Pre-Race Prep - The Sponsorship Plan of Attack
The Racing Business Plan Uh- oh! You mean there's more planning to do? Yes, its all part of your sponsorship plan of attack - putting together a business plan. Why? For the same reason you set goals - to provide a roadmap to get to where you want to go. Also, do you think most new businesses just jump right in and start sinking their time and money without some kind of plan in place? By the way, even if you are already well into your racing endeavors, you can still start fresh with a "new business" attitude as you are going through your motorsports marketing program development. And here's the good news. First, having set your goals is half the business plan process. Second, the other half of the plan will be accomplished as you develop your racing proposal. In other words, your racing proposal can also serve as your business plan. The components of the racing proposal are covered in detail under the In The Paddock section. The racing proposal and a formal business plan essentially share most of the same components. For example, both contain sections for Business Summary, Market Analysis, Customer Demographics, Marketing Strategies, Product or Services Offered, Company Organization, including Personnel and Financial Needs. Here's a great business plan outline on Inc.com. The main difference you will probably notice is that your racing proposal will not include the detailed financial stats like balance sheets and profit and loss projections that are an essential part of a complete business plan. Thus, for the purposes of most race teams, the racing proposal will work great without having to complete an entirely separate document. For those so inclined though, once you have your racing proposal together, it won't take much more effort to use that info to create a formal business plan. Just throw in your financial info and a few other minor items that are not in your proposal, and you're ready to go. Again, check out Inc.com for great, free business plan info.  
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