Executive
Summary - The executive summary is the most
important section of your business plan. It
provides a concise overview of the entire plan
along with a history of your company.
Market
Analysis - The market analysis section should
illustrate your knowledge about the particular
industry your business is in. It should also
present general highlights and conclusions of
any marketing research data you have collected;
however, the specific details of your marketing
research studies should be moved to the appendix
section of your business plan.
Company
Description - Without going into detail,
this section should include a high level look
at how all of the different elements of your
business fit together. The company description
section should include information about the
nature of your business as well as list the
primary factors that you believe will make your
business a success.
Organization
& Management - This section should include:
your company's organizational structure, details
about the ownership of your company, profiles
of your management team, and the qualifications
of your board of directors.
Marketing
& Sales Management - Marketing is the
process of creating customers, and customers
are the lifeblood of your business. In this
section, the first thing you want to do is define
your marketing strategy. There is no single
way to approach a marketing strategy; your strategy
should be part of an ongoing self-evaluation
process and unique to your company. However,
there are steps you can follow which will help
you think through the strategy you would like
to use
Service
or Product Line - What are you selling?
In this section, describe your service or product,
emphasizing the benefits to potential and current
customers. For example, don't tell your readers
which 89 foods you carry in your "Gourmet
to Go" shop. Tell them why busy, two-career
couples will prefer shopping in a service-oriented
store that records clients' food preferences
and caters even the smallest parties on short
notice.
Funding
Request - In this section, you will request
the amount of funding you will need to start
or expand your business. If necessary, you can
include different funding scenarios, such as
a best and worst case scenarios, but remember
that later, in the financial section, you must
be able to back up these requests and scenarios
with corresponding financial statements.
Financials
- The financials should be developed after you've
analyzed the market and set clear objectives.
That's when you can allocate resources efficiently.
The following is a list of the critical financial
statements to include in your business plan
packet.
Appendix
- The appendix section should be provided to
readers on an as-needed basis. In other words,
it should not be included with the main body
of your business plan. Your plan is your communication
tool; as such, it will be seen by a lot of people.
Some of the information in the business section
you will not want everyone to see, but, specific
individuals (such as creditors) may want access
to this information in order to make lending
decisions. Therefore, it is important to have
the appendix within easy reach.
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