Page C6_______________________________________
p u rtln iiò
(jP b trru rr
Opportunities, Barriers Exist
for Minority Retailers
Dominic Boswell o f Blimpie Subs and Sandwiches (left) and his store located at Walnut Park, a
shopping center in northeast Portland that houses many other thriving minority-owned businesses.
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
L ee P erlman
T he P ortland O bslr \ i r
by
What are the chances of making northeast Port
land, and especially Northeast Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard, “the soul of Portland," a thriving minor
ity-owned retail center once again?
Are there would-be minority retailers out there
ready to take up the challenge? Are there spaces
available for them?
The answer to the first question appears to be
.“ yes.”
Sam Brooks, founder o f the Oregon Association
of Minority Entrepreneurs, says, “We do have them.
Some need convincing. Some who have the skills are
not eager to go into business for themselves, and
others who want to try it don’t have the skills to
succeed.”'
Michael McElwee of the Portland Development
Commission attests to this. When PDC sought
African-American retailers for the Walnut Park
Shopping Center at Northeast Martin Luther King
Jr. Boulevard and Killingsworth Street, they found
more than enough people to fill the space. Some
had to be turned away because of lack of space.
"We wanted a healthy mix of services,” he says.
“We didn’t want two photo shops or three
continued
September 26, 2001
MINORITY
BUSINESS
* V z S
.) f> c i a !
c d t ! i o n
on page C7
Developing
Your
Business
Plan
O ne
of
th e
most impor
ta n t
e a rly
steps in start
ing a small busi
ness is to d e
velop a business
p lan . N o t on ly
does it provide a
blueprint for opera
tions, but it makes
you stop and think
about exactly what
you want to do,
and how you
plan to do it
The following
o u tlin e o f a
typical business
plan can serve as
a guide.
You can adapt it to your specific business. Breaking down the plan into several
com ponents helps m ake drafting it a m ore m anageable task. In-depth help on developing
a sound business plan can be found on the SBA W eb site in the section on starting a
business.
IN T R O D U C T IO N
•
Give a detailed description o f the business and its goals.
•
Discuss the ow nership o f the business and the legal structure.
•
List the skills and experience you bring to the business.
•
Discuss the advantages you and your business have over your com petitors.
M A R K E T IN G
•
Discuss the products/services offered.
•
Identify the custom er dem and for your product/service.
•
•
Identify your m arket, its size and locations.
Explain how your product/service will be advertised and marketed.
•
•
Explain the pricing strategy.
Explain your source and the am ount o f initial equity capital.
•
•
•
D evelop a m onthly operating budget for the first year.
D evelop an expected return on investm ent and m onthly cash flow for the first year.
Provide projected incom e statem ents and balance sheets for a tw o-year period.
•
•
•
•
Discuss your break-even point.
Explain your personal balance sheet and m ethod o f com pensation,
Discuss who will m aintain your accounting records and how they will be kept.
Provide “w hat i f ' statem ents that address alternative approaches to any problem that
may develop.
O P E R A T IO N S
•
Explain how the business will be m anaged on a day-to-day basis.
•
•
Discuss hiring and personnel procedures.
Discuss insurance, lease or rent agreem ents, and issues pertinent to your business.
•
A ccount for the equipm ent necessary to produce your products or services.
•
A ccount for production and delivery o f products and services.
C O N C L U D IN G ST A T E M E N T
• Sum m arize your business goals and objectives and express your com m itm ent to the
success o f your business.
Once you have com pleted your busi
ness plan, review it with a friend or busi
ness associate or a Service C orps o f
Retired Executives (SCO RE) or Small
Business Developm ent C enter (SBDC)
counselor. (See SCO RE and SBDC list
ings on the SBA W eb site.
W hen you feel com fortable with the
content and structure, m ake an appoint- '
ment to review and discuss it with your
lender. The business plan is a flexible
docum ent that should change as your busi
ness grows.
For m ore inform ation on all o f SB A ’s
program s for small businesses, go online to
w w w .sba.gov.
Women-
Owned
Businesses
on the Rise
Women-owned businesses in
the United States totaled 5.4
million in 1997, an increase of
16% since 1992, according to
Census Bureau statistics released
recently. This is almost triple
the rate of 6% for all firms
(excluding publicly held corpo
rations). The businesses em
ployed 7.1 million people and
generated $818.7 billion in re
ceipts in 1997. The latter is up
33% from five years earlier,
compared with a 24% hike for
all firms.
The data shows that in addi
tion to the 5.4 million majority
w om en-ow ned firm s, there
were 3.6 million jointly owned
(h u sb a n d -w ife) firm s w ith
$943.9 billion in receipts. As of
1997, privately held majority
women-owned firms made up
26% ofthe nation’s 20.8 million
nonfarm businesses and 4.4%
of the $18.6 trillion in receipts
for all businesses.
I