The structure of your business plan

Your business plan is vital to establishing the structure of your business, your goals and objectives, strategies, products, and people. It is used to plan and manage your business, apply for financing or show it to potential investors. It has ten main parts and these are:

1. Cover and index

It sounds a bit silly, but a great cover page for your business plan will show the professionalism and care that has gone into its production. It’s also the ideal place to include your company logo and contact details. If applicable, include photos of your products.

It is critical that you also include your company name and number, as well as your contact details such as address, website, social media accounts, and your relevant manager’s email and phone number. You will be surprised how many people forget about this feature.

To help potential investors navigate, the index should include all business plan items with the corresponding page number. Make it as complete as possible so that the reader has a clear idea of ​​what the document contains.

However, producing the table of contents also gives you, the writer, a great planning tool to make sure you include all the points and information you need to include.

2. Executive summary with the needs and objectives of your business

In the first part of the document you must make a descriptive summary of the idea that includes the following points:

• The opportunity in the market

• The product or service and its advantages

• The management team

• Financial summary of financing needs and expected profitability

By writing the executive summary first, you put all the information that is in your head. You can always return to it at the end of your main body wiring.

Remember, you must capture the attention of investors in approximately two pages where you will summarize the most important points of the text. You should also keep several things in mind:

• It is vital that you define the need or problem that your business intends to solve.

• It is necessary to define the fundamental objectives of the company.

• You must tell the investor what stage your business is currently in. Whether you’re in pre-production, starting to expand, or in profit, for example.

3. Plan your business

Here is the point where you take out your scratch paper.

• You must describe the mission of your company: that is what you hope to achieve. Next, you need a list of actions your business needs to get to this point.

• Next, you must determine how you will solve the business problems you have identified.

• Now describe what your product or service is, what customers will get with their purchase and what are its weaknesses or drawbacks.

• Find out what price point your potential customers will be comfortable with.

• Finally, you need to figure out how you can find these customers.

Often all of this can be defined through the use of a business model canvas and this is the subject of another of my articles. You can buy consultancy to produce this model.

In general, there are already companies that are working for the same objectives. Identify them and ask yourself: How am I going to differentiate myself from my competitors?

4. Explain the structure of your business

Making a business plan involves examining the strengths and weaknesses of your competition, once identified you can justify why your business is unique. You need to stand out from the crowd to increase the investment opportunity. That is, see the following information:

• Describe what you will sell to whom and at what price.

• Present your brand concepts: will you be a luxury company, for example, or sell it as a cheap company?

• Describe how you will fulfill a request; in other words, the entire process, from the purchase of the products to the actual delivery to your customer and the post-service offer.

• Clarify how you will cover the major areas of production, sales, marketing, finance, and administration.

• Include management accounts, sales, stock control and quality control.

• Define how you will sell your products and analyze, if necessary, the location of the company and the advantages and disadvantages of this situation.

Be sure to answer the following questions from investors: What are your competition’s products and how do they create them?

5. List the characteristics of the market in which you will develop your business

You will need to analyze the market conditions: how big it is, how fast it is growing, and what your profit potential is. Explain how you are going to research your audience and with what tools.

Know the target of the market in which the business will develop and direct marketing strategies towards that target. If you don’t have a marketing strategy that works, you will waste time, effort, and money.

Answer the following question: Where are you going to find your customers?

6. Forex Promotion Strategies

This is where your business marketing plan should be included. It is perhaps one of the most important steps when making a business plan. Promotional and marketing strategies could determine the success or failure of your company. Try to answer several questions:

• How are you going to position your product or service? This is where you want the 4 P’s of marketing: price, product, promotion, and place.

• Compare features like price, quality, and customer service with your competitors.

• How will you sell to your customers? Telephone, website, face-to-face, agents?

• How will you identify potential customers?

• How will you promote your business? Advertising, PR, email marketing, content strategy, social media, etc.?

• What benefit will each part of your business achieve?

• Why would someone abandon your current competitors to buy into your business?

• How will you attract them to your company and your products?

• What is a fair estimate of the number of clients you will get each year for the first three years?

• What will be your estimate of the cost of reaching each new customer?

• What is the estimated cost of retaining each customer?

7. Define your source of income

This is where you put all the information about what your business will sell and where the source of income will come from.

• The products and services you will provide.

• Any advertising fees, commissions, membership fees, etc. you will receive.

The analysis must include: price structure, costs, margins and expenses.

Include details of your anticipated cash flow for the first three years. Cash flow is an important consideration. In web-based companies it is known as the consumption rate.

8. Your team

This is where you get lyrical about the strength of your directors and core staff. Include their experience in similar posts and what they can do for your start-up business. Include base resumes for each of them and state their responsibilities. If you have a particularly well-known supporter, mentor, or director, this is where you mention them.

9. Your finances

When you get to this point when making your business plan you should start translating everything you have said into numbers. That is, analyze the financial forecasts of your business. Also include your financial strategy: how you will manage your cash flow, vital for any new business. Without a plan, the business could suddenly go under or fail. If, on the other hand, you receive unexpected success, your objectives may suddenly change and you will need a new business plan. Therefore, you need to assess the risks to your business, identify areas where something could go wrong, and explain what you would do in that case. You must include any other investments you have or will receive. Details of your stock allocations, particularly large percentages, should be included.

9. What are you going to do with the investment?

Very important, include what you are seeking financing for and how and when you plan to spend the investment. It is vital that the potential investor sees that the company will be greatly improved by the investment.

Indicate how soon and how often the potential investor will see a return on their investment. Also include the shares offered, as well as your possible stake in the company after you have invested.

It is vital that they are offered an exit strategy so that they can have a good return on their investment and then move on to the next new company.

10. Appendices

It is very possible that after making the business plan you need to provide additional information to complement it. For example:

• Data from market studies that you have used.

• Summaries of the team that will form your company. This is very important if you are looking for high levels of financing.

• Technical specifications of the product or service (may include photographs).

• The names of some potential customers.

Creating a business plan involves writing many pages with attractive, dynamic and precise texts that capture the attention of very demanding people. You must attract the attention of investors, who despite having read hundreds of them must find something unique in your business plan.

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