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Business Plan Outline
The business plan is an organic
document that changes and grows with an organization. It should
never be thought of as a document to serve one purpose, secure
financial backing, and than left to collect dust. Because the
Business Plan puts the strategy and goals of a business in
writing, it is the most important document for any startup AND
existing company.
Each section of the Business
Plan can be utilized by various people throughout the
organization. For example an investor or manager will look at
the Financial Plan section of the Business Plan to review the
company’s financial goals and milestones to monitor the success
of the company. Or, one can look at the Marketing Plan 3
months, 6 months, 1 year, etc. after the Business Plan was
written and determine how well the business has penetrated the
target markets defined in the plan.
The following is a general
outline of the business plans created by
Eagle Strategy Group:
Introduction (1 Page)
Executive
Summary (1 – 2 Pages)
Industry
Analysis
-
Background on the industry
keying on the areas that your venture will address.
-
Future outlook and trends
in the industry as well as an analysis of competition and
industry numbers
-
A high level description of
the market segmentation.
Description of Venture
-
Products and/or Services.
-
Size of Business
-
Any general
requirements that are important to the business such as
office space, fixtures, computers, software, etc
Production
Plan
-
How the
company will produce product or perform the service.
-
Key
processes, costs and any facility needs including machinery
& equipment.
Marketing
Plan
-
Pricing,
distribution, promotion, product forecasts, etc.
-
Elaborate on
the market segmentation that was introduced at a high level
in the Industry Analysis.
Assessment
of Risk
-
I have not
used this section in any resent plans, but instead have been
addressing risk in the sections where they need to be
addressed. For example if the client’s industry is
experiences a period of stagnate sales, I would address this
in the Industry analysis and then point out how it will be
overcome in the marketing plan. I keep the section in the
outline because even if it is not present, it is something
that needs to be addressed, because a knowledgeable reader
is going to know that the industry is stagnate and will want
to see that you know this and are addressing.
-
I have also
replaced this section with a SWOT analysis of the venture in
some plans.
Organization Plan
-
Legal
structure of the venture (LLC, Partnership, C-Corp, etc.)
-
List the
owners and what % or how many shares do they own as well as
the board of directors.
-
Organization Chart with names and titles
followed by one paragraph each on the person filling the
role. If the position is open include a paragraph on the
characteristics you are looking for in someone to fill the
role.
-
In the appendix include resumes for all
people listed in this section.
Financial
Plan
-
One to two
pages of highlights and assumptions.
-
Pro Forma
Financials for 3 years highlighting key figures.
-
In the
appendix or as a separate exhibit have Balance Sheet, Income
Statement, and Cash Flow for first year by month and second
and third year by quarter.
If
you have questions about the Business Plan Outline or any other
content on this site contact us.
Download the
Business Plan Outline pdf.
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