The Perfect Business Plan

The sections within a business plan vary according to the type of business and its situation but there are a few general headings that most good plans would include:

• Executive summary

• The first few sentences of any plan need to grab the attention of the reader and make them want to know more about your business and your plan. This section should summarise the market sector the nature of your business its key aims and objectives. Explain here what you are looking for in terms of investment and detail the key factors critical to your success.

• Background

• Set the scene about yourself and your business, how long have you been trading or are you a new start up, what experience do you have. Where will the business be based and who will own the premises.

• Ownership

• Give details of who owns the business and the relationship between the parties

• Market Analysis

• This section should cover the size of the market its background and trends, is it growing or declining, how is it changing, what future assumptions does your plan make, does the market break down into separate segments with different dynamics? Remember there are a wide range of sources for this sort of information and potential investors are more likely to be impressed if the information is well researched and cross checked against a number of different sources.

• Target Audience

• It’s important that you define your target audience, who are they, what makes them different, what is there about your product or service that meets their needs.

• Competition

• It’s very rare for any idea or concept to be so original that there are no competitors so this is the section where you should detail who you are up against, what have your competitors done right and wrong, why is there a gap for you to enter the market, what will you do better, what makes you different? How do you anticipate your competition will react to your activity?

• SWOT Analysis

• A SWOT analysis is a very common section within a business plan. It stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Although it is well established it is still a good discipline to put these down on paper because it will help explain the challenges ahead.

• Marketing Plan

• Your marketing plan should include details of your product or service, the anticipated pricing structure, your distribution strategy i.e. which channels will your product/service be sold through, how will you promote your business, what will that cost and what is the core message that you are trying to convey to your target audience. If you don’t have significant budgets to spend on promotion then think about the ways that you can get free publicity by building good relationships with key publications and journalists.

• Sales forecasts, profit and loss account, cashflow and balance sheet

• This section deals with the crucial numbers that tell a potential backer what they can expect to make from their investment. If possible give information about the share of the market that you expect to capture and make sure that the numbers are realistic. You may need an accountant to help you produce some of this information such as profit & loss accounts and balance sheets but it is worth getting expert advice as these numbers are crucial to your plan.

• Management & Staff

• An investor will want to know about the people who will be running the business so give details of their experience and background. How many staff does your plan assume, how will you recruit them what will they cost and at what point will you need more?

• Exit Strategy

• It may seem strange to think about the end of your business before it has even begun but it is important to plan for the future and have a clear goal about what you ultimately want. Do you intend to pass the business on to a family member or will you be looking for a trade sale, are you planning to sell it to staff members or even to float the business?

• Action plan

• Business plans are essential but there is a risk that they can become an intellectual exercise rather than a plan of action so I like to see section that is focused on well defined goals against a clear timetable

I hope that helps to focus your thoughts and I wish you luck in drawing up a fantastic plan.