of costs, and return on investment, all three of which can be more easily understood than a single numeric value.

You can also learn more about the methods used to evaluate profitability in property development if you need help determining how to arrive at a number for this.

In addition to an annual financial statement , your 5-year financial plan should also include monthly or quarterly projections for the first year. The three main documents that make up your financial statements are the income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement.

Include a full set of financial projections and any other supporting documents that will help your plan stand out in the appendix. You can also add a detailed plan for your showcase properties and a rundown of the various construction methods you employ.

A persuasive property development business plan for your company requires not only following the aforementioned steps but also making use of a template checklist. Also, the essence of a checklist is to help you keep track of all the necessary processes you need to achieve while starting your new business.

However, we advise you to download our property development business plan template to make sure you follow the right steps while writing your property development plan. Here is a property development business plan templat e checklist:

• Join a property development community
• Narrow down your niche
• Have a financial plan
• Get your management team
• Get a business plan
• Adopt a marketing technique 
• Manage the properties

To start a property development business, you’ll need to:

• Pick a name for your company
• Register your company with Companies House or a formations agent
• Register your business address
• Appoint your directors and a company secretary
• Allocate shareholders and shares
• Submit your memorandum and articles of association
• Register for corporation tax

Yes, it is.  if it’s done right, property development is extremely profitable. Once you understand how things work, you can make careful plans and avoid pitfalls so that you can put all of your energy into making as much money as possible.

The scope and scale of a development project will determine the financial resources required to complete it. Generally speaking, you should have between 25% and 35% of the total estimated cost of development.

You can start a property development business with no money with the following means:

• Visualise Your Success
• Learn about the Industry
• Get Some Hands-on Experience
• Informal Loans
• Commercial Finance
• Commercial Mortgages
• Buy-To-Let Mortgages
• Auction Finance

You might be asking about how a property developer gets the money . I want you to know that it’s possible that a property developer gets approved for a loan from a private lender who specializes in property investment. In addition to traditional mortgage lenders, there are countless online and offline resources dedicated to finding investors for new construction projects of all sizes.

To begin a career in property development, formal training is unnecessary. However, furthering your education through coursework is one way to boost your credibility with potential clients and expand your knowledge in areas like planning regulations.

The following makes you a good property developer:

• Know your exit strategy, know your plan
• Write a business plan
• Work out your financing
• Know your target audience
• Have a vision

Creating a business plan from scratch is a tough task, especially when it is your first time, but the good news is that you are not alone. However, it’s understandable that you become fixated on a certain aspect of your plan; all you need is some guidance or an already made property development business plan. Here at Businessyield Consult, our experts assist business owners in creating a winning business plan. We’ve assisted numerous companies, and we’re always up for taking on more. Why not get our already made property development business plan today?

Considerations such as the intended audience (whether investors, third parties, or banks) are essential in crafting a successful property development business plan. They need to hear from you directly, and you need to make sure the plan is well-researched and convincing before you approach investors with it.

If you have trouble composing one, you can choose our already-made property development business plan to get your business running.

They make a living erecting new structures and restoring older ones to resell at a profit.

Property developers are responsible for overseeing the entire process of designing, obtaining approval for, building, and selling new properties, including managing architects, builders, real estate agents, and other third parties.

Property developers generate a profit when they sell a piece of land for more than it’s worth. They accomplish this by constructing multiple homes on a single lot and subsequently subdividing them into smaller units.

Property developers generate a profit when they sell a piece of land for more than it's worth. They accomplish this by constructing multiple homes on a single lot and subsequently subdividing them into smaller units.

Related Articles

• Funding For Property Development: Tips to Finance Property Development
• Property Development Finance: Bridging Finance For Property Development
• REAL ESTATE BUSINESS PLAN: 2023 Template & Best Practices
• PROPERTY RENOVATION MORTGAGE: The Risks & Rewards of Renovation Mortgage

Folakemi Adegbaju

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VEGETABLE FARMING BUSINESS PLAN: 2023 Template (Updated)

Bed and breakfast business plan: best easy guide in 2023.

A Sample Property Development Business Plan Template

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

When you talk about property development business, loads of entrepreneurs will back off because they know that it is a business that involves huge startup capital. Beyond every reasonable doubt, one of the most profitable, creative and interesting aspects of the real estate industry in south africa is property development.

As a matter of fact, developers are major players when it comes to determining the prices of properties. Although this type of business venture can be risky, but in other to make it big in the industry as a property developer, you just have to take calculated risks.

Some factors that are major concerns in the property development business are cost increase as a result of inflation, currency devaluation and economic challenges. Unforeseen delays on the part of government agencies, litigation and also delays from contractors can lead to substantial cost increase especially if the project is heavily dependent on bank loans.

If perhaps during this period there is a change in the supply and demand dynamics of the property sector, the project can be affected negatively. Below is a sample property development company business plan template that will help you successfully write yours with little or no stress.

How to Write a Property Development Business Plan for South Africa

1. industry overview.

Property development industry is a many-sided business that covers all activities ranging from acquiring raw land to selling or renting or leasing of fully finished and furnished properties. Developers are responsible for turning ideas into real properties; i.e. they acquire land, they finance real estate deals, they engage in building projects and they sell, rent, lease and manage properties on behalf of their clients.

In 2016, the investment volume in South Africa’s real estate saw a 55.2 percent increase, in spite of economic challenges, weak currency and political uncertainty. The South African listed property industry has risen nearly 9 percent in the first nine months of the year, about double in equities achieved which was 4.82 percent. At 7%, South Africa’s real estate market continues to demonstrate maturity and ongoing resilience.

The South African property sector is valued at R5.8 trillion, according to the latest Property Sector Charter Council’s (PSCC) report. New research shows 75 percent of global real estate investment takes place in highly transparent markets with South Africa ranking 25th out of 109 markets.

Property Divisions in the Pretoria region enjoyed a 49 percent increase in turnover and a 42 percent increase in unit sales. Foreign buyers only make up around 5 percent of new homeowners in South Africa.

Just like all other investment vehicles, there are potential down sides that you need to look out for as a property developer. One of the major risks in property development is a sudden down turn in the economy. Property development could take a period of two to three years from conception to completion depending on the size of the project and the cash flow.

As a matter of fact, some projects can even take much longer than that. Because of the time involved in developing properties from start to finish, loads of unanticipated things could crop up.

The property development cum real estate industry is highly regulated in South Africa and anyone who aspires to start a property development company must apply and obtain a license before they can legally operate in the industry.

Lastly, as a property developer, it is very important to be creative, to be able to use your ideas to meet the rapidly changing needs of the society when it comes to properties.

2. Executive Summary

Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company is a South African based property development company. Our head office will be located in a centrally located office facility in the heart of Cape Town – Western Cape Province. We chose Western Cape because reports show that the Western Cape will continue to outperform all other areas of the country, remaining the top performing major metro housing market in SA. House price inflation in the region has risen by over 10.35 percent, with no indication of it slowing down.

Although our Head Office will be located in Cape Town, but we will open our branch offices in major cities in South Africa within our first five years of operation. Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company will engage in property development projects for a wide range of clients. We will work towards becoming one of the largest property development companies in South Africa.

We are quite aware that property development requires huge a capital base, which is why we have perfect plans for steady flow of cash from private investors who are interested in working with us. We can confidently say that we have a robust financial standing and we are ready to take on any opportunity that comes our way in the real estate industry.

As part of our plans to make our customers our number one priority and to become one of the leading property development companies in South Africa, we have perfected plans to adopt international best practices. Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company has perfected plans that will help us to become a specialist in turning slums into beautiful cities and turning dilapidated buildings into master pieces, and that hopefully will be our brand and signature.

Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a firm, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible. We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely.

Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company is owned by Lucas Polokwane and his immediate family members. Lucas Polokwane has a Degree in Building Engineering from the University of Cape Town and he has successfully acquired over a decade of experience prior to starting his own company.

Other investors with the same investment ideology whose names cannot be mentioned here for obvious reasons are going to be part of the business especially as it relates to pooling cash together for property acquisition, renovation and beautification.

3. Our Products and Services

Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company is going to offer varieties of services within the scope of the property development industry in South Africa. Our intention of starting our property development company is to favorably compete with leading players in the real estate industry both in Western Cape and in the whole of South Africa.

Our business offerings are listed below;

• Residential additions, alterations and renovations
• Construction management for residential remodeling
• Fire and flood restoration
• Home improvement
• Porch construction
• Sunroom additions
• Kitchen and bathroom upgrades
• Disaster repairs
• Manage Properties and Facility for Clients
• Property Makeover Services
• Real estate consultancy and advisory services

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to become one of the top 10 property development companies in South Africa within the first 10 years of starting Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company.
• Our mission is to help people, businesses, property owners and clients in Cape Town – Western Cape and throughout South Africa develop and remodel their homes, offices and properties to fit into the ideal mental picture they have.

Our Business Structure

Our company’s structure is not entirely different from what is obtainable in the real estate industry. As a matter of fact, we have created a structure that will allow for easy growth for all our employees and also, we have created platforms that will enable us attract some of the best hands in the industry.

We are quite aware that the success of any business lies in the foundation on which the business is built on, this is why we have decided to build our property development company on the right business foundation. We will ensure that we only hire people that are qualified, honest, hardworking, 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 depending how fast we meet our set target.

Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company is fully aware of the modus operandi in the property development line of business, hence adequate provision and competitive packages have been prepared for independent sales agents. Our marketing department will be responsible for managing this aspect of our business structure.

Below is the business structure we will build Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company on;

• Chief Executive Officer

Project Manager

• Company’s Lawyer/Secretary

Admin and HR Manager

• Head of Construction and Renovation
• Business Developer/Sales and Marketing
• Customer Service Executive/Front Desk Officer

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO (President):

• 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.
• Creates, communicates and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization
• Responsible for planning, management and coordinating all projects on behalf of the company
• Supervises renovation projects
• Ensures compliance during project execution
• Provides advice on the management of projects
• Responsible for carrying out risk assessment
• Uses IT systems and software to keep track of people and progress of ongoing projects
• Ensures that project desired result is achieved, the most efficient resources are utilized and different interests involved are satisfied.

Company’s Lawyer/Secretary 

• Responsible for drawing up contracts and other legal documents for the company
• Consults and handles all corporate legal processes
• Develops company policy and position on legal issues
• Researches, anticipates and guards company against legal risks
• Represents company in legal proceedings (administrative boards, court trials et al)
• Plays a part in business deals negotiation and take minutes of meetings
• Responsible for analyzing legal documents on behalf of the company
• Prepares annual report for the company
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Designs job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for clients
• Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders to review the effectiveness of HR Policies, Procedures and Processes
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily office activities

Construction Engineers

• Responsible for handling property development services
• Establishes and enforces company’s engineering and construction standards
• Ensures that renovation / construction work meets or exceeds standards within a designated geographic area.
• Provides overall direction on assigned construction projects; reviews and makes recommendations on planning and design of projects; negotiates contracts or participates in contract negotiations; monitors day‐to‐day progress and activities on project construction sites.

Marketing and Sales Executive/Business Developer

• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s need s, and communicate with clients
• Finds and qualifies land for development based on company’s land requirements; maintains a land search database; initiates discussions with property owners about the possible sale of property
• Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding sales
• Documents all customer contact and information
• Represents the company in strategic meetings
• Helps to increase sales and growth for the company
• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managers with financial analyses, 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
• Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the company
• Serves as internal auditor for the company

Front Desk/Customer’s Service Officer

• Receives visitors/clients on behalf of the organization
• Receives parcels/documents for the company
• Handles enquiries via e-mail and phone calls for the organization
• Distributes mails in the organization
• Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) 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 line manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the company’s properties that are put up for sale, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate information is supplied to clients when they make enquiries

6. SWOT Analysis

The fact that property development is a very rewarding business in South Africa does not mean that there are no challenges in the industry. Starting a property development business in South Africa comes with its own fair share of challenges as you would have to abide by the law and also compete with entrepreneurs in the real estate business value chain.

In order to compete favorably in the property development industry, we have been able to hire the services of HR consultants to help us conduct critical SWOT analysis for us. Here is a summary of the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company.

Some of the strengths that we will be bringing to the table in the industry is our robust relations with property owners and properties investment moguls in the whole of South Africa; our access to funding and our team of experts who have cut their teeth in the property development line of business; our commission structure and relationship with freelance real estate agents in Cape Town – Western Cape and other province in South Africa will also count towards our advantage.

As a newbie in the property development line of business, we may have challenges competing with big time property developers in South Africa; that perhaps is part of our weakness.

• Opportunities:

The opportunities in the property development industry especially in Cape Town – Western Cape is massive considering the fact that reports show that the Western Cape will continue to outperform all other areas of the country, remaining the top performing major metro housing market in S.A. We are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way.

Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a property development company operating in South Africa are unfavorable government policies , and global economic downturn; global economic downturn usually affects spending power and the real estate industry is known to encounter decline in sales and profits during this period. There is hardly anything we could do as regards these threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

A notable trend in the property development industry in South Africa shows that the biggest group of home buyers are millennials; in fact, buyers who are 36 years old and younger continue to purchase homes at a higher rate than other age groups.

The market trend in the property development sector is that there are no fixed profit projections when engaging in a property development deal.

The profit you stand to gain depends on loads of factors amongst which are your attention to details, ability to turn a slum into an edifice and knowing exactly when to seal a property development deal. If you are able to get all the above stated factors right as a property development company, your gains will always be far more than your loss.

Another obvious trend that is common with property development companies in South Africa is that there is also an increased demand for luxury cluster homes in areas like Hyde Park, Atholl, and Morningside. In Gauteng, luxury homes that move away from the noise and congestion of traffic have become popular. High-end buyers are also opting for homes that are still opulent, yet offer more security and convenience.

This explains some of their big sales including the sale of a R33 million French style house in Constantia Upper Cape Town, and a R35 million property in Zimbali.

One thing is certain for every property development company; if they are hardworking, creative and proactive, they will always generate enough income to meet all their overhead and operational cost, keep their business going without struggle and make reasonable profits from all business deals that they are involved in.

8. Our Target Market

As a property development company, our target market cuts across property owners of different class and people from all walks of life. We are coming into the property development industry with a business concept that will enable us work with people of different financial capabilities.

As a matter of fact, our target market is the whole of South Africa and we have put plans in place to recruit freelance agents to represent our business interest wherever they are located in South Africa. Below is a list of the people and organizations that we have specifically designed our services for;

• Families who are interested in acquiring a decent and well renovated home
• Corporate organizations who are interested in acquiring their own property
• Home owners who are interested in developing/remodeling and selling off their homes
• Properties owners who are interested in remodeling and selling off their properties
• Foreign investors who are interested in owning properties in South Africa and remodeling the property
• The government of South Africa (Government contracts)
• Managers of public facilities who would want to engage property development companies to help them develop/remodel properties under their care

Our competitive advantage

The property development industry is a highly competitive industry. Clients will only hire your services if they know that you can help them remodel their homes to fit into the picture of the ideal home they have in mind.

We are quite aware that to be highly competitive in the property development industry means that you should be able to deliver consistent quality property development jobs and you should be able to meet the expectations of your clients at all times.

Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company might be a new property development company, but the owner of the business is a guru in the industry and has what it takes to grow a business from scratch to become a top brand within the shortest time possible.

Aside from our robust experience and expertise of our team, we have a very strong online presence that will enable us attract clients from all across South Africa.

Lastly, 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 objectives. We will also engage freelance marketing agents on a commission level to help us market our services.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the property development industry. Although we are a property development company, but part of our work force are also licensed real estate agents hence we intend generating additional income from diverse means in the real estate agency.

We have successfully built a vibrant real estate network that covers the whole of South Africa so as to help us build a profitable business. Below are the sources we intend exploring to generate income for Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company;

10. Sales Forecast

It is a known fact that as long as there are property owners in South Africa, there will always be need to for them to remodel their properties from time to time to conform with the trends in the neighborhood or city.

We are well positioned to take on the challenges that are synonymous to property development businesses in South Africa, and we are quite optimistic that we will meet out set target of generating enough profits from the first months of operation and grow the business beyond Cape Town to other Provinces in South Africa within record time.

We have been able to critically examine the property development line of business, we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projections are based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions peculiar to similar startups in South Africa.

• First Fiscal Year: R500,000
• Second Fiscal Year: R1.2 million
• Third Fiscal Year: R1.7 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 any major competitor offering the same services we do within the locations where we have a strong business presence. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher since some factors are beyond our control.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there are competitions in the property development market in South Africa, hence we have been able to hire some of the best business developers to handle our sales and marketing.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited based on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of the organization. The training is not restricted to only our full – time employees but would also extend to our freelance brokers.

Our goal is to become one of the leading property development companies in South Africa which is why we have mapped out strategies that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force in the industry.

Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies;

• Introduce our business by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to stake holders in the real estate industry
• Promptness in bidding for properties that are put up for remodeling and development
• Advertise our business in real estate/properties magazines and websites
• List our business on yellow pages (local directories)
• Attend real estate related expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Create different packages for different category of clients in order to successfully remodel or develop their homes/properties
• Leverage on the internet (social media platforms) and our official website to promote our business
• Encourage word of mouth marketing especially when we have a home for sale

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our 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 take the property development industry by storm which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our company.

Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise our property development business;

• Place adverts on both print and electronic media platforms
• Place our flexi banners with our company’s logo and contacts in every property we put up for sale
• Sponsor relevant TV shows so as to be able to communicate our brand and what we do
• Maximize our company’s website to promote our business
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and other platforms (real estate online forums) to promote our business and list our properties for sale and for lease.
• Install our billboards in strategic locations all across Western Cape Province
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in targeted areas from time to time
• Attend landlord and residents association meetings with the aim of networking and introducing our business.
• Ensure that all our workers wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are branded with our company’s logo

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Part of our business strategy is to ensure that we work within the budget of our potential clients to help them develop or remodel their properties to meet their expectations. It is the practice in most parts of the world for properties to be valued by professionals based on the area the facility is located, the type of facility and other factors.

Since we are not directly in control of the pricing system in the real estate industry, we can only abide by what is obtainable when it comes to fixing a price for a property development contract. But one thing is certain, we will ensure that we deliver excellent jobs when have we are contracted to do so.

Lastly, we will ensure that we keep our fees below the average market rate for all of our clients by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance. In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to our clients from time to time especially when they recommend clients to us.

• Payment Options

At Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company, our payment policy is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will not accept payment by cash because of the volume of cash that will be involved in most of our transactions. Real estate deals usually involve huge amounts of money.

Here are the payment options that Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company will make available to her clients;

• Payment by via bank transfer
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our aims without any hitches and we will also pay our freelance agents (real estate brokers) with same platforms. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials to clients who may want to deposit cash or make online transfer for our services.

Any agent who intend paying with cash will be directed to deposit the money into our corporate account and then present their payment tellers to us.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

From our market survey and feasibility studies , we have been able to come up with a detailed budget on achieving our aim of establishing a standard and highly competitive property development company in Cape Town – South Africa and here are the key areas where we will spend our startup capital;

• The total fee for incorporating the business in South Africa – Name reservation application costs R50 and company registration R125
• The budget for permits and license – R2,000
• The cost for hiring business consultant – R2,500.
• The cost for computer software apps (Accounting Software, Payroll Software, CRM Software, Microsoft Office, QuickBooks Pro, Project Management Software) – R7,000
• The budget for insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – R5,400.
• Cost for payment of rent for a suitable Office facility with enough space in Cape Town – Western Cape for 12 months at R1.76 per square feet in the total amount of – R85,600.
• The cost for office remodeling (construction of racks and shelves) – R20,000.
• The cost for equipping the office (computers, printers, fax machines, furniture, telephones, filing cabins, safety gadgets and electronics et al) – R15,000
• Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ( R2,500 ).
• Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – R100,000
• Working capital (investment fund): R2,000,000 (2 Million Rand)
• The cost of launching our official website – R600
• Additional Expenditure (Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions et al) – R5,000

Going by our research and feasibility studies, we will need about R2,200,000 ( 2.2 Million Rand ) to set up a property development company in Cape Town – Western Cape.

In the property development business, the larger your capital base, the greater the opportunities you can access and the more profits you will make. Despite the fact that we have a working capital of 3 Million Rand , we have been able to create a business relationship with our banks so as to easily access loans when the need arises.

Generating Startup Capital for Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company

Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company is a business that will be owned and managed by Lucas Polokwane, his immediate family members and other business partners. They decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital for the business to just three major sources.

• 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 R200,000 ( Personal savings R150,000 and soft loan from family members R50,000 ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of 2 million Rand from the 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

The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers they have, the capacity and competence of their employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all 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 Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company 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 developed properties and services a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.

Lucas Polokwane® Property Development Company will make sure that the right foundation, structures and 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 re – training of our workforce is at the top burner.

We know that if that 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 South Africa: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Renting of Office Facility and remodeling the facility in Cape Town – Western Cape: Completed
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating capital from the CEO / President and Business Partners: Completed
• Applications for Loan from our Bankers: In Progress
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Printing of Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with key players in the industry: In Progress

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• Landlord insurance guide
• How to find tenants
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How to create a rental property business plan (and why you need one)

Last updated: 21 October 2022

Take it from someone who’s spoken to a lot of investors over the last few years: almost everyone who achieves great success started out with a solid plan.

All businesses start out with a plan . Even if that plan is just “I think I can buy this widget for £1 and sell it for £1.50”, it’s still a statement of what the business will do and how it will make a profit.

But many – in fact, most – wannabe property investors start out without even the most basic of plans. Often, people have nothing more than vague thoughts like “ property prices go up, so it’s a good investment ” or “ most wealthy people seem to own property ”.

It might feel like sitting around planning is just delaying you from getting out to look at properties and start making money. But take it from someone who’s spoken to a lot of investors over the last few years: almost everyone who achieves great success started out with a solid plan.

(Or to put it another, more painful way: almost everyone who didn’t start with a plan ends up disappointed with where they end up – however much effort, money and time they put in.)

What does a rental property business plan look like?

It certainly doesn't need to be 100 spiral-bound pages of projections and fancy charts. In fact, the best plan would be so simple that it fits on the back of an index card – meaning that you can commit it to memory and use it to drive every decision you make.

In order to get to that simplicity though, you might need to do some seriously brain-straining thinking first.

It's not easy, but it is simple: your plan basically just needs to set out…

Where you are now

• Where you want to get to, and
• What actions you're going to take to bridge the gap

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To give a cheesy analogy, you can't plan a route unless you know where you're starting from.

Working out your starting point is the easiest part, because it involves information that's either known or easily knowable to you.

You'll need to be clear about:

• The amount of money you've got to invest
• The amount of savings you can allocate to property investment in future years
• The time you can invest each week or month
• The skills and knowledge you can apply to your property business

Note that I said it was the easiest part, but still not easy – because it involves honesty about what you can commit, and self-knowledge to determine where your strengths lie.

Knowing how much money you've got to invest should be straightforward, but it's probably worthwhile speaking to a mortgage broker to check that you'll have borrowing options – because this will determine your total investment figure. A broker will also be able to tell you about your options around releasing equity from your own home, if that's something you want to consider.

I'd also strongly encourage you to consider what “emergency fund” you want to keep in cash, and deduct that from your total investable funds. I suggest having at least six months' expenses in the bank at all times: the last thing you want is to plough every last penny into investments, then lose your job the next day and be unable to pay your bills.

Where you want to get to

So now you know where you're starting from, where do you want to end up? In other words, what's your goal?

Yes, you want to be “rich”, or “secure”, or “build a future” – but what does that actually mean, in pounds and pence terms, for you?

And just as importantly, when do you want to have achieved that?

You might be surprised by how much thought is involved in answering these questions properly. It's easy to throw around terms like “enough to fund my lifestyle” and assume that it might involve an income of £10,000 per month, but it's another matter entirely to look honestly at your ideal lifestyle and determine what a genuinely meaningful figure is.

The same is true for “when” – and it's an often-ignored factor that actually cuts to the heart of the most basic of investment decisions.

For example, take a choice between two properties:

• Property 1 will give a return on your investment of 15% but will probably never increase in value
• Property 2 will give a return of 7% but has the potential to double in value over the next decade.

If your goal is to create a certain monthly income within three years, the Property 1 is likely to be a better choice. Growth is unlikely to happen to any great extent over that time, so you need to optimise for cash in the bank right now.

On the other hand, if you have a decade before you want to have achieved your goal, Property 2 is probably the better bet. It very much is a “bet” because you're taking something of a gamble on capital growth, but it's got a lot of time to happen – and when it does, your returns will dwarf the higher rental income you'd have made from the other property.

That's just one example of why making even simple decisions in your property business are impossible without having that most basic ingredient of your plan: where you ultimately want to end up, and when.

So, by this point in the plan you need to:

• Assess your finances to build up an honest picture of where you are now
• Put some serious thought into where you want to get to, and when

If you need help with this goal-setting process, I co-own Property Hub Invest which offers free strategy meetings . It's often easier to work this stuff out in conversation with someone who knows their stuff, rather than doing it all in your own head.

That's a great start, but for most people it'll produce an uncomfortable insight: the gap between where you are and where you want to be seems impossibly large! With the resources you've got now, how are you possibly going to reach your goal in a sensible period of time?

Well, that's where it's time to start thinking about the details of the third step: the strategy you'll use to pursue your goal.

A strategy to bridge the gap

The steps you take to get from Point A to Point Z are what's commonly referred to as your strategy – and strategy is a vital component of your business plan.

The way I like to think about strategy is the way you compensate for a lack of cash . It's an unusual way to look at it, but I find it useful – because it tells you (given your timeframe and your goal) how much heavy-lifting your strategy will need to do to keep you on track.

Think of it like this: if you had £10m in the bank and your goal was to make an income of £5,000 per month within a year, you wouldn't need any strategy at all . You could just use your £10m to buy any properties, anywhere – you wouldn't need to maximise the rent, manage them well or even keep them all occupied at all times! You'd be able to buy so much property that you really couldn't fail.

Sure, it'd be a pretty stupid thing to do – you should really have had a more ambitious goal – but you get the point.

Obviously, most of us aren't in that position – and that's why we need a strategy.

So, just what position are you in?

A rule of thumb

A handy way of looking at it is to take the amount of money you've got to invest in property, and assume that you can get a 5% annual return on that money (ROI) – which is a rough rule-of-thumb for a normal property bought with a 75% mortgage.

So, if you've got £100,000, you can generate a (pre-tax) profit of £5,000 per year – or £416 per month.

That's unlikely to be enough to hit most people's goals – but then there's the time factor. If you save up the rental income for 20 years, you'll be able to buy another batch of properties just like the first – so you'll now have income of £832 per month.

If you're happy with that, then you've already got your strategy: buy properties that will give you your desired ROI, then wait!

Portfolio-building strategies

But most people will want more than that: we've hardly been talking about life-changing sums, and 20 years is a long time to wait before you can buy again!

This is where more of an advanced strategy comes in, allowing you to get better results, faster.

This might include:

• Buying properties and adding value, so you can refinance at the higher value and buy your next property more quickly ( learn more about this strategy )
• Buying properties at a discount, allowing you again to refinance at the higher value and move on to the next one
• Turning properties into HMOs, so you can generate a higher ROI on them
• “Flipping” properties for a profit, so you can replenish your cash more quickly ( read my guide to flipping )

…or something else entirely.

I go into different strategies in enormous detail in my book, The Complete Guide To Property Investment .

Simply appreciating the need for one of these strategies from the start is a really big deal.

Most people don't: they'll rush in, use all their money to buy properties that generate (say) £500 profit per month, then…what? They'll be stuck – because they didn't go in with a plan for how they were going to get to their target number . They'll effectively be starting from scratch, having to scrape together the money to go again.

It's extremely common, and it doesn't surprise me – but it does frustrate me. If they'd started with just a bit of time making a plan, they wouldn't have made this mistake – because it would have become very obvious that they wouldn't reach their goal without applying some strategy.

Any of the strategies I listed (or a different one, or a combination of several of them), when applied effectively, can get you to where you need to be. But that's not to say that all of them will be equally good for you. Each of them has different risk factors, requires different time commitments, are suited to different skill sets, and so on.

That's why this is your business plan: copying someone else's homework isn't going to do you any good, because their skills, attributes and preferences will be different from yours.

For example, one person's plan might be to get their hands dirty by renovating properties for resale – completing two projects per year, and using the profits to buy an HMO. Within five years they'll have five HMOs, which will give them all the income they need.

Someone else might be hopeless at anything hands-on, but a master negotiator. Their plan could be to buy at enough of a discount that they can pull at least half of their funds back out again by refinancing – and keep doing that until in ten years' time they have 15 single-let properties giving them their target income figure.

(That's why when someone emails me asking if their strategy “sounds good”, I have to say that I don't know: usually it sounds like on paper like it would work for someone , but I have no idea if they're the right person to execute it.)

So, coming up with your strategy involves:

• Starting with an assessment of where you are now
• Deciding where you want to get to, and by when
• Seeing how far you'll fall short by just buying “normal” properties
• Thinking about your own skills, time and preferences to choose which strategy (or strategies) you'll use to fill in the gap

It might take a while, and that's OK – it's not an easy decision . To take the pressure off though, remember: your plan isn't set in stone. It's important to start with a clear vision and not get distracted by every new opportunity that comes your way, but every plan is just a starting point: you'll be seeing what works, reviewing and adjusting course along the way.

Once you've got a strategy down on paper, that's a huge step – and you should congratulate yourself, because it's a step that most people will never make (and will suffer for).

But of course, the act of writing the plan isn't going to magic it into existence: you need to get out there and execute on the plan.

Turning your property business plan into action

Having an appropriate goal and a solid strategy to get you there are essential, sure – but nothing is going to happen until you actually take the steps that are necessary to execute that strategy.

If you don't take the time to identify the steps and make a plan to carry them out, you'll end up in “pulling an all-nighter the day before your homework is due in” mode. And you don't want that: it's no good setting a five-year goal, feeling all virtuous for being such a strategic and big-picture thinker, then realising in four years and 364 days that you've not actually got any closer towards making it a reality!

So let's get those steps in place. And the good news is…it's really simple. (The best things usually are.)

Breaking it down

However big, ambitious and far in the future a goal seems to be, all goals are achieved in exactly the same way : by breaking them down into individual tasks, and working through those tasks one by one.

As you work through those tasks, it’s important to have sub-goals as “checkpoints” along the way.

Sub-goals are how you stay on track: by setting a deadline for each sub-goal, you can make sure that your progress is fast enough. They also keep you motivated, because it means you’ll always have a small “win” on the horizon: you won’t just be looking at the main goal (potentially) years off in the future. Think of them as mile markers at the side of a marathon course.

To put it another way:

Small task + Small task + Small task = Sub-goal Sub-goal + Sub-goal + Sub-goal = Overall goal

It's those small daily tasks that are the foundations of your achievement. And that's the beauty of a good plan: all you need to concentrate on is ticking off your tasks each day, and your overall goal is achieved automatically!

So, this final step in your plan is about breaking that big goal down into sub-goals, and those sub-goals down into bite-sized individual tasks. That's it!

As you break it down, there are a few things I find are useful to think about…

One-off tasks v recurring tasks

Your business will have two types of task:

• One-off tasks , like finding a mortgage broker
• Recurring tasks , like viewing properties and making offers

These two types of task will both appear in your weekly, monthly and quarterly to-do lists. A useful way of planning your time is to start by filling in your recurring tasks – like going through portals to find new potential acquisitions every day, and calling agents to follow up on offers once per week – then adding your recurring tasks on top.

By thinking about both types, you'll make sure you're not dropping the ball on the important day-by-day stuff, but you're also not ignoring the big-picture one-offs that are going to make a huge difference to your business in the long run.

The first, simplest step

Just like you break a goal down into sub-goals and sub-goals down into tasks, I favour breaking every one-off task down into the smallest possible unit .

For example, “find a mortgage broker” could be an important one-off task for you, but it's not something you can just sit down and do until it's done. Because it seems nebulous and you can never identify a block of time when you can do it from start to finish, you can end up never doing it at all.

Instead, you'll make yourself feel better by ticking off smaller tasks that seem easier – but are often less important.

The solution is to break every task down into as many sub-tasks as possible. So instead of “find a mortgage broker”, the tasks become :

• Email 3 contacts to ask for recommendations
• Post on The Property Hub forum to ask for recommendations
• Email everyone who is recommended to set up a quick call
• Draw up a shortlist of 2-3 people to have a longer conversation with
• Pick a winner

Doesn't that seem much easier already? You can imagine sitting down and bashing out the first task in five minutes right now, then you're underway!

Who will do each job?

Here's a potential lightbulb moment: you don't have to do everything in your business yourself.

Any business has different “functions”, or departments – like sales, manufacturing, and admin. A property business is no exception.

The basic functions of all property businesses are the same:

• Acquisition
• Refurbishment
• Refinancing/selling

The types of task that fall within each function will depend on your business plan. For example, if your aim is to find properties you can buy “below market value”, acquisition could be a major part of the business – involving direct-to-vendor marketing, networking with estate agents, and attending auctions.

On the other hand, if your model involves buying properties that you think will experience strong capital growth, there could be a lot more tasks in the “research” part of the business – and acquisition could be very straightforward once you’ve identified the opportunity itself.

Could you do every task within every function yourself? Maybe.

Could the business achieve better results if you bring in specialists to do what they do best? Definitely .

You could go big and employ an assistant to view properties and make offers for you, or just make sure you outsource functions like management and accountancy to the relevant professionals.

Whatever you do, once you start thinking about your property venture as a business with various departments, you'll start to break away from the idea that this is something you have to do all on your own – and that's a very powerful insight.

OK, this has been a long one – but we've covered a lot of ground.

To recap, those critical steps are:

• Assess where you are now
• Work out where you want to be, and by when
• Outline a strategy to get you there
• Fill in the detail, to get you from “big picture” to individual steps

It's a process that's worked for me, and I've seen it work for many investors I've encouraged to put it into action too.

Its power is in its simplicity: you take the time to intelligently decide exactly what you need to do, then you figure out a way to (to borrow a registered trademark) just do it . As long as you show up and work through your to-do list each day, the big, scary, long-term goal takes care of itself!

Of course, you'll need to assess your progress and adjust course along the way: nothing will pan out exactly as expected, and there's a lot that can change over a timespan of several years.

But by having your plan, what you won't do is get distracted by every new idea that comes your way – researching HMOs one day, and holiday lets the next – and end up getting nowhere.

(You'd be amazed by how many plan-less people that description fits to a tee.)

So now you know how to put a property business plan together. It's not a plan that will necessarily get you funding from the bank, but it's something more important than that: a plan you can use every day to make sure you stay on track to hit your goals.

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Free Business Plan Template for Small Businesses (2024)

Use this free business plan template to write your business plan quickly and efficiently.

A good business plan is essential to successfully starting your business —  and the easiest way to simplify the work of writing a business plan is to start with a business plan template.

You’re already investing time and energy in refining your business model and planning your launch—there’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to writing a business plan. Instead, to help build a complete and effective plan, lean on time-tested structures created by other  entrepreneurs and startups. 

Ahead, learn what it takes to create a solid business plan and download Shopify's free business plan template to get started on your dream today. 

What this free business plan template includes

• Executive summary
• Company overview
• Products or services offered
• Market analysis
• Marketing plan
• Logistics and operations plan
• Financial plan

This business plan outline is designed to ensure you’re thinking through all of the important facets of starting a new business. It’s intended to help new business owners and entrepreneurs consider the full scope of running a business and identify functional areas they may not have considered or where they may need to level up their skills as they grow.

That said, it may not include the specific details or structure preferred by a potential investor or lender. If your goal with a business plan is to secure funding , check with your target organizations—typically banks or investors—to see if they have business plan templates you can follow to maximize your chances of success.

Our free business plan template includes seven key elements typically found in the traditional business plan format:

1. Executive summary

This is a one-page summary of your whole plan, typically written after the rest of the plan is completed. The description section of your executive summary will also cover your management team, business objectives and strategy, and other background information about the brand. 

2. Company overview

This section of your business plan will answer two fundamental questions: “Who are you?” and “What do you plan to do?” Answering these questions clarifies why your company exists, what sets it apart from others, and why it’s a good investment opportunity. This section will detail the reasons for your business’s existence, its goals, and its guiding principles.

3. Products or services offered

What you sell and the most important features of your products or services. It also includes any plans for intellectual property, like patent filings or copyright. If you do market research for new product lines, it will show up in this section of your business plan.

4. Market analysis

This section includes everything from estimated market size to your target markets and competitive advantage. It’ll include a competitive analysis of your industry to address competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Market research is an important part of ensuring you have a viable idea.

5. Marketing plan

How you intend to get the word out about your business, and what strategic decisions you’ve made about things like your pricing strategy. It also covers potential customers’ demographics, your sales plan, and your metrics and milestones for success.

6. Logistics and operations plan

Everything that needs to happen to turn your raw materials into products and get them into the hands of your customers.

7. Financial plan

It’s important to include a look at your financial projections, including both revenue and expense projections. This section includes templates for three key financial statements: an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash-flow statement . You can also include whether or not you need a business loan and how much you’ll need.

Business plan examples

What do financial projections look like on paper? How do you write an executive summary? What should your company description include?  Business plan examples  can help answer some of these questions and transform your business idea into an actionable plan.

Professional business plan example

Inside our template, we’ve filled out a sample business plan featuring a fictional ecommerce business . 

The sample is set up to help you get a sense of each section and understand how they apply to the planning and evaluation stages of a business plan. If you’re looking for funding, this example won’t be a complete or formal look at business plans, but it will give you a great place to start and notes about where to expand.

Lean business plan example

A lean business plan format is a shortened version of your more detailed business plan. It’s helpful when modifying your plan for a specific audience, like investors or new hires. 

Also known as a one-page business plan, it includes only the most important, need-to-know information, such as:

• Company description
• Key members of your team
• Customer segments

💡 Tip: For a step-by-step guide to creating a lean business plan (including a sample business plan), read our guide on how to create a lean business plan .

Benefits of writing a solid business plan

It’s tempting to dive right into execution when you’re excited about a new business or side project, but taking the time to write a thorough business plan and get your thoughts on paper allows you to do a number of beneficial things:

• Test the viability of your business idea. Whether you’ve got one business idea or many, business plans can make an idea more tangible, helping you see if it’s truly viable and ensure you’ve found a target market. 
• Plan for your next phase. Whether your goal is to start a new business or scale an existing business to the next level, a business plan can help you understand what needs to happen and identify gaps to address.
• Clarify marketing strategy, goals, and tactics. Writing a business plan can show you the actionable next steps to take on a big, abstract idea. It can also help you narrow your strategy and identify clear-cut tactics that will support it.
• Scope the necessary work. Without a concrete plan, cost overruns and delays are all but certain. A business plan can help you see the full scope of work to be done and adjust your investment of time and money accordingly.
• Hire and build partnerships. When you need buy-in from potential employees and business partners, especially in the early stages of your business, a clearly written business plan is one of the best tools at your disposal. A business plan provides a refined look at your goals for the business, letting partners judge for themselves whether or not they agree with your vision.
• Secure funds. Seeking financing for your business—whether from venture capital, financial institutions, or Shopify Capital —is one of the most common reasons to create a business plan.

Why you should you use a template for a business plan

A business plan can be as informal or formal as your situation calls for, but even if you’re a fan of the back-of-the-napkin approach to planning, there are some key benefits to starting your plan from an existing outline or simple business plan template.

No blank-page paralysis

A blank page can be intimidating to even the most seasoned writers. Using an established business planning process and template can help you get past the inertia of starting your business plan, and it allows you to skip the work of building an outline from scratch. You can always adjust a template to suit your needs.

Guidance on what to include in each section

If you’ve never sat through a business class, you might never have created a SWOT analysis or financial projections. Templates that offer guidance—in plain language—about how to fill in each section can help you navigate sometimes-daunting business jargon and create a complete and effective plan.

Knowing you’ve considered every section

In some cases, you may not need to complete every section of a startup business plan template, but its initial structure shows you you’re choosing to omit a section as opposed to forgetting to include it in the first place.

Tips for creating a successful business plan

There are some high-level strategic guidelines beyond the advice included in this free business plan template that can help you write an effective, complete plan while minimizing busywork.

Understand the audience for your plan

If you’re writing a business plan for yourself in order to get clarity on your ideas and your industry as a whole, you may not need to include the same level of detail or polish you would with a business plan you want to send to potential investors. Knowing who will read your plan will help you decide how much time to spend on it.

Know your goals

Understanding the goals of your plan can help you set the right scope. If your goal is to use the plan as a roadmap for growth, you may invest more time in it than if your goal is to understand the competitive landscape of a new industry.

Take it step by step

Writing a 10- to 15-page document can feel daunting, so try to tackle one section at a time. Select a couple of sections you feel most confident writing and start there—you can start on the next few sections once those are complete. Jot down bullet-point notes in each section before you start writing to organize your thoughts and streamline the writing process.

Maximize your business planning efforts

Planning is key to the financial success of any type of business , whether you’re a startup, non-profit, or corporation.

To make sure your efforts are focused on the highest-value parts of your own business planning, like clarifying your goals, setting a strategy, and understanding the target market and competitive landscape, lean on a business plan outline to handle the structure and format for you. Even if you eventually omit sections, you’ll save yourself time and energy by starting with a framework already in place.

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Business plan template FAQ

What is the purpose of a business plan.

The purpose of your business plan is to describe a new business opportunity or an existing one. It clarifies the business strategy, marketing plan, financial forecasts, potential providers, and more information about the company.

How do I write a simple business plan?

• Choose a business plan format, such as a traditional or a one-page business plan. 
• Find a business plan template.
• Read through a business plan sample.
• Fill in the sections of your business plan.

What is the best business plan template?

If you need help writing a business plan, Shopify’s template is one of the most beginner-friendly options you’ll find. It’s comprehensive, well-written, and helps you fill out every section.

What are the 5 essential parts of a business plan?

The five essential parts of a traditional business plan include:

• Executive summary: This is a brief overview of the business plan, summarizing the key points and highlighting the main points of the plan.
• Business description: This section outlines the business concept and how it will be executed.
• Market analysis: This section provides an in-depth look at the target market and how the business will compete in the marketplace.
• Financial plan: This section details the financial projections for the business, including sales forecasts, capital requirements, and a break-even analysis.
• Management and organization: This section describes the management team and the organizational structure of the business.

Are there any free business plan templates?

There are several free templates for business plans for small business owners available online, including Shopify’s own version. Download a copy for your business.

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300+ Business Plan Examples

With over two decades of experience, Growthink has assisted more than 1 million companies in developing effective business plans to launch and expand their businesses. Trust in our expertise to guide you through developing a business plan that drives your success. In addition to our sample plans, below you’ll learn the answers to key business plan questions and gain insightful tips on writing your business plan.

  Quick Links to Sections On this Page:

• Sample Business Plans By Business Category

Answers to Key Sample Business Plan Questions

Shoutmouth business plan example, business plan examples by business category.

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1. Why is utilizing an example business plan a good idea?

Sample business plans can help you quickly and easily write a business plan for your own business. Business plans are an important tool for any business, but they can be challenging to create. A sample business plan will help you understand the business plan format , the benefit of market research, and how to write a compelling executive summary. It can also serve as a guide for creating your own business plan, outlining the key sections and providing examples of successful plans. Utilizing the best business plan template can save you time and ensure that your plan is well-structured and comprehensive.

Business plan examples may even help you with the different sections of a plan, including market analysis, business description, cash flow statements/business financial statements, and more. Business plans can also show you how a quality plan in your exact business plan category is organized and shows you the appropriate business communications style to use when writing your business plan.

2. Who would benefit from using an example business plan?

Any entrepreneur or business owner who has never written a business plan before can benefit from an example or sample plan. New business owners often start with business plan templates , which are helpful but are sometimes more useful after reviewing other sample business plans.

A good sample plan can be a step-by-step guide as you work on your business planning and business idea. Once you have a sense for the flow, specs, and details, etc. that business plans have, utilizing a business plan template will help you pull everything together, helping you create a plan investors and other stakeholders will value. A solid business plan will also help you if you need a bank loan, which may require a startup business plan. Download our free business plan template to help you get started on your own business plan.

Free Download : Free Business Plan Template PDF

3. How do you get started with a sample business plan and maximize its benefit?

First you should read the business plan thoroughly. Study both the type of information provided in key sections like the executive summary, target market analysis, summary, etc., as well as the format and style of the plan. As you read, you may find yourself thinking through things such as improving or evaluating your business planning process, your business idea, or reconsidering who you want to write your business plan for. This is OK and part of the process. In fact, when you start writing a business plan for the first time, it will be much easier because you’ve gone through this process.

After this initial read, outline your business plan and copy in from the sample plan sections that apply to your business. For instance, if the sample plan included public relations in their marketing strategy and sales plan, and you will also use this tactic, you can copy it into your plan and edit it as appropriate. Finally, answer the other questions answered in the sample plan in ways that reflect your unique business and target customers.

Writing a business plan can seem daunting. Starting your business plan writing process by reviewing a plan that’s already been created can remove a lot of mental and emotional barriers while helping you craft the best plan you can.

4. When should you not use a sample business plan?

If your business is unlike any other, using a sample business plan will not be as effective. In this situation, writing a business plan from scratch utilizing a business plan template is probably your best path forward.

As an example, Facebook’s early business plan was unlike others since it was paving a new path and way of doing business. But, groundbreaking new businesses like Facebook are not the norm, and the vast majority of companies will benefit from utilizing sample business plans.

5. How do you choose the right type of business plan for your venture?

Selecting the appropriate type of business plan depends on your business’s stage, needs, and goals. Let’s explore the different types of business plans and how to determine which business plan format is right for you.

• Startup Business Plan : This type of plan is for businesses just starting out and seeking funding or investment. It typically includes a detailed analysis of the market, target audience, competition, and financial projections.
• Traditional Business Plan : Traditional business plans are the most common type of business plan, used by established businesses to outline their goals and strategies. It includes all the key sections such as market analysis, company description, and financial statements.
• Internal Business Plan : Internal business plans are used for internal purposes, to guide the day-to-day operations and decision making of the business. It may not be as detailed as a traditional business plan, but still includes important information such as company mission, objectives, and key performance indicators.
• Feasibility Business Plan : A feasibility business plan is used to assess the viability of a new product or service in the market. It includes detailed research and analysis to determine if the business idea is feasible and profitable.
• One-Page Business Plan : As the name suggests, this type of business plan is condensed into one page and includes the most critical information about the business. It can be a useful tool for pitching to potential investors or partners.
• Strategic Business Plan : A strategic plan looks at the big picture and long-term business goals of a company. It may include the company’s mission statement, core values, and overarching strategies for achieving success.

Ultimately, the type of business plan you choose will depend on your business’s specific needs and goals. It may also be beneficial to combine elements from different types of plans to create a customized plan that best fits your business. Carefully consider your objectives and resources before deciding on the right type of plan for your venture.

Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

The business plan example below is for Shoutmouth, a company that enjoyed much success in the early 2000’s and which was able to raise funding. While the plan’s premise (social networking) is not as unique now as it was then, the format and structure of this business plan still holds.

I. Executive Summary

Business Overview

Launched in late February 2007, Shoutmouth.com is the most comprehensive music news website on the Internet .

Music is one of the most searched and accessed interests on the Internet. Top music artists like Akon receive over 3 million searches each month. In addition, over 500 music artists each receive over 25,000 searches a month.

However, music fans are largely unsatisfied when it comes to the news and information they seek on the artists they love. This is because most music websites (e.g., RollingStone.com, MTV.com, Billboard.com, etc.) cover only the top eight to ten music stories each day – the stories with mass appeal. This type of generic coverage does not satisfy the needs of serious music fans. Music fans generally listen to many different artists and genres of music. By publishing over 100 music stories each day, Shoutmouth enables these fans to read news on all their favorite artists.

In addition to publishing comprehensive music news on over 1200 music artists, Shoutmouth is a social network that allows fans to meet and communicate with other fans about music, and allows them to:

• Create personal profiles
• Interact with other members
• Provide comments on news stories and music videos
• Submit news stories and videos
• Recommend new music artists to add to the community
• Receive customized news and email alerts on their favorite artists

Success Factors

Shoutmouth is uniquely qualified to succeed due to the following reasons:

• Entrepreneurial track record : Shoutmouth’s CEO and team have helped launch numerous successful ventures.
• Affiliate marketing track record : Online affiliate marketing expertise has been cited as one of MySpace’s key success factors. Over the past two years, Shoutmouth’s founders have run one of the most successful online affiliate marketing programs, having sold products to over 500,000 music customers online.
• Key milestones completed : Shoutmouth’s founders have invested $500,000 to-date to staff the company (we currently have an 11-person full-time team), build the core technology, and launch the site. We have succeeded in gaining initial customer traction with 50,000 unique visitors in March, 100,000 unique visitors in April, and 200,000 unique visitors in May 2007.

Unique Investment Metrics

The Shoutmouth investment opportunity is very exciting due to the metrics of the business.

To begin, over the past two years, over twenty social networks have been acquired. The value in these networks is their relationships with large numbers of customers, which allow acquirers to effectively sell to this audience.

The sales price of these social networks has ranged from $25 to $137 per member. Shoutmouth has the ability to enroll members at less than $1 each, thus providing an extraordinary return on marketing expenditures. In fact, during an April 2007 test, we were able to sign-up 2,000 members to artist-specific Shoutmouth newsletters at a cost of only 43 cents per member.

While we are building Shoutmouth to last, potential acquirers include many types of companies that seek relationships with music fans such as music media/publishing (e.g., MTV, Rolling Stone), ticketing (e.g., Ticketmaster, LiveNation) and digital music sales firms (e.g., iTunes, The Orchard).

Financial Strategy, Needs and Exit Strategy

While Shoutmouth’s technological, marketing and operational infrastructure has been developed, we currently require $3 million to execute on our marketing and technology plan over the next 24 months until we hit profitability.

Shoutmouth will primarily generate revenues from selling advertising space. As technologies evolve that allow us to seamlessly integrate music sampling and purchasing on our site, sales of downloadable music are also expected to become a significant revenue source. To a lesser extent, we may sell other music-related items such as ringtones, concert tickets, and apparel.

Topline projections over the next three years are as follows:

II. Shoutmouth Overview

What is Shoutmouth?

Shoutmouth is an operating company of The Kisco Group Inc. (TKG). Since 2003, TKG has capitalized on web-based marketing opportunities via launching targeted websites and generating web-based leads. TKG revenues in 2005 exceeded $1.3 million and grew to $3.5 million in 2006. Shoutmouth is currently the sole focus of TKG; all other TKG business units have been divested.

Development of Shoutmouth began in August 2006 and the site officially launched on February 21, 2007. Shoutmouth (located at www.shoutmouth.com) is the most comprehensive music news community on the Internet. The website covers 1,200 popular bands and music artists and offers more than 100 new music articles each day. In addition to providing news, Shoutmouth is a web community. That is, Shoutmouth members can actively participate on the site, by doing things such as commenting on news stories and submitting their own stories.

The Market Size and Need for Shoutmouth

The music market is clearly vast. According to IFPI, which represents the recording industry worldwide, global music sales were $33.5 billion in 2005, with the U.S. accounting for $12.3 billion of that amount. Importantly, digitally music sales are seeing substantial growth, with IFPI reporting sales of $400 million in 2004, $1.1 billion in 2005 and $2 billion in 2006.

Online, music is the one of the most frequently searched and accessed interests. For example, according to Wordtracker, the music artist Eminem received over 1.7 million web searches in December 2006, while band Green Day received 534,000 searches.

To put these figures in perspective, top celebrities in other entertainment fields receive but a fraction of this search volume. For example, December 2006 search volumes for select sports stars and actors were as follows: Kobe Bryant, 122K; Tiger Woods, 88K; Cameron Diaz, 332K; and Tom Cruise, 82K.

Conversely, 225 music artists received over 100,000 searches in December 2006, and over 500 music artists received over 25,000 searches.

This data is corroborated by Nielsen BuzzMetrics which plots the most popular topics bloggers are posting about. The chart to the right plots September 25, 2006 to March 25, 2007 and shows how music dominates other entertainment sectors online.

When searching for music artists online, fans, which are primarily between the ages of 13 and 35, are looking for news, pictures, lyrics, videos and audio files. In addition, fans enjoy publicly voicing their opinions about music and interacting with other fans.

There is currently no website besides Shoutmouth that provides comprehensive music news. Currently, to get the latest news on their favorite artists, fans must visit the official websites or fan websites of each of the artists they like . Even then, it is unlikely that the fan will get all the news that has occurred. To solve this problem, Shoutmouth scours the web and uncovers news from thousands of web sites.

What Shoutmouth Does and Will Offer

As of May 2007, the site covers the 1,200 most popular music artists (popularity primarily based on the number of web searches over the past 12 months for each artist).

Shoutmouth currently offers members the ability to:

• Read over 500 new music articles each week
• Read special features such as album reviews, interviews, new album release dates, top quotes of the week and other special reports
• Watch and rate music videos
• Listen to select music audio clips
• Comment on news stories and music videos
• Submit news stories that they see/hear of elsewhere
• Suggest new music artists to add to the site
• View articles by music artist or by genre (current genres include Rock, Pop, Rap, R&B, Country, and Electronic)
• Create a user profile that includes their favorite music artists, Shoutmouth friends, news stories submitted to Shoutmouth, and comments made. Members have the ability to find other members based on their favorite artists and via our search functions.
• Receive customized news and email alerts. Members can customize their “My News” page to include only artists they specify. Likewise, they can choose to receive email alerts whenever there is a new story on one of their favorite artists.

While establishing itself as the premier music news community, Shoutmouth will embark on the more aggressive goal of becoming the premier music community online . To accomplish this, Shoutmouth will begin to offer additional content (more videos, audio, pictures, lyrics, etc.) and additional functionality (music compatibility testing (e.g., if you like this, you’ll like this), voting capabilities, member-to-member messaging, etc.). We have already begun mapping out our content and technology growths plans to achieve this goal upon financing.

Importantly, Shoutmouth expects to be able to add massive amounts of relevant content (e.g., lyrics, reviews, pictures, video files, audio files, etc.) via member submissions and moderation. This is the same way that YouTube has been able to quickly add millions of videos and Wikipedia has been able to add millions of articles. Importantly, since established music websites (e.g., MTV, RollingStone.com, Billboard.com, etc.) are not community based, they would have to hire thousands of staff members to rival the content that Shoutmouth will have.

How We Get and Publish Our News

Currently, news stories that appear on Shoutmouth are gathered from numerous online sources. Shoutmouth’s staff writers find these stories by using RSS and News feeds that cover thousands of websites. In addition, Shoutmouth community members have the ability to submit stories they find elsewhere.

Typical stories include factual information plus the insight of the author. Shoutmouth editors ensure that all stories are properly classified by artist and genre, and that duplicate articles are filtered out.

Over the past three months, Shoutmouth has developed a solid infrastructure, which we consider a core competitive advantage, that that allows us to provide comprehensive music news . This infrastructure includes:

• Setting up hundreds of RSS feeds based on comprehensive research regarding sites from which to receive feeds
• Training our editorial team regarding identifying a story and weeding out duplicates
• Assigning music artists among our five-person editorial team to better manage work flow and avoid duplicate articles

We are working on a system to ensure that member-submitted articles are automatically routed to the appropriate member of Shoutmouth’s editorial team to improve our efficiencies further.

Shoutmouth’s Goal to Break News First

The majority (approximately 90%) of Shoutmouth’s articles are currently developed by our in-house editorial team, while the balance is submitted by members. In addition, virtually all of our articles are based on information gleaned from other websites. As such, we are generally not the first to publish news; however we are the first and only site to publish all the news in one easily-accessible place. The one current exception is news which is published on bands’ official MySpace pages; Shoutmouth generally publishes articles on this news 24 to 48 hours before it is reported by other news or music sites (due to our efficiencies in finding news).

Shoutmouth realizes that it will gain a key competitive advantage, and will generate significant market buzz, if it is able to report on music news stories before other media sources . To accomplish this, we have begun contacting publicity departments at record labels to gain direct access to music news. We expect these contacts to enable us to gain immediate and sometimes exclusive access to news which will help further establish Shoutmouth as the canonical source for music news. We also plan to more aggressively solicit member submissions of new, buzzworthy news events and will consider offering rewards for unique substantiated news (much the way paparazzi are compensated).

III. Competition in the Online Music Market

This section of the business plan provides a competitive analysis, which is an overview of the competitive landscape, discusses both indirect and direct competitors and then details Shoutmouth’s competitive advantages.

Because consumer demand for music on the Internet is so great, there are a vast number of music websites. In summary, we consider most sectors of the online music market (which are discussed below) to be indirect competitors and potentially partners, rather than direct competitors, because none of them focus on music news.

The reason we believe that no one focuses on music news is that it is very difficult to do. Because news is very important to music fans, most music websites offer news. However, they primarily get their news from organizations such as CNN, Reuters, the Associated Press and BBC. These large organizations only write about the music stories that have mass appeal, which traditionally amounts to 8-10 music news stories per day. However, since music fans are often zealots when it comes to their favorite artists, they are not merely interested in cover stories. For instance, a U2 fan cares about any U2 news, particularly news that a non-U2 fan might consider insignificant.

In fact, because Shoutmouth is the sole one-stop shop for getting comprehensive music news, there might be an opportunity to license our content to other music websites.

Sectors of the Online Music Market

Shoutmouth specifically comPs in the community-based music news market. While players in this market represent direct competitors, Shoutmouth faces indirect competitors in the following markets:

• Community-Based Sites
• Community-Based News Sites
• Community-Based Music Sites
• Traditional Music Websites
• Official Artist and Fan Sites

Each of these markets is described below.

A. Community-Based Sites

Community-based sites, also known as social networking sites, are websites in which members can create profiles, leave comments throughout the site, and communicate with other members among other features.

A June 2006 report by Piper Jaffray entitled “Silk Road: Social Networking is Here to Stay” effectively sums up the power and longevity of social networking:

“We believe social networking sites have become a permanent part of the fabric of web applications and are rapidly becoming one of the most popular activities online, potentially impacting how other popular services such as email, IM, and maybe even search are accessed.

As a clear indication of the growth rate and scale of social networking, consider this: MySpace monthly page views have now surpassed MSN or AOL in the U.S. and are nearly 75% of the size of Yahoo!. Social networking has filled a gap that was left by all the existing portals and web services and it is fulfilling a very important and basic function for millions of users: allowing them to express themselves and connect with their friends, with the two functions tightly integrated.

The leading sites such as MySpace (News Corp), Facebook, and others are amassing significant power in the new landscape of the Internet and the existing Internet companies are likely to have to work with these newcomers as they may yield material control on the flow of traffic to other applications.”

Social networking sites such as MySpace.com, Facebook.com, Tagged.com, and TagWorld.com have educated consumers regarding the value of these sites and how to use them. Their success has spurred genre-specific social networks such as community-based/social networking news sites and music sites, which are discussed below.

Shoutmouth doesn’t view established social networking sites as competitors since these sites have a general focus. That is, members talk about all aspects of life, from dating to music to movies, etc. Conversely, Shoutmouth is solely focused on music.

B. Community-Based News Sites

Community-based news sites are sites in which members decide what’s newsworthy and what’s not. For instance, on Digg.com, the most prominent community-based news site, members “Digg” stories that they feel are most newsworthy. The stories that the community feels are most important rise to Digg’s homepage, while less important stories get little attention.

Digg’s one million members can submit stories, “digg” stories, and comment on stories. Digg focuses on general news with a slant towards technology, gaming and unique/sensational news. While Digg does have a Music area within its Entertainment section, this receives little focus. In fact, at the time of the writing of this plan, Digg’s music home page only includes one article submitted within the past 48 hours. Furthermore, Digg doesn’t pare down the music category into sub-categories such as Rock and individual music artists. Conversely, these sub-categories are the entire focus of Shoutmouth.

Other sites that are similar to Digg include Newsvine.com, Spotback.com and Gabbr.com. Of most relevance is the Digg-like site for music, Noisetap.com, which was launched by Ticketmaster in January 2007.

Like Digg, Noisetap.com allows members to submit and vote for music stories. Noisetap.com is organized by music genre and not by music artist. This most likely will not satisfy the needs of many music fans since they don’t have the ability to find news on the specific artists they care most about. Likewise, without a full-time staff actively researching and publishing news stories at the artist-level, Noisetap.com will never be able to offer the comprehensive news that Shoutmouth does.

While Shoutmouth is currently similar to community-based news sites in that members can submit stories and comment on the news they find most interesting, no established player in the market provides a comprehensive focus on music. In addition, Shoutmouth sees these sites as marketing partners as we have and will continue to submit our stories on them to increase our readership.

C. Community-Based Music Sites

There are many community-based music websites, although none focuses on music news such as Shoutmouth. Conversely, these sites generally give members the ability to create and listen to song play lists. The community acts to help individual members find new music and new friends based on similarities in their music tastes. Prominent sites in this genre include Last.fm, Finetune, Pandora, RadioBlogClub, MyStrands, iLike[1] and iJigg.

Last.fm is the most prominent community-based music site and is a good model with which to compare Shoutmouth. Likewise, we will benchmark our performance against Last.fm as we reach of goal of becoming the premier music news community and focus on becoming the premier music community.

According to Alexa, Last.fm is the 359th most visited site on the Internet. While Last.fm focuses on allowing members to create customized Internet stations based on their music tastes, the site has much additional content and social networking features. For instance, for each artist, Last.fm includes pictures, a bio, concert dates, discography, fans on Last.fm, and similar artists. Fans are also able to create journals and communicate with other fans. Key features that Last.fm doesn’t currently focus on include news and video.

D. Traditional Music Websites

Traditional music websites such as MTV.com, RollingStone.com, Billboard.com, NME.com, AOL Music, and Yahoo! Music tend to have many features such as news, reviews, pictures, videos and audio. While these sites are generally very well done and extremely popular, they are under-serving visitors in two core areas: music news and community .

These sites’ lack of music news stems from the difficulty in creating this news, specifically that it requires filtering through thousands of articles and websites to find relevant stories. Likewise, as discussed, these firms might wish to license our news content in the future.

Regarding community , none of the top music sites are thriving communities. Rather, either these sites offer no community features or they recently began offering select features (e.g., submitting reviews or commenting on articles). Even when available, the community features on these sites are afterthoughts and are not engrained within the core fabric of the sites.

While they haven’t been able to transform their current sites into communities, top music websites clearly understand the power of online music communities and have an appetite for them. For example, in January 2007, MTV invested in social networking website TagWorld. MTV also acquired RateMyProfessors.com and Quizilla.com (teen social network) in January 2007 and October 2006 respectively.

As mentioned previously, our vision is to build and incorporate additional technologies, and use our “army” of members to publish vast amounts of music content on Shoutmouth, in order to fully satisfy music fans and leapfrog traditional music sites in terms of their music content.

E. Official Artist and Fan Sites

Shoutmouth com’s with official music artist websites and fan websites. These sites often include news about the specific artist as well as pictures, videos and other relevant information.

On one hand, official music artist and fan websites are direct competitors to Shoutmouth. This is because some of these sites offer comprehensive news on the specific artist they cover. In addition, many offer forums, discussion boards or other ways to communicate with other fans.

However, two factors separate Shoutmouth from these types of sites: 1) breadth and 2) sophistication.

• Breadth : Most music fans love more than one artist. As such, in order to get the news they want, they would have to visit/join multiple fan or artist websites rather than getting all of their news from Shoutmouth.
• Sophistication : While some official music artist websites are technologically sophisticated, offering forums, networking and other worthwhile features, the majority of artist and fan websites have limited usability, functionality and networking ability. In fact, this deficiency has lead to the success of MusicToday, which provides front and back-end technology to power artist websites.

Specifically, MusicToday offers web design and hosting, develops sophisticated online stores, builds online fan clubs and offers web ticketing among other services to select top music artists such as Dave Matthews Band, Christina Aguilera, Kenny Chesney, Britney Spears and Usher. While offering sophisticated tools for select music artist websites, MusicToday offers little to no music news nor advanced social networking functions. For instance, the official Dave Matthews Band website offers less than one news story per month.

F. Direct Competitors: Community-Based Music News Sites

Shoutmouth’s direct competitors are other music news websites that have social or community features that allow users to join the site, submit articles, comment on articles, create public profiles and/or communicate with other members. Shoutmouth has identified one significant player who offers this service, AbsolutePunk.net.

AbsolutePunk.net has done a good job of building a user base (the site claims 125,000+ registered members and nearly 500,000 un-registered members). In addition, the user base is very active — the average story on their site receives approximately 20 comments. AbsolutePunk.net offers music news, reviews, pictures and interviews among other features.

On the negative side, AbsolutePunk.net’s articles are generally posted by one staff writer (as opposed to Shoutmouth’s five writers), most articles are simply one sentence posts rather than full articles, and no attempt seems to have been made to cover all news stories. In addition, the site only covers the punk music genre. Although “punk” is broadly defined on the site, the site doesn’t cater to genres such as R&B, rap and country among others, failing to satisfy the broader market.

AbsolutePunk.net is owned by Indieclick, a Los Angeles-based media company. According to the AbsolutePunk.net website, the site:

• Has developed a loyal (72% return rate) reader base
• 5,182,147 Posts
• 163,535 Threads
• 126,448 Members
• 1,711 Artist Profiles
• 20,774 Multimedia Files
• Approx 76,000 visits per day.
• Approx 276,000 pageviews per day.

Shoutmouth’s Competitive Advantage

In addition to being the first to fill the untapped market void for comprehensive music news, Shoutmouth’s competitive advantage in the market primarily includes the following:

Online Marketing Sophistication

Content Development Experience and Expertise

Shoutmouth’s team, primarily team members DL and PF, has operated an affiliate marketing business focusing on music for the past four years. Affiliate marketing is defined as a system of revenue sharing between one site (the affiliate) which features an ad or content designed to drive traffic to another site (the merchant). The affiliate receives a fee based on traffic to the merchant which converts to sales.

Our affiliate business has focused on connecting music fans, primarily aged 13 to 30, with music offers such as iPods and ringtones. Over the past two years, we have successful sold affiliated offers to over 500,000 customers. We have become a significant online advertiser, receiving Google’s “over 1 million leads” award, and are recognized as a major player among the top affiliate networks.

It is important to note that affiliate marketing success has been credited with part of MySpace’s success. This is because effective affiliate marketers understand how to drive and convert on Internet traffic.

Shoutmouth will employ its affiliate marketing techniques to drive traffic to Shoutmouth.com and enroll members. We will utilize technologies and proprietary techniques that allow us to monitor multiple metrics such as the cost per visitor, cost per member sign-up, etc., so that we can set and maintain profitable metrics.

Another venture that Shoutmouth team members, primarily PK and DL, launched was the development of over 3,000 niche websites. To create the content for these websites, we employed a virtual work force of over 90 researchers in India and 30 writers and editors in the US.

This experience taught us how to manage a large workforce, train writers to improve content quality and motivate a large group of people. These skill sets will be critical in allowing Shoutmouth to grow the content of the site, as developed by both staff and members, while maintaining quality standards.

IV. Marketing Plan

Shoutmouth’s marketing plan includes the following:

Online Advertising : Shoutmouth will initiate pay-per-click advertising campaigns on Google and Yahoo! in order to inexpensively drive traffic to the site. Specifically, Shoutmouth believes it can drive qualified traffic to the site for 20 cents per visitor and achieve a 20% member conversion rate, thus generating members at a cost of $1.00 per member.

Keys to Shoutmouth’s success in achieving this metric include:

• Conducting thorough keyword research and advertising on appropriate keywords and keyword groups
• Creating advertising text that maximizes click through rates
• Creating landing pages that maximize conversions while maintaining the highest Google AdWords quality score possible
• Closely monitoring conversions to quickly stop and/or modify unprofitable campaigns
• Getting individuals to enter their email address to join the newsletter is much easier than getting them to join a site where they have to create a username, select a password, etc. As such, step one will be to get visitors to sign up for artist-specific newsletters.
• Once on the newsletter distribution list, members will constantly receive messages (embedded in their daily newsletter) regarding the benefits of participating more on Shoutmouth.
• Active Shoutmouth Membership: the constant reminders regarding Shoutmouth’s value proposition in the daily newsletters will influence members to participate more actively on the site (e.g., customize their profile, visit the site more often, etc.).

Invite-A-Friend : Shoutmouth is in the process of creating an aggressive invite-a-friend/member referral program. In doing so, we are following the lead of social movie community, Flixster, which grew to 5 million members within 10 months. It did this by encouraging members, during their initial registration process, to upload and send an invitation to multiple contacts in their email address books. The technology to develop this process is fairly complex and we expect to be completed with and to rollout this program in June 2007.

Direct Email Marketing : Shoutmouth will directly contact bloggers and prominent music fans we find online to tell them about Shoutmouth, encourage them to join, and encourage them to write about Shoutmouth on their blogs and online journals .

Creating/Distributing Buzzworthy/Viral Content : Shoutmouth plans to have several buzzworthy/viral articles (i.e., content that people would want to email to their friends since it is funny, interesting, etc.) on the site each day. With a single click, visitors will be able to send these articles to social bookmarking sites such as Digg.com or Fark.com, where these articles could receive widespread attention. In addition to our traditional news stories, Shoutmouth will also periodically create special reports/features in order to satisfy our members and visitors and to try to get widespread exposure.

An example of the power of such buzzworthy content, Shoutmouth has already succeeded in having two stories accepted by Fark and Digg, which have brought in over 50,000 unique visitors.

Super Fans/Street Team Development : Shoutmouth also plans to recruit “super fans.” Super fans are individuals who are passionate about a certain music artist/band and actively contribute articles and/or comments on Shoutmouth. We will recruit these fans, reward them with status (e.g., adding a gold Shoutmouth headphones image to their profile page) and encourage them to more aggressively promote the site by:

• Submitting more news to Shoutmouth
• Commenting on more articles on Shoutmouth
• Growing the Shoutmouth community around their favorite artist(s) by actively recruiting new members to join the site (such as actively posting Shoutmouth-related comments on their MySpace pages, on other music forums, etc.)

Public Relations : Upon financing, Shoutmouth will hire a public relations firm to help us get mentions in media sources ranging from magazines, newspapers, radio, television and blogs. To date, we have developed and issued press releases via Billboard Publicity Wire which have been syndicated throughout the web. An effective PR firm will enable Shoutmouth to quickly reach a wide audience.

Widgets : Shoutmouth will create artist-specific and genre-specific music news widgets. For example, our U2 widget (see example on right) would include all of the recent U2 articles published on Shoutmouth. The widget can easily be placed on MySpace pages, blogs, etc. Each story title in the widget links to the full article on Shoutmouth.

Shoutmouth has great expectations for our widget. To begin, no such widget currently exists as there is no one place to get comprehensive news for specific music artists. Secondly, each time someone places a Shoutmouth widget on their blog or social networking page, it will effectively market Shoutmouth to a wide audience at zero cost to us.

V. Technology/Site Development Plan

This section provides a brief roadmap of the initial and future functionality of Shoutmouth.

Initial Site Functionality

The initial Shoutmouth website will include the following features:

• Ability to submit and comment on news stories
• Ability to suggest new music artists to add to the site
• Ability to create user profiles
• Ability to receive customized news and email alerts
• Articles categorized by artist and core genre (e.g., Rock, Rap, Pop, etc.)
• Music artist sections which includes News, Bio and Fans

Future Site Functionality

Shoutmouth will use news and basic functionality as the platform though which we will build a thriving music community. After initial launch, the Shoutmouth technology team will work on incorporating additional features such as:

• Ability to message other members via the site (e.g., members will have an Inbox on the site)
• Event calendars: members will receive online calendars. With the click of a button, the member will be able to add tour dates of their favorite artists/bands to their calendar.
• Articles also categorized by sub-genre (e.g., Alternative Rock, West Coast Rap, etc.)
• Music artist sections to also include videos, audio files, photo galleries, reviews and event calendars to which members can upload files and vote on top content.
• Forums and member blogs
• Music compatibility testing (suggestions on song/artists members might like)
• Trivia quizzes
• Music playlists

VI. Financial Plan

Revenue Model

During the first six months, Shoutmouth will not generate any revenues as it will not sell advertising space nor offer products for sale. This decision has been made to spur the growth of the Shoutmouth community. By initially positioning Shoutmouth more as a non-profit, for-the-people-by-the-people venture, members will be more prone to promote the site and invite their friends than if the site looks too commercial.

Starting in September 2007, Shoutmouth will primarily generate revenues from selling advertising space. As technologies (such as the Snocap music widget) evolve that allow us to seamlessly integrate music sampling and purchasing on our site, sales of downloadable music are also expected to be a significant revenue source. To a lesser extent, we may sell other music-related items such as ringtones, concert tickets, and apparel.

Funding To Date

To date, Shoutmouth’s founders have invested $500,000 in Shoutmouth, with which we have accomplished the following:

• Built the site’s core technology
• Hired and trained our core staff (we currently maintain an 11-person full-time team)
• Populated the website with content (over 10,000 articles and 1,200 artist bios)
• Generated brand awareness among music fans, including driving 50,000 unique visitors in March, 100,000 unique visitors in April, and 200,000 unique visitors in May 2007.

Funding Requirements/Use of Funds

Shoutmouth is currently seeking $3 million to provide funding for the next 24 months. At this point, the site will be profitable and can grow organically, or additional capital may be sought to more aggressively expand our member base.

The capital will be used as follows:

• Execution of Marketing plan : in order for Shoutmouth to grow its visitor and member base, we need to invest dollars in online advertising and public relations. With regards to online advertising, we are confident that we can enroll members at a cost of $1 per member, which is a fraction of the value of the members to an acquirer (minimum $25 per member), thus providing a significant return on our marketing investments.
• Execution of Technology plan : in order to build a thriving community, Shoutmouth needs to offer its visitors a “stickier” website and enhanced features. We currently maintain a vast “wish list” of features, such as members uploading and rating pictures and videos, trivia quizzes, and member-to-member messaging, that will significantly improve the site’s functionality and value proposition.
• Staffing : In order to reach our goals, we will have to hire additional technical and operations personnel.

Financial Projections

Below is an overview of Shoutmouth’s Financial Projections for the next three years. Please see the Appendix for the full financial projections and key assumptions.

Exit Strategy / Valuation Metric

Shoutmouth’s most likely exit strategy is to be acquired by a traditional music website or property (e.g., Viacom/MTV, Ticketmaster, Rolling Stone), an entertainment/media conglomerate (e.g., Yahoo!, IAC/InterActiveCorp, NBC), or a large social networking site (e.g., News Corp/MySpace).

This strategy is supported by the significant M&A activity in the social networking market, which includes the following transactions over the past 24 months:

Regarding valuation, below are the estimated valuations of social networking companies on a per member basis upon exit:

• Del.icio.us: $50 – $100 per member
• MySpace: $25 per member
• Xing (business social network): $137 per member at IPO in 10/06
• Flickr: $56 – $130 per member
• Grouper: $130 per member

Based on this data, not only are social networking sites a promising investment, but sites that can acquire members for less than $25 each (a conservative valuation estimate based on the figures above), should earn a solid return on investment. As discussed above, Shoutmouth’s goal is to acquire members for no more than $1 each.

In addition, per the membership projections above, Shoutmouth’s valuation at the end of 2009, at a $25 valuation per member, is expected to be $239 million. A more conservative, using a 24.4 time EBITDA multiple (the average multiple of tech M&A deals in 2006 according to The M&A Advisor), yields a $121 million valuation in 2009.

Shoutmouth’s founding team includes entrepreneurs and managers with a track record of success and a history of successfully working together.

Management Team

DL, Co-Founder and CEO

D has a history of successfully launching and growing businesses of all sizes. As president and co-founder of an entrepreneurial services firm., D has personally assisted in the launch and development of over 100 ventures.

Over the past three years, D founded and has managed The Kisco Group which includes an affiliate marketing division (2006 revenues exceeded $3 million), a search engine optimization business which includes a network of 3,000 websites (2006 revenues exceeded $500,000) and an e-commerce business (which includes TopPayingKeywords.com and ShowerHeadsEtc.com).

D earned his Bachelors degree from the University of South Carolina.

PK, Co-Founder and Vice President of Operations

For the past two years, P has managed The Kisco Group’s search engine optimization business where he hired, trained and managed nearly 100 employees and a dozen outside firms. During this time, P has honed his management skills with regards to content development, marketing and operations.

P has had a passion for music since childhood and has been a semi-professional drummer for the past 15 years.

P earned his Bachelors of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Clemson University.

PF, Co-Founder and Vice President of Technology

For the past year, P has managed The Kisco Group’s affiliate marketing business. In addition to setting up and managing widespread marketing campaigns, P has developed sophisticated analytic techniques to precisely analyze web traffic in order to optimize profitability.

Since August 2006, P has shifted his efforts and leveraged his technology skills in developing the Shoutmouth website. P has been instrumental in selecting the Content Management Platform upon which Shoutmouth is built, and finding and managing the technology team.

P earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Swarthmore College.

AB, Marketing Manager

A’s background in music includes being a singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer. He has also worked on the marketing side of music, having marketed Veritas Records through the development and distribution of promotional materials.

A’s career also includes psychological research and administration, having served as a Research Assistant with the Interpersonal Perception And Communication Laboratory in Cambridge, MA.

A earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Ohio State University.

M, Lead Technology Developer

M is an experienced web programmer with expertise in web design, application development and database development among others.

M’s work experience includes serving as a Senior Developer at Spheres. M has also engaged in multiple, long term freelance projects including serving as a Database Developer Consultant with The Penn Group and a Web Developer Consultant with Volution Media Group and Allied Online Consulting Group.

M earned his Bachelors degree in Computer Science with a minor in Cognitive Science from Rutgers University.

Content Development Team

Shoutmouth’s writing team, managed by PK, includes the following members:

• JS, Editorial Manager: former content manager and copywriter for Scholastic Inc. and Promotions.com.
• TZ: former music intern (Virgin Records and WRRV) and author of the blog, The Tom Z Show .
• ML: former assistant editor for Adventure Publishing; author of the blog Certified Gangsta ; and former editor-in-chief of Fordham University’s newspaper The Paper .
• SB: former staff writer for Paste Magazine , The Clarion Ledger , and Nightclub and Bar Magazine among others.
• CSJ: former editorial intern for Rolling Stone and Editorial Assistant for Psychology Today .

Outsourced Technology Team

Shoutmouth works very closely with 2skies, a technology firm based in Australia with staff in Australia and the United States. 2skies is run by JDN, one of the co-founding developers of XE, the platform upon which Shoutmouth is built.

XE is an extensible, Open Source web application framework written in PHP and licensed under the GNU General Public License. XE delivers the requisite infrastructure and tools to create custom web applications that include fully dynamic multi-platform Content Management Solutions (CMS).

VIII. Appendix: Shoutmouth Financial Projections   3-Year Income Statement

3-Year Balance Sheet

As of December 31

3-Year Cash Flow Statement

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