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Your company’s history and milestones may make up the bulk of the Company Description portion of your business plan. In this section, you present the history and progress of your company.

QUICKTIP

Examples of Key Milestones

 Incorporation

 Prototype completed

 First product shipped

 Major customers secured

 Key strategic partnerships secured

 Significant sales level reached

First, indicate which phase of development your business is in. The basic stages are:

 Seed company. The business concept is developed, but the product or service is not yet finalized. Not yet making sales.

 Start-up. In the early stages of operation. Securing first customers.

 Expanding. Established company adding new products, services, or branches. Rapidly increasing sales growth.

 Stable. Established company with modest ongoing sales growth.

 Retrenchment. Consolidating or repositioning product lines. Little or no sales growth.

Next, indicate the progress you’ve already made. Even if yours is a new business, you’ve almost certainly reached key milestones, such as developing a product prototype, securing seed financing, or finding office space. Be sure to include development details that indicate you’re off to a good start.

If your company is up and running, you already have some major accomplishments under your belt, such as reaching significant sales levels, securing major customers, or shipping products. Highlight these in this portion of your Company Description.

SAMPLE PLAN:

Company History, Milestones, and Development to Date

Founded in January 2013 by Scott E. Connors, ComputerEase began operation by providing software training at corporate customers’ offices.

Historical info

In March 2013, Susan Alexander became Vice President for Marketing. Ms. Alexander immediately began an extensive sales campaign, targeting 200 large companies in the Vespucci area.

In August 2013, ComputerEase opened its software Training Center at its present location in downtown Vespucci, enabling the company to significantly expand its offerings.

Identifies key milestone

Also in August 2013, ComputerEase released its first online training classes, accessible over the company’s website. Site licenses were offered to larger corporations with more extensive ongoing training needs.

In its first nine months of operation, the company conducted 184 training programs, and secured ongoing training contracts with 11 primary target corporate customers in its local geographic area. And despite investing very little in marketing its online programs during the first two months offering them, ComputerEase acquired three national accounts.

Key milestones reached

When was your company founded?

How would you describe your current phase of development? (Seed? Start-up? Expanding? Stable? Retrenchment?)

What are some of the highlights of your company’s history? What milestones have you reached so far?