EEE 457: Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management (Fall 2025)

Welcome, EEE 457 Capstone Students!

The recommendations and resources on this guide complement the Whitman School of Management's Nuts and Bolts of Great Business Plans, which was written by Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises. The sections on this guide correspond to the Nuts and Bolts of Great Business Plan sections. The resources and databases highlighted on this EEE 457 course guide are just a few of the many databases available on the main Business Information Guide, which you are encouraged to explore for additional resources.

The Video Tutorials section of this guide includes a short video overview of this course guide and key business research resources. In-depth business research videos and general research videos are also included in this section.

On the Evaluate and Cite Your Sources page, you will find tips for evaluating information and resources for citing information from business databases in APA Style.

Nearly every part of your business plan will require some type of research. Since gathering and analyzing the amount of information and data this assignment requires can be time consuming, be sure to plan your time accordingly. These recommendations and resources are just starting points. Be prepared to gather information and data from many different sources as you research and put together your business plan.

EEE 457 Overview of Business Research Video

Business Research Videos

These business research video tutorials were created by Librarian for Business, Management, and Entrepreneurship Steph McReynolds to support EEE 457 students in the development of Capstone business plans. Because the videos contain a lot of information, each video has been subdivided into shorter chapters, which can be reached by using the chapter navigation feature in the upper left corner of the video player.

General Research Videos

These research video tutorials were developed by Syracuse University Libraries and offer an intro to using key library resources.

First outline the nature of the entity you plan to create and where you are in that process, then capture the essence of your business concept and explain that concept, then detail the products and services you anticipate selling, and then talk about your entry approach and your vision for growth over the next five years.

As you draft your idea, use the resources on the Article and News page of the Business Information Guide to explore trends and relevant company, industry, and product news and analysis. Here are three article databases from that page to help you get started:

Refer to the resources on the Company Research page of the Business Information Guide to become familiar with other companies offering similar products or services. Here are just three of the many company databases available:

Depending on the product or service you are offering, additional relevant information may be found in Market Research databases. Here are three from that page:

The "industry" refers to the larger landscape, as in the "computer hardware wholesale trade industry" or the "card and gift industry" or the "architectural services industry." The focus here is on what is happening in the industry and on the relative attractiveness of the industry as a whole.

Refer to the Industry Research page of the Business Information Guide for recommendations and guidance. Here are four recommended starting points from that page:

Quick research tip: If you are having trouble determining the appropriate NAICS codes for your business idea (it is very likely that more than one code will be relevant), try searching for a few companies within your industry of interest in a company database. Note the industry codes associated with those companies and then go back to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) to review the official industry code definitions in order to determine which codes may be most appropriate for your research. This verification step, wherever or however you find potentially relevant codes, is very important.

This section should convince the reader or investor that you truly know your customers. It should convince the reader that your product or service a) solves a customer need that customers want solved; b) will have a substantial market in a growing industry; and c) can achieve sales in the face of competition. For example, the predicted sales levels directly influence such factors as the size of the manufacturing operation, the marketing plan, and the amount of debt and equity capital you will require. Yet most entrepreneurs seem to have great difficulty preparing and presenting market research and analyses that show that their ventures' sales estimates are sound and attainable. Consult industry publications, articles in trade magazines and trade associations to understand how the industry defines, identifies and segments its customers. Then apply yourself creatively by integrating the information in a unique way.

Explore resources on the Business Information Guide for Market Research, Data & Demographics, and Articles and News. Here are just a few resources from those pages to help you get started:

MRI Simmons Search Hints: Many of the tutorials listed here are based on the earlier version of the MRI Simmons interface. To reach that version, click on "Launch 1.0," once you are in MRI Simmons. For guidance on how to use Simmons and interpret Simmons reports and data, view the short video How to use Simmons Insights from the University of Alabama Libraries (which shows a basic Crosstab search using the Simmons Dictionary to find data) and visit this guide on using Simmons from the Bentley University Library (which has short videos on Quick Reports and creating a Crosstab search, as well as links to guides from Simmons on interpreting the reports and data). For more in-depth guidance, visit the Simmons Insights page of the Advertising Guide, which was compiled by SU Librarian for the Newhouse School of Public Communications Michael Pasqualoni.

The economics of the business is the section addressing the basic logic of how profits are earned in your business as well as the sales level required to breakeven. Two companies in the same industry might make profit in very different ways. Will this be a high margin, low volume business with low fixed costs? Will it be a low margin, high volume business where the cost structure is predominantly variable? The story begins by identifying your sources of revenue and how much margin you make on each of them.

Explore Company Research resources on the Business Information Guide to find revenue and expenses of similar companies. Find industry ratios (such as profit/loss ratio by sales class) in Industry Research resources. Remember that NAICS codes can help you identify similar companies and find industry ratios. Refer to The Industry Analysis section for tips on identifying industry codes.

Here are a couple databases that are good starting points for finding industry ratios:

The Marketing Plan describes how your projected sales will actually be attained. How will you make sales actually happen? A great idea is meaningless if you cannot find customers. Thus, this section builds on the Market Section, where you defined your market and outlined your targeted segments and their buyer behavior. The marketing plan needs to provide detail on the overall marketing strategy that will exploit the opportunity and your competitive advantages. Include a discussion of sales and service policies, pricing, distribution, promotion and advertising strategies, and sales projections. The marketing plan needs to describe what is to be done, how it will be done, when it will be done, and who will do it.

Explore resources on the Business Information Guide for Market Research, Data & Demographics, and Articles and News.

Articles and News Search Tips:

Pay close attention to the words and terms in this section from The Nuts and Bolts of Great Business Plans. These words can be useful search terms. For example, sales and service policies, pricing, distribution, promotion, advertising strategies, and sales projections. As you review your search results, pay particular attention to the words and phrases in the keywords and subject terms of the article records, as these can yield additional search terms.

A basic search for marketing and strategy and (your product or concept term) can also yield relevant results. The databases will also suggest additional terms to use in your search, such as market research AND strategy, advertising agencies, advertising campaigns, marketing management, market research, marketing agreements for you to explore.

This is a very important section for those teams developing a non-existent product, doing research and development, having technical obstacles to overcome, or seeking patent or copyright protection. However, if you are in a business where research and development is not a major issue (e.g., retailing, many consumer services), then you can leave this section out and just address and technologies you plan to employ in the OPERATIONS section.

The nature and extent of any design and development work, and the time and money required before the product or service is marketable, need to be considered in detail. (Note that design and development costs are often underestimated.) Design and development might be the engineering work necessary to convert a laboratory prototype to a finished product; the design of special tooling; the work of an industrial designer to make a product more attractive and saleable; or the identification and organization of employees, equipment, and special techniques, such as the equipment, new computer software, and skills required for computerized credit checking, to implement a service business.

Refer to the Patents & Intellectual Property guide for resources and research tips.

The operations section outlines how you will run your business and deliver value to your customers. Operations is defined as the processes that deliver your products/services to a customer or user and can include the production process for delivering your service to a given customer, manufacturing process if you are a manufacturer, transportation, logistics, travel, printing, consulting, and after-sales service. It also includes such factors as plant location, the type of facilities needed, space requirements, internal processes, capital equipment requirements, and labor force (both full- and part-time) requirements.

Explore resources on the Business Information Guide for Market Research, Data & Demographics, and Articles and News.

For the geographic subsection, the mapping features of some Company Research databases and the mapping features, or geographic limiters, available in certain Market Research resources may be especially useful. Here are two databases recommended for their mapping capabilities:

To help identify suppliers, explore this database:

This section of the business plan includes a description of the functions that will need to be filled, a description of the key management personnel and their primary duties, an outline of the organizational structure for the venture, a description of the board of directors and key advisors, a description of the ownership position of any other investors, and so forth. You need to present indications of commitment, such as the willingness of team members to initially accept modest salaries, and of the existence of the proper balance of technical, managerial, and business skills and experience in doing what is proposed.

Find articles on building your management team and board of directors with databases on the Articles and News page of the Business Information Guide. Explore the Career Research Guide for relevant information, such as salary research resources. It may also be useful to learn more about the relevant associations that provide networking and advocacy for industry professionals. See Finding Industry Associations for more information.

A graphical schedule that shows the timing and interrelationship of the major events necessary to launch the venture and realize its objectives is an essential part of a business plan. The underlying cash conversion and operating cycle of the business will provide key inputs for the schedule. In addition to being a planning aid by showing deadlines critical to a venture's success, a well-presented schedule can be extremely valuable in convincing potential investors that the management team is able to plan for venture growth in a way that recognizes obstacles and minimizes investor risk. Since the time necessary to do things tends to be underestimated in most business plans, it is important to demonstrate that you have correctly estimated these amounts in determining the schedule.

The development of a business has risks and problems, and the business plan invariably contains some implicit assumptions about these issues. You need to include a description of the risks and the consequences of adverse outcomes relating to your industry, your company and its personnel, your product's market appeal, and the timing and financing of your startup. Be sure to discuss assumptions concerning sales projections, customer orders, and so forth. If the venture has anything that could be considered a fatal flaw, discuss why you do not see it as a problem or how you intend to overcome it. The discovery of any unstated negative factors by potential investors can undermine the credibility of the venture and endanger its financing. Be aware that most investors will read the section describing the management team first and then this section.

To inform this section, explore resources on the Business Information Guide for Market Research, Data & Demographics, Company Research, Industry Research,and Articles and News.

This section lays out a picture of the financial performance of the firm as it is started, stabilizes and grows. The financial plan is basic to the evaluation of an investment opportunity and needs to represent your best estimates of financial requirements. The purpose of the financial plan is to indicate the venture’s potential and to present a timetable for financial viability. It also can serve as an operating plan for financial management using financial benchmarks. In preparing the financial plan, look creatively at the venture and think about bootstrapping techniques, especially in the early days.

The resources recommended for the Economics of the Business section, especially the industry ratio resources, may be relevant for this section as well.

Be sure to also explore Company Research resources that include financial data. Here are three recommended company databases:

Here are a few recommended resources on business startup financing:

The purpose of this section of the plan is to indicate the amount of any money that is being sought, the nature and amount of the securities offered to the investor, a brief description of the uses that will be made of the capital revised, and a summary of how the investor is expected to achieve its targeted rate of return. It is important to realize the terms for financing your company that you propose here are only the first step in the negotiation process with those interested in investing, and it is very possible that your financing will involve different kinds of securities than originally proposed.

Discover relevant articles with the resources on the Article and News page of the Business Information Guide.