Business Plan – A formal statement of a set of
business goals, the reason why they are believed
attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals.
What is it for?
 Prior to setting up an enterprise – similar
to feasibility study
 During the first few years – serves as a
guide for the entrepreneur
 When already at peak – focused on
bringing the enterprise to a higher level of
growth
Business Plan
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Introduction
Executive Summary
Information About Your Business
Industry Analysis
Marketing and Sales
Operational Plan
VII.
Financials
I. Introduction
a. Cover Letter –A cover letter is essential whenever you are presenting the business plan to
somebody for a specific reason and should be tailored to each individual. Like any other letter, it
should include names, dates, and a cordial greeting. In the first paragraph, explain exactly why
you are presenting the business plan to the recipient. Take 1-2 paragraphs to discuss our
business and let the reader know you appreciate their consideration and would be happy to
address any question or concern. Include any necessary contact information.
b. Title page – This should be clean and simple. It shall include the title of the document (Business
Plan, Business Proposal, etc), The name of your company, A sub-heading, if necessary, Who the
business plan was prepared by, The name of any other owners or partners, and basic contact
information
c.
Table of Contents- Essential to make your business plan transparent and easy to navigate. It is
unlikely that a serious investor will read through your plan once and toss it aside, so you want
to make it easy for them to return and pick up where they left off or revisit any key bits of
information.
II. Executive Summary – The executive summary is exactly what it sounds like – a brief summary that
describes the essence of what your business is and what it aims to do.
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
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Begin with a single sentence that sums your business up. This is otherwise known as your value
proposition.
Describe what niche or problem your business fills or solves.
Explain how your business solves this problem in a way that the rest of the competition does not
or cannot.
A very brief (one or two sentences) summary of any other information from the following sections
that would be critical to your business’ success.
III. Your Business / Company – This chapter breaks down all the necessary details you’ll have to include
about your company in an easy and digestible manner. For somebody outside of your organization, it
will act as a primer on exactly how your company is structured, how it operates, and what its goals are.
a. Structure of Your Business: Sole-proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation. Once the legal
structure is determined, you’ll need to break down the ownership of the business. Provide a brief
introduction to any key executives or owners, outlining what strengths they have and how they
will impact the business.
b. Business Vision, Mission, and Values
 Business Vision- All about the company’s goals. It serves as a template for exactly what
you’re trying to achieve, both short-term and long-term. A vision statement is your chance
to think big.
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Mission - Where a vision statement thinks big, a mission statement is more practical. Your
mission statement should discuss your company’s purpose. Why does it even exist in the
first place? This mission statement will act to provide organizational direction and help you
achieve your vision.
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Values - The values are all about how you plan to operate your business in relation to the
stakeholders. This includes investors, customers, and members of the local community. How
do you plan to treat them? What are you doing to make their lives and the world they live
in better?
IV. Industry Analysis - Explain the state of your industry and what your competition is like using some
tried-and-true business planning methods.
a. Market Size - Describe exactly how large the market is or how large the population you plan to
serve is. In addition, you should discuss trends. Is your market growing or retracting? If growing,
discuss how you project to fit into that growth and seize your market share. If shrinking, discuss
why you think entering the marketplace is worthwhile, and whether you project growth in the
future.
b. Industry Focus and Trends - Industry analysis should be data-driven. This includes looping back
to the market size and discussing whether it is growing, stagnant, or shrinking. Are there any
overarching trends or cycles that will affect your business? This is also a good opportunity to
discuss pricing. What type of money does your average customer spend in your industry? What
price point are you aiming for, and why is that a good strategy?
c. PESTEL Analysis and SWOT Analysis
V. Marketing and Sales - Readers need to know how you’ll be marketing and selling your product or
service.
a. Customer Segmentation - describe exactly what type of customer you’ll be targeting. You need
to include anything defining that you believe is important to your ideal customer. This can include:
 Demographic – age, gender.
 Socioeconomic profile – income,
 Psychographic
–motivation,
lifestyle preference.
values
b. Advertising and Promotion Plan - After building a strong customer profile of your target audience,
you should know what your customer cares about. Think about how your business fits into that,
and strategize how you’re going to market to them. Use their demographic and behavioral
information to determine the most appropriate channels to focus on.
c.
Branding - Discuss your branding strategy. Knowing who your customers are, think about where
you’re going to position yourself. Your brand should seep into all aspects of your business – the
website, advertisements, and even the tone of communications with customers. Whatever
strategies you have for these elements, make sure to lay them out. Finally, include your company
logo and slogan.
d. Sales Distribution Plan - How exactly do you plan on getting your goods or services into
somebody’s hands? Do you plan on hiring a sales staff or will you handle it all yourself initially?
Discuss your pricing strategy and why it’s a good value for your customers.
VI. Organizational and Operational Plan - This section discusses how you’re going to execute your vision.
Production Process - Your outline should include: Raw materials, Machines or Technology used
for production, estimated daily output and methods of quality control for pre- and postproduction.
VII. Financials - Here are the components you must include in your business plan’s financial information:
a. Forecasted Sales - As you forecast sales, include exactly how much revenue you expect to earn
from those sales, and the total direct cost of those sales. You’ll be able to use these figures to
determine revenue and gross margin, which you should use to compare to industry and
competitive standards
b. Projected Expense - Once you have your projected revenue, it’s time to figure out exactly how
much it costs you to make those sales.
c.
Balance Sheet - This includes your projected sales and expenses, but also deals with assets and
liabilities.