Cornerstone Paving Group

Words in [brackets] are blanks you fill in with your own details when you adopt this sample in Supreme Plan AI.

Executive Summary

Cornerstone Paving Group is a commercial asphalt paving company in Atlanta, Georgia, owned by Terrence and Michelle Jackson. We build and rebuild parking lots, mill and overlay asphalt, repair patches and stripe lots for commercial owners, HOAs and institutions.

Why this fits. Atlanta keeps growing and older lots keep failing, and many paving firms are booked for months. Property managers want an honest crew that tells them whether to patch, overlay or rebuild and finishes on time.

Here is what our numbers show. In Year 1 we plan about 6 paving projects, 5 milling and overlay projects and 40 patch and striping jobs. That brings in sales of $435,000, growing to $1,502,575 by Year 5. We expect a profit of about $1,600 in Year 1, a profit of about $46,800 in Year 2, a profit of about $99,400 in Year 3 and a profit of about $225,400 by Year 5. Crew pay, fuel and insurance, and the truck and equipment paid for before the first job, are our largest costs, and the plan counts all of them.

We need $220,000 in total. Of that, $168,500 is startup costs (a used paver and roller, a dump truck, a trailer and tools, licensing, insurance and bonding, signs and marketing and plant deposits), and the rest is cash for the first months. We are putting in $30,000 of our own savings and asking for a $190,000 SBA 7(a) loan.

We are Terrence and Michelle Jackson, owners of Cornerstone Paving Group. These numbers are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end of this plan, not promises.

Company Description

Cornerstone Paving Group will be a limited liability company (LLC) in Atlanta, Georgia, owned and run by Terrence and Michelle Jackson. Terrence has worked on commercial paving crews and as a foreman, and knows how to run a paving job from base to final roll. Michelle handles the estimates, contracts, insurance and books.

What we do:
- Parking lot construction and reconstruction.
- Asphalt milling and overlay.
- Patchwork and pothole repair.
- Striping and stall marking.
- Maintenance plans for commercial properties.

Who we serve: Commercial property owners, HOAs, schools, churches and municipalities in the Atlanta area.

Licensing and insurance. We will register the LLC, carry general liability, commercial auto and workers compensation insurance, hold the contractor licenses and bonds that customers and public bodies require and follow state and local rules for traffic control and asphalt handling. We will provide certificates of insurance to every customer.

Our promise. Smooth, durable pavement, delivered on schedule and on budget.

Where things stand today. The business plan, pricing and equipment list are written. The next steps are the license and insurance, the truck and equipment and the first customers.

Problem & Opportunity

Commercial pavement ages quickly in Atlanta heat and rain, and many owners put off repairs until the damage is expensive.

What customers run into:
1. Contractors who give a low bid and then add change orders.
2. Crews that cannot start on time or finish before a business opens.
3. Pavement that fails early because the base was ignored.
4. Little guidance on whether to patch, overlay or rebuild.

Why it matters. Parking lots affect safety, appearance and liability. A failed lot costs far more to rebuild than a timely overlay, and closures hurt tenants.

Products & Services

Cornerstone Paving Group will be the dependable choice in Atlanta for this work.

What makes us different:
1. Honest recommendations on patch, overlay or rebuild.
2. Clear written bids with no surprise change orders.
3. Night and weekend work to protect tenants' hours.
4. Proper base preparation and drainage.
5. A workmanship warranty.

How a job works:
1. We walk the site, take measurements and core samples when needed.
2. We send a written bid and a schedule with traffic plans.
3. We mill, repair the base, pave, roll and stripe the lot.
4. We inspect the work with the customer and send the invoice.

Why customers stay. Property managers keep a crew they trust for every property in their portfolio.

Market Analysis

Who we serve:
- Commercial property owners and managers.
- HOAs and apartment communities.
- Schools, churches and nonprofits.
- Municipal and county projects as we qualify.

How we sized the market. Our Year 1 plan is about 6 paving projects, 5 milling and overlay projects and 40 patch and striping jobs, a small share of commercial paving in the metro area. Replace this estimate with your own count of lots and bids near you.

Why now. Atlanta keeps growing and older lots keep failing, and larger paving firms are often booked months ahead.

Competitive Landscape

What customers can do today:

1. Large paving companies. Strong equipment and long backlogs.
2. Small asphalt crews. Cheap and sometimes unlicensed.
3. General contractors that subcontract paving. Convenient and costly.
4. Seal coat companies. Good for maintenance and not for reconstruction.
5. Municipal crews. Limited to public property.

Where we fit. Cornerstone will be the dependable mid-size paving crew that answers the phone, tells the truth about what a lot needs and finishes on time.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How customers will find us.

Before opening:
- Introduce ourselves to property managers, HOAs and general contractors.
- Prepare a bid package with insurance and references.
- Register with local agencies and bid lists.
- Set up a website and a Google Business Profile.

After opening:
- Follow up with every bid.
- Ask each customer for a reference.
- Offer maintenance plans after each job.
- Visit property managers monthly.
- Photograph finished work.

What we will measure. How customers heard about us, how many estimates become jobs and how many customers call us back.

Operations Plan

How the business will run.

Season and schedule. Paving is possible most of the year in Georgia, with the busiest months in spring and fall. We schedule around dry weather and night windows.

Crew. Terrence leads the paving crew. Two crew members handle rolling, raking and traffic control in Year 1. We add crews as bids are won.

Quality and safety. Every crew member wears protective gear, follows traffic control plans and hot asphalt handling rules and attends safety meetings. Equipment is inspected before each shift.

Equipment. We will buy a used paver, a used roller, a dump truck, a trailer and hand tools. Asphalt is bought from local plants on account.

Paperwork and money. Every job starts with a written estimate, and we collect a deposit when the work needs materials. We invoice the day the work is finished and follow up on anything unpaid after two weeks. We keep the books in simple accounting software and set aside money for taxes and insurance every month.

Management & Organization

The people who will run Cornerstone Paving Group.

Terrence Jackson, owner and paving foreman. He estimates, plans jobs and leads the crew. Michelle Jackson, owner and office manager. She handles bids, contracts, insurance and the books. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Crew. Two crew members in Year 1, growing to nine, each trained on safety and equipment.

Office. An estimator and office coordinator joins in Year 2.

Outside advisors. An accountant, an insurance broker, an attorney who reviews contracts and a free mentor from SCORE or the Small Business Development Center.

Staff pay in this plan is a full year per person: owner / Paving Foreman $60,000; paving Crew Member $40,000; estimator / Office Coordinator $42,000. Replace them with the pay you can offer where you live.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals and when we plan to reach them.
- Before opening (4 months ahead): register the LLC, buy the paver, roller and truck, set up insurance and bonding and bid the first projects.
- Year 1: about 51 jobs with one crew of three people including Terrence; $435,000 in sales and a profit of about $1,600.
- Year 2: about 76 jobs and an estimator; $679,800 in sales and a profit of about $46,800.
- Year 3: about 102 jobs with a second crew; $938,878 in sales and a profit of about $99,400.
- Year 4: about 128 jobs and a third crew; $1,212,944 in sales and a profit of about $159,100.
- Year 5: about 154 jobs and a second paver; $1,502,575 in sales and a profit of about $225,400.
Growth depends on winning and keeping customers, so treat the later years as goals, not promises.

What we check every week: jobs booked and finished, estimates sent and won, crew hours, materials cost per job, unpaid invoices and cash in the bank.

Funding Request

How much we need and how we will use it. Total we are raising: $220,000.

How we got that number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds up three things:
- Startup costs of $168,500, listed item by item in the Startup Costs section: $50,000 for used asphalt paver, $28,000 for used roller, $38,000 for used dump truck, $15,000 for equipment trailer, $9,000 for hand tools, hot patch kit and cones, $4,500 for LLC filing, contractor license and attorney review of contracts, $9,000 for general liability, commercial auto and workers compensation insurance, first payment, $3,000 for bonding application and fees, $4,500 for truck lettering, signs and website, $5,000 for plant account deposits, $2,500 for safety and traffic control training.
- The cash the business uses before it breaks even, about $0. Sales cover the daily costs once the doors open, so the cash we need up front goes mostly to startup costs.
- A cash cushion of about $51,000: three months of Year 1 operating costs.
- Together, the cash used before break even and the cushion come to about $51,000, and the three pieces add up to about $219,500, rounded up to the nearest $500: $219,500.
We are raising $500 more than that, $220,000 in all, to cover a slower first season than planned. With this funding, the lowest year-end cash balance is about $87,800, at the end of Year 1.

Where the money comes from:
- Our own money: $30,000.
- SBA 7(a) loan: $190,000.

Kind of funding we are looking for. An SBA 7(a) loan from a lender that finances trade and construction businesses, backed by our savings and the equipment as collateral.

How we will pay it back. We expect a profit of about $1,600 in Year 1, a profit of about $46,800 in Year 2, a profit of about $99,400 in Year 3, a profit of about $159,100 in Year 4 and a profit of about $225,400 in Year 5. With this funding, the business has money in the bank at the end of every year of the plan. Our loan is the SBA 7(a) loan at 10.5% over 10 years, $2,564 a month. That payment is already included in our cash flow. We chose these as cautious planning rates; ask the lender for the real rates, which may be lower or higher.

What we are offering the lender: the equipment and a personal guarantee.

A smaller first step, if needed. If we cannot raise the full amount right away, we can start smaller and grow into this plan:
- Phase 1: open with the truck, the core equipment and one crew, which lowers the startup costs and the loan.
- Phase 2: once the first jobs are steady, add the second crew and the next piece of equipment and follow this plan.
To plan the smaller start, make a copy of this plan (use Duplicate) and lower the numbers to match.

All numbers in this plan are estimates. We will update them as real results come in.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach before you send this plan:

- Your resume and a personal financial statement (a list of what you own and what you owe; lenders usually provide a form).
- Business registration papers and your EIN (your business tax number from the IRS, free at irs.gov).
- Your contractor license, bonding letter and proof of insurance.
- Sample bids and references.
- Quotes for the paver, roller and truck.
- A list of properties you plan to bid.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Parking Lot Paving and Reconstruction: about $36,000 in Year 1, rising to $40,518; about $18,500 in direct costs, rising to $20,822; about 6 in Year 1, growing to 18.
- Milling and Overlay: about $15,000 in Year 1, rising to $16,883; about $6,800 in direct costs, rising to $7,653; about 5 in Year 1, growing to 17.
- Patchwork, Repair and Striping: about $3,600 in Year 1, rising to $4,052; about $900 in direct costs, rising to $1,013; about 40 in Year 1, growing to 120.
- A paving project averages about $36,000, and a milling and overlay project averages about $15,000. Patch and striping jobs average about $3,600.
- Prices rise about 3% a year.
- Equipment ($140,000 in Year 1) covers a used paver, a used roller, a dump truck, a trailer and hand tools, and later years ($8,000, $12,000, $12,000 and $14,000) replace and add equipment.
- Pay (a full year, per person): owner / Paving Foreman $60,000; paving Crew Member $40,000; estimator / Office Coordinator $42,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: truck and Equipment Fuel and Maintenance $24,000, insurance and Bonding $22,000, equipment Rental and Hauling $8,000, marketing $5,000, software and Admin $5,000. These grow between 4% and 5% a year.
- Customers and payers pay about 15 days after service, so at the end of Year 1 about $17,400 is still owed to us. Income tax at 21%.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and research.

Startup Costs