| Course | BUSI 4002 Small Business Ventures |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 6 |
| Paper type | Business plan market section |
| Length | About 880 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUSI 4002 Week 6
The Market Section of the Keen Edge Business Plan: A Claim of About $107,000 in First-Year Revenue From Three Customer Groups, the Evidence Behind Each, and the Salon Estimate That Rests on the Least
Student Name
Walden University
BUSI 4002: Small Business Ventures
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
The Market Section of the Keen Edge Business Plan: A Claim of About $107,000 in First-Year Revenue From Three Customer Groups, the Evidence Behind Each, and the Salon Estimate That Rests on the Least
The Claim
Keen Edge Mobile Sharpening can reach about $107,000 in first-year revenue from three groups of customers in the Des Moines area: independent restaurants, which provide the steady base; hair salons and barbershops; and landscaping crews during the mowing season. The restaurant estimate rests on a paid pilot, the landscaping estimate on counts and conversations, and the salon estimate on the least evidence of the three.
Restaurants: The Base
In 2024, Polk County had 391 full-service restaurants (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025), and my own listing found 214 independent ones within twenty-five minutes of downtown. During a six-week pilot run from my car this fall, eleven restaurants paid $45 a week for weekly sharpening of their own knives, and one dropped out, leaving ten. That rate of conversion, from the 26 kitchens I first spoke with, is the strongest evidence in this plan, because it is paying behavior rather than stated interest.
The first-year estimate assumes the number of restaurant accounts grows from ten at launch to thirty by month six, averaging about 24 accounts over the year. At $45 a week for fifty weeks, that is about $54,000.
Salons and Barbershops: Afternoon Work
Polk County had 167 beauty salons and 16 barbershops in 2024 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Stylists need shears sharpened every few months, and shear sharpening is skilled work that commands a higher price per item than knives. The estimate assumes forty salons, each visited four times a year, with four pairs of shears at $30 per pair, or about $19,200.
Landscaping Crews: The Mowing Season
The county had 177 landscaping businesses in 2024 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Commercial mowers need blades sharpened often, and crews that sharpen their own lose time at the start of the day. I spoke with five crew owners; three said they would pay for a monthly blade service. The estimate assumes twenty crews, each sending about 24 blades a month at $10 a blade, for seven months from April to October, or about $33,600.
Table 1
First-Year Revenue Estimate by Customer Group
| Customer group | Accounts | Basis | Revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent restaurants | About 24 on average | $45 a week for 50 weeks | $54,000 | |
| Salons and barbershops | 40 | 4 visits, 4 pairs at $30 | $19,200 | |
| Landscaping crews | 20 | 24 blades a month at $10 for 7 months | $33,600 | |
| Total | All three groups | 84 accounts | $106,800 | |
Establishment counts are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; accounts, prices and the venture itself are composite.
Competition
Restaurants are served by at least two national knife exchange services that swap kitchens' knives for rental stock on a fixed cycle, and by a few independent sharpeners who work at farmers' markets and hardware stores. Keen Edge competes with the exchange services on keeping cooks' own knives and with the independents on coming to the back door weekly. Salons are served mainly by a few traveling shear sharpeners. Landscapers mostly sharpen their own blades or take them to equipment dealers.
Why This Market Can Support the Venture
The revenue estimate needs about 84 accounts across the three groups. That is a small share of each pool: about 11 percent of independent restaurants, 22 percent of salons and barbershops and 11 percent of landscaping businesses. The restaurant share is supported by the pilot; the other two are assumptions. Sahlman (1997) argued that a business plan's market section should focus on the people who will pay and the evidence that they will, rather than on the size of the industry, and this section is built on accounts rather than on industry totals.
How Accounts Will Be Won
The plan for winning accounts follows the evidence. Restaurants will come mainly from referrals: chefs move between kitchens, and several pilot chefs have offered to introduce me to others. Each new restaurant will get two free weeks before paying. Salons will be approached in person, in the afternoon, with a demonstration on a pair of the stylist's own shears. Landscaping crews will be reached through the two equipment dealers in the area, which do not sharpen blades and have agreed to leave my cards at their counters. None of these channels requires paid advertising, which keeps the marketing line in the cost estimate small.
The Weak Point
The salon estimate rests on the least. I have not yet spoken with a single salon owner about price or frequency; the $30 per pair and four visits a year come from what traveling sharpeners advertise. If salons sharpen only twice a year, or if forty accounts proves too many, salon revenue could fall to half the estimate, around $9,600, and total first-year revenue to about $97,000. That would still cover operating costs but would delay paying back the startup outlay. Before launch, I will visit twenty salons to test this part of the claim. Kirsch et al. (2009) found that investors paid less attention to the formal business plan than to evidence about the venture and its founder, which is another reason to replace this assumption with evidence before asking anyone for money.
References
Kirsch, D., Goldfarb, B., & Gera, A. (2009). Form or substance: The role of business plans in venture capital decision making. Strategic Management Journal, 30(5), 487-515. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.751
Sahlman, W. A. (1997). How to write a great business plan. Harvard Business Review, 75(4), 98-108.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages: 2024 annual averages, Polk County, Iowa [Data set]. https://www.bls.gov/cew/
The Walden BUSI 4002 Week 6 instructions
Week 6 asks for one section of the business plan, often the market, operations or management section, written as an argument. State the section's claim in the opening paragraph. Support it with evidence: counts, interviews, pilot results, published data, arithmetic. Where the claim depends on several parts, such as customer groups, support each part separately so the reader can see which is strongest. Describe the competition honestly. Then concede, in writing, where the support is weakest and what would happen if that part proved wrong. Most sections run about four pages, with a table where figures need to be compared. Readings on business planning can help justify what the section emphasizes.
Inside the BUSI 4002 Week 6 example
The section opens with the claim of about $107,000 from three customer groups. The restaurant estimate rests on federal establishment counts, a list of 214 nearby independents and a pilot in which eleven restaurants paid and ten stayed, leading to about $54,000. The salon part uses 167 salons and 16 barbershops and assumes forty accounts at $30 a pair for $19,200. The landscaping part uses 177 businesses and three of five interested crew owners for $33,600. A table totals $106,800. Sections on competition and on winning accounts through referrals, demonstrations and equipment dealers follow. The share of each pool needed is small, citing Sahlman. The weak-point section prices a salon shortfall at about $97,000 of revenue and cites Kirsch and colleagues.
Where the marks sit in the BUSI 4002 Week 6 rubric
A plan section is graded as an argument. Graders look for a clear claim, specific evidence for each part and arithmetic that can be followed. Market sections that describe the size of an industry without connecting it to customers who will pay earn less than those built on accounts and behavior. Competition should be described honestly, including indirect alternatives. The conceded weak point is required and should be specific, with its consequence estimated; a section that claims everything is strongly supported reads as unexamined. Showing how customers will actually be reached adds credibility. Readings should support the emphasis of the section, such as focusing on paying customers rather than market totals. Figures must match later sections of the plan.
BUSI 4002 Week 6 help: mistakes that cost marks
State your section's claim as a single sentence that includes a figure. Break the claim into its parts and find the best evidence for each: a pilot, interviews, counts, quotes. Show the arithmetic in a small table. Describe what customers do now instead of buying from you. Then ask which part of your claim you would be least comfortable defending to a lender, and write about it openly, with what would happen if it failed and how you will test it. Weak sections pad with industry statistics, treat interest as sales or hide the weakest assumption. Others make claims later sections contradict. If you would like a model plan section for your venture, share the claim and the evidence you have.
Get a BUSI 4002 Week 6 example written to your instructions
The desk writes this section to whichever prompt and rubric your classroom posted, delivered inside 24 to 48 hours, first one at no charge. Say which section the week assigned, market, operations, management or another, and whether the venture is yours or should be a stand-in of similar size. Tables built to the format required.
More BUSI 4002 papers and BS in Business Administration samples
- BUSI 4002 Week 1: Small Business Survival Post
- BUSI 4002 Week 2: Venture Idea Opportunity Screen
- BUSI 4002 Week 3: Venture Concept Statement
- BUSI 4002 Week 4: Make-or-Break Feasibility Test
- BUSI 4002 Week 5: Disconfirming Evidence Peer Replies
- BUSI 4002 Week 7: First-Year Startup Cost Estimate
- BUSI 4002 Week 8: Venture Risk Register
- BUSI 4002 Week 9: Startup Funding Section
- BUSI 4002 Week 10: One-Page Pitch Summary
- BUSI 4002 Week 11: Complete Venture Report
- BUSI 3016 Week 6: Quarterly Budget Memo
- BUSI 3014 Week 6: Descriptive Statistics Summary
- BUSI 3010 Week 6: Quality Defect Memo
BUSI 4002 Week 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free BUSI 4002 Week 6 sample paper?
This page carries the complete market section, its revenue table and the conceded weak point, free to read.
What does the BUSI 4002 Week 6 market section claim?
About $107,000 in first-year revenue from independent restaurants, salons and barbershops, and landscaping crews.
What is the strongest evidence?
A six-week pilot in which eleven restaurants paid $45 a week for on-site sharpening and ten stayed.
Which part rests on the least?
The salon estimate, which uses advertised prices and has not yet been tested with salon owners.
What happens if the salon estimate fails?
First-year revenue could fall to about $97,000, still covering operating costs but delaying repayment of the startup outlay.