Proposal: Are You a Tycoon in the Making?
YOUR TASK
:
Choose a product or service you would like to offer
( this one is Proposal: Launching a Specialty Bakery Business)
to a particular audience, such as a dating consulting service, a window cleaning business, a bakery specializing in your favorite cakes, an online photography business, a distributor of e-bikes, or a new specialized hair care line.
Write an informal letter proposal promoting your chosen product or service to the target audience you have identified.
Perhaps you have fantasized about one day owning your own company, or maybe you have already started a business. Proposals are offers to a very specific audience whose business you are soliciting. Think of a product or service that you like or know something about. Search the Internet or research databases, and study the market so that you understand going rates, prices, and costs. Search the Small Business Administration’s website (https://www.sba.gov) for valuable tips on how to launch, run, and manage a successful business.
please work on Proposal: Launching a Specialty Bakery Business
and follow the format that includes
D Bakery Business Running head: BAKERY BUSINESS 1 Proposal: Are You a Tycoon in the Making? YOUR TASK: Choose a product or service you would like to offer ( this one is Proposal: Launching a Specialty Bakery Business) to a particular audience, such as a dating consulting service, a window cleaning business, a bakery specializing in your favorite cakes, an online photography business, a distributor of e-bikes, or a new specialized hair care line. Write an informal letter proposal promoting your chosen product or service to the target audience you have identified. Perhaps you have fantasized about one day owning your own company, or maybe you have already started a business. Proposals are offers to a very specific audience whose business you are soliciting. Think of a product or service that you like or know something about. Search the Internet or research databases, and study the market so that you understand going rates, prices, and costs. Search the Small Business Administration’s website (https://www.sba.gov) for valuable tips on how to launch, run, and manage a successful business. Proposal: Launching a Specialty Bakery Business Please use this format picture attach Background and Goals Must include; Proposed Plan, Survey, Analysis, and Report. Schedule. Staffing Budget Authorization Running head: BAKERY BUSINESS 2 Running head: BAKERY BUSINESS 3 Please follow the format and make anything up in $ and English Running head: BAKERY BUSINESS 4 SOME INFO 10-1b Components of Informal Proposals Informal proposals may be presented in manuscript format (usually no more than ten pages) with a cover page, or they may take the form of short (two- to four-page) letters. Sometimes called letter proposals, they usually contain six principal components: introduction, background, proposal, staffing, budget, and authorization. As you can see in Figure 10.1, both informal and formal proposals contain these six basic parts. The titles, or headings, of the components of informal proposals may vary, but the goals of the components are standard. Each of the following components of a typical informal proposal serves a purpose and contributes to its overall success. Introduction. Most proposals begin with a brief explanation of the reasons for the proposal and then highlight the writer’s qualifications. To make an introduction more persuasive, strive to provide a hook, such as the following: ■ Hint at extraordinary results with details to be revealed shortly Promise low costs or speedy results. Mention a remarkable resource (e.g., well-known authority, new computer program, well-trained staff) available exclusively to you. Running head: BAKERY BUSINESS 5 ■ Identify a serious problem (worry item) and promise a solution, to be explained later. ■ Specify a key issue or benefit that you feel is the heart of the proposal. Before writing the proposal shown in Model Document 10.1, Antoine Gibson analyzed the request of Nebraska dentist Caroline Foley and decided that she was most interested in improving service to her patients. However, Antoine did not hit on this hook until he had written a first draft and had come back to it later. It’s not a bad idea to put off writing the proposal introduction until after you have completed other parts. In longer proposals the introduction also describes the scope and limitations of the project, as well as outlining the organization of the material to come. Background, Problem, and Purpose. The background section identifies the problem and discusses the goals or purposes of the project. In an unsolicited proposal, your goal is to convince the reader that a problem exists. Therefore, you must present the problem in detail, discussing such factors as revenue losses, failure to comply with government regulations, or decreased customer satisfaction. In a solicited proposal, your aim is to persuade the reader that you understand the problem completely and that you have a realistic solution. If responding to an RFP, follow its requirements precisely and use the soliciting company’s language in your description of the problem. For example, if the RFP asks for the design of a Running head: BAKERY BUSINESS 6 maintenance program for wireless communication equipment, don’t call it a customer service program for wireless products. The background section might include segments titled Statement of Need, Basic Requirements, Most Critical Tasks, or Important Secondary Problems. Proposal, Plan, and Schedule. In the proposal section itself, you would explain your plan for solving the problem. In some proposals this is tricky because you want to disclose enough of your plan to secure the contract, without giving away so much information that your services will not be needed. Without specifics, though, your proposal has little chance, so you must decide how much to reveal. The proposal section often includes an implementation plan. If research is involved, state what methods you will use to gather the data. Remember to be persuasive by showing how your methods and products will benefit the reader. For example, show how the initial investment will pay off later. The proposal might even promise specific deliverables—tangible things your project will produce for the customer. A proposal deliverable might be a new Web design or a digital marketing plan. To add credibility, also specify how the project will be managed and how its progress will be audited. Most writers also include a schedule or timetable of activities showing the proposal’s benchmarks for completion. Staffing. The staffing section of a proposal describes the qualifications of the team Running head: BAKERY BUSINESS 7 that will complete the work as well as the credentials and expertise of the project leaders. In other words, this section introduces all participating staff members and their qualifications. This section is a good place to endorse and promote your staff. The client sees that qualified people will be on board to implement the project. Although full résumés might be attached to a proposal, busy decision makers will appreciate a summary highlighting the credentials of the key players. Each summary might describe that person’s expertise, certifications, and a few examples of experience on similar projects.5 Budget. A central item in most proposals is the budget, a list of proposed project costs. You need to prepare this section carefully because it represents a contract; you cannot raise the project costs later—even if your costs increase. In the proposal shown in Model Document 10.1, Antoine Gibson decided to justify the budget for his firm’s patient satisfaction survey by itemizing the costs. Whether the costs in a proposal are itemized or presented as a lump sum depends on the reader’s needs and the proposal’s objectives. Conclusion and Authorization. The closing section should remind the reader of the proposal’s key benefits and make it easy for the reader to respond. It might also include a project completion date as well as a deadline beyond which the proposal offer will no longer be in effect. Writers of informal proposals often refer to this as a request for approval or authorization. The Running head: BAKERY BUSINESS 8 conclusion of the proposal in Model Document 10.1 states a key benefit as well as a deadline for approval.