Business Transition

Store Audit Guide (pdf)

Store audits are a useful way to get an outside perspective on how your store is seen by customers and where you have opportunities to improve operations. This store audit guide from the Food Co-op Initiative gives examples of typical audit worksheets. They can be adapted to whatever departments and services your store offers, and additional sections can be created to look at special issues of concern.

Business Planning Tool

This is a business plan creator tool from Kansas SBDC.

Grocery Business Transition Planning: A Guide for Community Leaders (pdf)

A guide from the Rural Grocery Initiative to help community leaders walk you through the basic steps toward a successful business transition as they support grocery stores in their community.

Business Plan Guidelines (pdf)

A two-page guide on writing a business plan. Resource from Kansas SBDC at Johnson County Community College.

Business Startup Checklist (pdf)

A checklist of some of the steps you may need to take when starting a business in the state of Kansas. A resource from Kansas SBDC at Johnson County Community College.

SWOT Analysis Template (pdf)

Identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to your company using this resource from Kansas SBDC at Johnson County Community College.

Census Business Builder

Are you looking for data to help you start or grow a business or understand the business landscape for a region? The Census Business Builder (CBB) is a suite of services that provide selected demographic and economic data from the Census Bureau tailored to specific types of users in a simple to access and use format.

The BizBuySell Guide to Buying a Small Business

This E-book guide from BizBuySell provides a detailed overview of the business buying process. It includes: How to evaluate the purchase of a business; What you are actually buying when you buy a business; The value drivers of a business; How to find businesses for sale; What the three main areas of focus should be on; How financing is key to buying and selling; How to negotiate a buyer-seller friendly offer; The importance of due-diligence.

Financial Projections Spreadsheet (Excel)

This excel spreadsheet walks you through the process of developing an intergrated set of financial projections. It was created by Kansas SBDC.

Legal Guide to Cooperative Conversions (pdf)

A Business Owner's Legal Guide to Cooperative Conversion including conversion models, case studies, and sample documents.

Business Entity Comparison Chart (pdf)

Comparison of different business entities including sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, C corporation, S corporation, LLC, cooperative, and limited cooperative association.

Rural Grocery Ownership Models (pdf)

This document provides an overview of rural grocery ownership models including independent operator, cooperative, non-profit, municipaly-owned, public-private partnership and school-run models. This resources was created by the Rural Grocery Initiative.

BRG Chapter on Groceries (pdf)

Statistical overview and information about the supermarket and grocery store industry from Business Brokerage Press, Inc.

Industry Report for Convenience Stores (pdf)

Industry report about convenience stores in the United States. Includes industry overview, performan, outlook, operating conditions and key statistics. Published by IbisWorld.

Industry Report for Supermarkets and Grocery Stores (pdf)

Industry report about supermarkets and grocery stores in the United States. Includes industry overview, performan, outlook, operating conditions and key statistics. Published by IbisWorld.

The Community Toolbox

This resource from the Community Tool Box lists 46 chapters through which you can obtain practical, step-by-step guidance in community-building skills.

Customer Persona Template (pdf)

Use this template to help you identify who your target customers. Resource from Kansas SBDC at Johnson County Community College.

Community Assessment, Building Coalition Series

This fact sheet from Ohio State University Extension covers the key principles and purpose of a community assessment and shares steps to conduct a community assessment.

Community Assessment Tools (pdf)

Assessing your community’s strengths, weaknesses, needs, and assets is an essential first step in planning an effective project. By taking the time to learn about your community, you can discover the best opportunities for service and maximize your club’s ability to make an impact. This resource includes an assortment of community assessment tools from Rotary International.

Rural Grocery Community Survey Question Bank (pdf)

If your community’ grocery store has recently closed or you are in the midst of supporting an ownership transition, it can by an excellent opportunity to ask for community feedback. This document from the Rural Grocery Initiative includes examples of questions that could be incorporated into a community survey.

From Farm to Table: A Kansas Guide to a Community Food Assessment (pdf)

Community Food Assessments should be tailored to the needs and interests of the local food policy council and community stakeholders, and may take many forms and vary in scope. This is a guide to doing a community food assessment in your community.