If you’ve ever seriously tried to obtain funding or pitch your business to a potential investor, you already know that one of the first things that will be requested from you will be a Business Plan. Without a proper Business Plan your business idea likely won’t make it through the door -let alone in the hands - of the appropriate funding administrator.
Business Plan Essentials
Learn what sections are essential to every business plan and what key points you should include in order to make yours complete.
Executive Summary The executive summary or the company overview outlines your mission, vision, values, product/services, their unique attributes, and the business opportunity you plan to seize. It also is your opportunity to say, I want this when presenting to potential investors.
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Business Environment The analysis of your industry; your marketplace, your customers, the competition, and how you currently measure up or plan on going toe to toe.
Company Description Think about the capabilities which give you a unique advantage over your competitors-including your management, technology, operations, distribution, services, finances, and marketing.
Company Strategy The company strategy portion of your business plan is your roadmap to the future. Show how you plan on taking advantage of opportunities and avoiding risks. All of your growth plans, marketing plans, and even your business exit strategy are in this section.
Financial Review What is the state of your business? In the financial review section of your plan you discuss your business financial standings. This includes your income statements, the balance sheet, cash flow statement, profit projections and your operational budget. This is also where you figure out exactly how much funding you need and what you will use it for.
Action Plan Once you have your plan all set, your next step is to take action. Thus, an action plan comes in handy. In the action plan, you will jot down the steps you will take to implement your business plan to meet the goals and objectives which you set out to achieve.
Regardless of how much or how little work you’ve already put into building your business, there’s always a lot more to do. So we’ve broken it down for you into smaller, more manageable chunks that you can work on, one by one. We’ve prioritized the tasks you need to complete and put them in a downloadable To-Do list that you can keep near you to refer to and check off tasks as you complete them. Download it below, or start building your own Professional Business Plan with this is Interactive Business Plan Builder today - its as easy as filling in the blanks!