Table of Content

    Do you want to start a Production business plan?

    Do you want to start a production company? With how beneficial a production company is, this is a great idea. However, to execute this idea, you will need to write a business plan for production company. You can start a production company at any scale and then expand it as you go. So, there is a lot of potential for scalability.

    Writing a business plan isn’t always easy especially if you don’t have any prior experience. If you are new to starting a business, you can enlist the help of professional business plan writers. You can also go through this document if you want to learn how to write a business plan for a production company. You can also take a look at a business plan of a furniture startup for reference.

    Executive Summary

    2.1 The Business

    Cocoon Productions will be a production company started by Calvin Kornwell. The target of the business will be to provide production services to the businesses in and around Illinois. It will be offering a wide range of services including but not limited to content development, casting and scripting.

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    2.2 Management of Production Company

    To ensure that all aspects of your business are well managed and organized, you need to write a business plan for a production company. Your production company business plan pdf should include all relevant technical and logistic details of your company. If you pay attention to the production portion of business plan, it will help you manage all of your financial and human resources efficiently.

    If you want to further improve your business plan, you can take a look at some other plans such as organic skin care business plan. For even more refinement of your business aspects, you can take guidance from business consulting services.

    2.3 Customers of Production Company

    The customers of Cocoon Productions will belong mainly to the entertainment industry. The main target customers for the business are listed below:

    • Event and Live Streamers
    • Social Media Marketers
    • Big Agencies
    • Creative Branding Partners

    2.4 Business Target

    Our primary target is to become a trustworthy production company in the Illinois area so that they can call upon us any time they need production-related services.

    The financial targets we want to achieve in the first three years of launch are mentioned below:

    Production Business Plans-3 Years Profit Forecast

    Franchise Business Plan
    Helps the franchisee get business case approval from the franchisor

    Company Summary

    3.1 Company Owner

    Cocoon Productions will be owned and operated by Calvin Kornwell. He completed his master’s in media studies 4 years back after which he worked for a few production companies. Afterwards, he decided to start his own production company in Illinois.

    3.2 Why the Production company is being started

    Calvin noticed a lack of supporting production companies in his hometown Illinois. He realized that he could bridge the gap by developing his own production company that focused mainly on supportive functions. He also realized that he could bring a bit of flexibility and innovation to his company that would help it be more beneficial to the aspiring individuals in the entertainment industry.

    3.3 How the Production company will be started

    Step1: Plan Everything

    The first step to starting any business is to write up a business plan for it. So, naturally, you will need to develop a sample business plan production company. You can refer to a template for starting a biodiesel company business plan, etc. to understand the nuances of the document. To help you in creating your business plan, we have provided a reference production management business plan for Cocoon Productions here. You can refer to this document to learn how to make a business plan for a production company.

    Step2: Define the Brand

    After developing a business plan production company, the next step is to attract customers to your business. For this, you will need to establish a brand for your company that will emphasize your values and benefits to your customers. You will then need to highlight this brand and market it so that your customers can come to you in response.

    Step3: Establish Your Corporate Office

    Calvin decided to rent out a couple of offices in a commercial building in the business centre of Illinois to start his production company. He will now take care of stocking up on the required equipment to start the business.

    Step4: Establish a Web Presence

    The success of a business in the entertainment industry is heavily dependent on its reach. Understanding this, Calvin decided to put some manpower towards the creation and maintenance of social media accounts for his production company. He also decided to get a website developed for the business to showcase all the important details and make communication with clients easier.

    Step5: Promote and Market

    The last step in developing a business is to execute its marketing plan and attract more people to the business.

    Production Business Plans-Startup Cost

    Start-up Expenses  
    Legal $132,100
    Consultants $0
    Insurance $29,000
    Rent $35,000
    Research and Development $10,000
    Expensed Equipment $51,000
    Signs $3,400
    TOTAL START-UP EXPENSES $260,500
    Start-up Assets $266,000
    Cash Required $209,000
    Start-up Inventory $39,000
    Other Current Assets $240,000
    Long-term Assets $255,000
    TOTAL ASSETS $1,009,000
    Total Requirements $1,269,500
    START-UP FUNDING
    Start-up Expenses to Fund $260,500
    Start-up Assets to Fund $1,009,000
    TOTAL FUNDING REQUIRED $1,269,500
    Assets
    Non-cash Assets from Start-up $1,314,000
    Cash Requirements from Start-up $177,000
    Additional Cash Raised $50,000
    Cash Balance on Starting Date $35,000
    TOTAL ASSETS $1,576,000
    Liabilities and Capital
    Liabilities $18,000
    Current Borrowing $0
    Long-term Liabilities $0
    Accounts Payable (Outstanding Bills) $52,200
    Other Current Liabilities (interest-free) $0
    TOTAL LIABILITIES $70,200
    Capital
    Planned Investment $1,269,500
    Investor 1 $0
    Investor 2 $0
    Other $0
    Additional Investment Requirement $0
    TOTAL PLANNED INVESTMENT $1,269,500
    Loss at Start-up (Start-up Expenses) $236,300
    TOTAL CAPITAL $1,505,800
    TOTAL CAPITAL AND LIABILITIES $1,576,000
    Total Funding $1,269,500
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    Services

    Before you start a production business and start to develop a business plan production, you need to decide on the list of services you will initially be offering to your customers. This filtering is an essential part of describing the production process in business plan. These details in a business plan will help you organize your resources more efficiently so that you can cater to all of your customers in the best way.

    Since Calvin decided to offer a wide range of services through his company, Cocoon Productions, you can use this production business plan example to guide the development of a business plan for your business. You can also take a look at guides explaining how to start a candle making business plan for a better idea about explaining your services in a business plan.

    Below, we have described the services provided by Cocoon Productions:

    • Content Development

    Cocoon Production will offer services for the development of different types of media including but not limited to the following:

    • Graphic Content
    • Videos
    • Animations
    • Sharable Social Media Content

     

    • Casting

    Entertainment companies and media houses usually need to hire talent agencies for casting for different projects. Therefore, we will provide casting services in our company as well.

    • Hiring

    Just like media companies outsource casting, they often outsource the hiring of the entire production crew. We will offer our clients a developed and filtered list of required candidates for different crew posts.

    • Script Writing

    We will also offer professional script writing services for our clients. Our clients can hire us for assistance in script and plot development as well as for independent scriptwriting for different projects.

    • Logistic and Planning Assistance

    Media companies usually handle a lot of projects at the same time. A lot of planning goes into different production projects. Therefore, Cocoon Productions will offer assistance, logistic and planning assistance for our clients as well.

    Marketing Analysis of Production Company

    When you want to start a business, you should have a deep understanding of the target market. And the best way to gain this kind of insight for your production company is to go through a production business plan sample. Business plan for a production company should contain an analysis of past, present and future market trends. This will help you set prices for your services in a way that is profitable to your business.

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    To write your business plan for production company, you can take help from an industry business plan. This will guide you when conducting a marketing analysis for your business. A business plan production that contains information about market trends will help you understand your customers better and present your services in a way that gains attraction.

    Here, we have described the market trends and customers of Cocoon Productions.

    5.1 Market Trends

    According to IBISWorld, production companies in the US have a market size of $17 billion with a growth rate of 3.6%. With how much content is consumed daily in just US, there is no expected decline in the industry any time soon. And since the demand is so high, you can be assured that a production company will thrive in the current entertainment climate.

    5.2 Marketing Segmentation

    The potential customers of Cocoon Productions are categorized as follows:

    Production Business Plans-Marketing Segmentation

    Business Plan for Investors

    5.2.1 Event and Live Streamers

    Our primary customers will be the agencies holding symposiums and big events. We expect these customers to utilize our services time and time again. So they will be consistent and lucrative clients of the business.

    5.2.2 Social Media Marketers

    Most corporate agencies have started to embrace the importance of social media in marketing. As such, they will need our services to make videos to post on social media. We expect to gain many corporate clients through this gig.

    5.2.3 Big Agencies

    Big agencies are always on the lookout for more help on a project here and there. We expect to gain an in into these agencies through our flexible services. So, we expect big agencies to be regular customers as well.

    5.2.4 Creative Branding Partners

    Lastly, many standalone creative producers and content creators are looking for support. We aim to present our resources to these clients and gain them as long term customers of the business in a content-driven world.

    Market Analysis
    Potential Customers Growth Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 CAGR
    Event & Live Streamers 33% 34,500 41,400 49,680 59,616 71,539 10.00%
    Social Media Marketers 21% 22,500 27,000 32,400 38,880 46,656 10.00%
    Big Agencies 26% 21,700 26,040 31,248 37,498 44,997 10.00%
    Creative Branding Partners 20% 19,000 22,800 27,360 32,832 39,398 11.00%
    Total 100% 97,700 117,240 140,688 168,826 202,591 10%

    5.3 Business Target

    • To become a reliable source of production resources and assistance.
    • To expand the services we provide over time.
    • To increase the scale of the company over the years.
    • To earn a profit margin of around $75k/month at the end of the first 2 years of launch.
    • To gain at least 50 regular clients by the end of our third year.

    5.4 Product Pricing

    Since we are offering a wide variety of services flexibly, our resources will be less pricey as compared to the market standard.

    Marketing Strategy

    To succeed in a saturated market, you need several competitive advantages over your competitors. And you need to advertise them adequately. The best way to develop and present your brand is by developing a marketing strategy. You need to work on this strategy while creating your production company business plan.

    In this sample production company business plan, we are presenting the marketing strategies to be employed by Cocoon Productions. You can use this as a guide to shape your marketing plans.

    6.1 Competitive Analysis

    • We offer the flexibility of service packages. Our customers don’t have to pay for services they’ll never use.
    • We offer support and resources for not just big agencies but also independent content creators.
    • We have an excellent rapport with our clients. They can contact us any time they need.
    • Our customers can contact us through our website or reach out to us on social media. So there is no need to cover the distance unless the need to.

    6.2 Sales Strategy

    • We will attract customers through posters, billboards, social media and Google Ads.
    • We will offer service packages at a discounted rate for first-time clients
    • We will offer regular discounts to regular clients.
    • We will offer budget-friendly services to independent creative minds.

    6.3 Sales Monthly

    Production Business Plans-Sales Monthly

    6.4 Sales Yearly

    Production Business Plans-Sales Yearly

    6.5 Sales Forecast

    Production Business Plans-Unit Sales

    Sales Forecast      
    Unit Sales Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
    Content Development 200 212 225
    Casting & Hiring 250 265 281
    Script Writing 225 239 253
    Logistic & Planning 300 318 337
    TOTAL UNIT SALES 975 1,034 1,096
    Unit Prices Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
    Content Development $2,500.00 $2,900.00 $3,364.00
    Casting & Hiring $2,230.00 $2,586.80 $3,000.69
    Script Writing $1,950.00 $2,262.00 $2,623.92
    Logistic & Planning $2,500.00 $2,900.00 $3,364.00
    Sales
    Content Development $500,000.00 $614,800.00 $755,958.08
    Casting & Hiring $557,500.00 $685,502.00 $842,893.26
    Script Writing $438,750.00 $539,487.00 $663,353.22
    Logistic & Planning $750,000.00 $922,200.00 $1,133,937.12
    TOTAL SALES $2,246,250.00 $2,761,989.00 $3,396,141.67
    Direct Unit Costs Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
    Content Development $1,000.00 $1,100.00 $1,155.00
    Casting & Hiring $1,200.00 $1,320.00 $1,386.00
    Script Writing $750.00 $825.00 $866.25
    Logistic & Planning $1,350.00 $1,485.00 $1,559.25
    Direct Cost of Sales
    Content Development $200,000.00 $233,200.00 $259,551.60
    Casting & Hiring $300,000.00 $349,800.00 $389,327.40
    Script Writing $168,750.00 $196,762.50 $218,996.66
    Logistic & Planning $405,000.00 $472,230.00 $525,591.99
    Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales $1,073,750.00 $1,251,992.50 $1,393,467.65

    Personnel plan

    The success of a business in the entertainment industry needs a lot more than a few clients to be successful. For gaining and retaining clients, the behaviour of employees is essential. Calvin understood the importance of a good rapport between clients and the workforce. Therefore, he decided to implement a selection criterion which he included in the production business plans as well.

    To find out how to include details about your employees in your business plans, you can refer to the sample production business plan here.

    Any questions? Get in Touch

    7.1 Company Staff

    • 1 Manager
    • 6 Experienced Production Video Editors
    • 6 Experienced Content Creators
    • 12 Support Creatives
    • 3 Technician to upkeep the machinery
    • 1 Web Developer
    • 2 Sales Executives to organize and promote sales
    • 1 Accountant

    7.2 Average Salary of Employees

     Personnel Plan      
    Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
    Manager $64,000 $70,400 $77,440
    Video Editors $172,000 $189,200 $208,120
    Content Creators $182,000 $200,200 $220,220
    Support Creatives $300,000 $330,000 $363,000
    Technician $110,000 $121,000 $133,100
    Web Developer $24,000 $26,400 $29,040
    Sales Execs $60,000 $66,000 $72,600
    Accountant $30,000 $33,000 $36,300
    Total Salaries $912,000 $1,003,200 $1,103,520

    Financial Plan

    Profits are just one part of the equation of the success of a business. Good management is a very important factor. You need to manage your resources and finances efficiently to make sure that you don’t go into a loss. To ensure good management of all money-related affairs, you will need to conduct a financial analysis. This will help you set the prices of your services in a way that doesn’t bankrupt you and still keeps you attractive to customers.

    You can use this production company business plan template to carry out a financial analysis for your business. You can also refer to a production company business plan pdf for help.

    Here we’re providing the detailed financial plan for Cocoon Productions. This will help you get a good idea of how to adequately manage your business finances.

    8.1 Important Assumptions

     General Assumptions      
    Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
    Plan Month 1 2 3
    Current Interest Rate 8.12% 8.20% 8.26%
    Long-term Interest Rate 8.40% 8.44% 8.47%
    Tax Rate 24.03% 24.21% 24.60%
    Other 0 0 0

    8.2 Break-even Analysis

    Production Business Plans-Break-even Analysis

     Break-Even Analysis  
    Monthly Units Break-even 5340
    Monthly Revenue Break-even $132,500
    Assumptions:
    Average Per-Unit Revenue $231.00
    Average Per-Unit Variable Cost $0.62
    Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost $163,800

    8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

     Pro Forma Profit And Loss    
    Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
    Sales $2,246,250 $2,761,989 $3,396,142
    Direct Cost of Sales $1,073,750 $1,251,993 $1,393,468
    Other $0 $0 $0
    TOTAL COST OF SALES $1,073,750 $1,251,993 $1,393,468
    Gross Margin $1,172,500 $1,509,997 $2,002,674
    Gross Margin % 52.20% 54.67% 58.97%
    Expenses
    Payroll $912,000 $1,003,200 $1,103,520
    Sales and Marketing and Other Expenses $145,000 $148,000 $156,000
    Depreciation $2,300 $2,350 $2,500
    Leased Equipment $0 $0 $0
    Utilities $2,900 $3,000 $3,100
    Insurance $2,100 $2,100 $2,100
    Rent $2,900 $3,000 $3,200
    Payroll Taxes $24,000 $25,000 $27,000
    Other $0 $0 $0
    Total Operating Expenses $1,091,200 $1,186,650 $1,297,420
    Profit Before Interest and Taxes $81,300 $323,347 $705,254
    EBITDA $81,300 $323,347 $705,254
    Interest Expense $0 $0 $0
    Taxes Incurred $16,260 $64,669 $141,051
    Net Profit $65,040 $258,677 $564,203
    Net Profit/Sales 2.90% 9.37% 16.61%
    Any questions? Get in Touch

    8.3.1 Profit Monthly

    Production Business Plans-Profit Monthly

    8.3.2 Profit Yearly

    Production Business Plans-Profit Yearly

    8.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

    Production Business Plans-Gross Margin Monthly

    8.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly

    Production Business Plans-Gross Margin Yearly

    8.4 Projected Cash Flow

    Production Business Plans-Projected Cash Flow

     Pro Forma Cash Flow      
    Cash Received Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
    Cash from Operations
    Cash Sales $51,000 $55,080 $59,486
    Cash from Receivables $22,000 $23,760 $25,661
    SUBTOTAL CASH FROM OPERATIONS $73,000 $79,570 $85,936
    Additional Cash Received
    Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received $0 $0 $0
    New Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0
    New Other Liabilities (interest-free) $0 $0 $0
    New Long-term Liabilities $0 $0 $0
    Sales of Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0
    Sales of Long-term Assets $0 $0 $0
    New Investment Received $0 $0 $0
    SUBTOTAL CASH RECEIVED $74,000 $79,000 $85,000
    Expenditures Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
    Expenditures from Operations
    Cash Spending $42,000 $42,000 $45,000
    Bill Payments $27,000 $28,000 $31,000
    SUBTOTAL SPENT ON OPERATIONS $69,000 $70,000 $76,000
    Additional Cash Spent
    Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Paid Out $0 $0 $0
    Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0
    Other Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0
    Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0
    Purchase Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0
    Purchase Long-term Assets $0 $0 $0
    Dividends $0 $0 $0
    SUBTOTAL CASH SPENT $69,000 $74,520 $80,482
    Net Cash Flow $21,000 $23,000 $25,000
    Cash Balance $27,000 $30,000 $33,000

    8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

     Pro Forma Balance Sheet    
    Assets Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
    Current Assets
    Cash $275,000 $308,000 $338,800
    Accounts Receivable $24,000 $26,880 $30,213
    Inventory $4,300 $4,816 $4,900
    Other Current Assets $1,000 $1,000 $1,000
    TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS $282,000 $315,840 $355,004
    Long-term Assets
    Long-term Assets $10,000 $10,000 $10,000
    Accumulated Depreciation $19,400 $21,728 $24,444
    TOTAL LONG-TERM ASSETS $24,400 $27,328 $30,744
    TOTAL ASSETS $294,000 $329,280 $370,440
    Liabilities and Capital Year 4 Year 5 Year 6
    Current Liabilities
    Accounts Payable $18,700 $20,944 $23,541
    Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0
    Other Current Liabilities $0 $0 $0
    SUBTOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES $19,000 $21,280 $23,919
    Long-term Liabilities $0 $0 $0
    TOTAL LIABILITIES $15,000 $16,800 $18,883
    Paid-in Capital $30,000 $30,000 $31,000
    Retained Earnings $53,000 $57,770 $63,547
    Earnings $193,400 $210,806 $231,887
    TOTAL CAPITAL $285,000 $310,650 $341,715
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND CAPITAL $300,000 $329,280 $370,440
    Net Worth $293,400 $319,806 $351,787

    8.6 Business Ratios

     Ratio Analysis        
    Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 INDUSTRY PROFILE
    Sales Growth 7.25% 8.03% 8.90% 3.00%
    Percent of Total Assets
    Accounts Receivable 9.21% 10.20% 11.31% 9.80%
    Inventory 5.39% 5.97% 6.62% 9.90%
    Other Current Assets 2.11% 2.34% 2.59% 2.40%
    Total Current Assets 149.80% 151.00% 152.00% 158.00%
    Long-term Assets 11.55% 11.60% 11.64% 12.00%
    TOTAL ASSETS 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
    Current Liabilities 4.90% 4.94% 4.98% 4.34%
    Long-term Liabilities 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
    Total Liabilities 7.59% 7.65% 7.72% 7.38%
    NET WORTH 100.45% 101.25% 102.19% 110.00%
    Percent of Sales
    Sales 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
    Gross Margin 94.60% 97.15% 99.87% 99.00%
    Selling, General & Administrative Expenses 93.56% 96.09% 98.78% 97.80%
    Advertising Expenses 1.52% 1.56% 1.60% 1.40%
    Profit Before Interest and Taxes 41.50% 42.62% 43.81% 33.90%
    Main Ratios
    Current 34 35 36 32
    Quick 33 33.8 34.645 33
    Total Debt to Total Assets 0.18% 0.18% 0.17% 0.40%
    Pre-tax Return on Net Worth 74.08% 74.89% 75.00% 75.00%
    Pre-tax Return on Assets 96.30% 101.12% 106.17% 111.30%
    Additional Ratios Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
    Net Profit Margin 33.56% 34.60% 35.67% N.A.
    Return on Equity 55.80% 57.53% 59.31% N.A.
    Activity Ratios
    Accounts Receivable Turnover 7.7 7.8 7.8 N.A.
    Collection Days 100 100 100 N.A.
    Inventory Turnover 32.4 34.02 35 N.A.
    Accounts Payable Turnover 15.6 16 16.3 N.A.
    Payment Days 27 27 27 N.A.
    Total Asset Turnover 2.5 2.5 2.6 N.A.
    Debt Ratios
    Debt to Net Worth -0.04 -0.03 -0.04 N.A.
    Current Liab. to Liab. 1 1 1 N.A.
    Liquidity Ratios
    Net Working Capital $244,000 $257,664 $272,093 N.A.
    Interest Coverage 0 0 0 N.A.
    Additional Ratios
    Assets to Sales 0.85 0.87 0.89 N.A.
    Current Debt/Total Assets 1% 0% 0% N.A.
    Acid Test 29 29.12 29.16 N.A.
    Sales/Net Worth 2.1 2.2 2.2 N.A.
    Dividend Payout 0 0 0 N.A.

    FAQ

    1. How do you write a production plan for a business plan?

    You can take a look at the above production company business plan sample to learn how to write a production plan for a business plan.

    1. What are the 5 basic elements of a business plan?

    The 5 basic elements of business plans for production companies or any general business plan are:

    1. Business Summary
    2. Services of a business
    3. Marketing Analysis
    4. HR Management Plan
    5. Financial Plan
    1. How do I write a simple business plan?

    You can write your own business plan by following the template above.

    1. What are the 4 main parts of a business plan?

    These 4 things make an essential part of business plan:

    1. Executive Summary
    2. Management Plan
    3. Marketing Plan
    4. Financial Plan

    Download Production Business Plan Sample in pdf