Hi, It is often difficult to stand out from the masses of other plans that hit the desks of Banks and Investors. They see hundreds of plans and if they have to work out whether you have all the information it will likely end up in the reject pile. So, to make sure yours avoids the first cull, make sure you follow a typical structure for your business plan to show up front to anyone evaluating it that you have got all the key areas covered. First up: Be sure you have a contents page, and include the following sections:
1. Executive Summary: This should be short and punchy – no more than two pages – and summaries all the key aspects of your plan. So, write it last once all other sections are complete.
2. Company Background and Legal Entity: Say how and why the company came into existence (a story that captures the imagination and motivation always helps), what it does, any track record of performance, and finally its legal status (Sole trader, LLC, LLP etc).
3. The Market: This should include the size of the market that your business is targeting, and trends in the market. Avoid describing global market sizes and trends if you are only selling to a local market – they are likely to be irrelevant. Include some analysis of the customers you are targeting – who they are, how and what they buy. This section should culminate in a clear (and attractive) market opportunity that is facing the company.
4. Company Product and/or Services: Describe in detail what is offered and how this to meets the above market opportunity. The fit needs to be good between current demand trends and what you are proposing to offer. Investors may lose interest if you need to educate your market into buying a product, or the market opportunity / your product is not current.
5. Competitive Analysis: Using as much independent data as you can find for this. You need to show knowledge of your competitors and their products / services and then show how your offering differs form theirs sufficiently to attract customers, and gain you competitive advantage….
Next 5 points – including 3 critical elements – coming next week.
Thanks for reading!
Jon Hunt
Lead Consultant
The Business Plan Team
www.TheBusinessPlanTeam.co.uk
The Business Plan Team specialises in helping entrepreneurs, start-ups and growing businesses translate their vision into a coherent and executable business plan that can help secure funding and growth. It provides a range of business plan services from early feasibility studies through professional business plan development. It is based in just outside Oxford, UK.