The Business Plan – Session 2
Components of a Business Plan
Please note: Sections are separated by bolded headings in your business plan paper, beginning with the
executive summary section. After the heading, content is written in paragraph form with bullet points and
graphs/charts where appropriate. It ends up looking like a research paper with strategy and supporting statistics.
Remember: the purpose of this document is to help the reader envision the business idea that you already see. It is
as much a persuasive essay as it is a creative manifesto of your business dreams.
Executive Summary: overview of the most important parts of your business plan. Because
investors and lenders have so many business plans from so many people, they often ONLY read
executive summaries to save time. It gives them a window into the essence of what the
business would be. The executive summary must be direct, concise, and attention-grabbing.
Take only the most important points from the individual pieces of the business plan, and make
it no longer than two pages. While this component of the business plan appears first in the
actual document, it is usually written after the entire business plan has been completed.
Management Team Plan: explains why you and your partners are qualified to begin the
business. This section reports the credentials the leaders have, which will ensure success.
Business Description: this gives a broad overview of the business concept. This section should
answer the questions: What will the business do? What type of business will it be? What goods
or services will be produced? Why is this business unique? Who will the customers be? How will
the product or service be sold? Where will the business be located? This description should be
short and to the point—one to two paragraphs only.
Development and Production: presents the product or service that will come from the
business. The concept should be easy to understand. If the business produces a product,
explain how the product will be designed, constructed, and distributed. If the business will be
providing a service, explain how the service will be given. Map out the details and explain how
all components of the business will actually work. Detail what additional facilities will be
needed for production or manufacturing, how supplies will be obtained, the quantity of the
product that will be manufactured, what kinds of equipment will be needed, number of
employees, training required, etc.
Mission Statement: defines the very specific goals of a company; it outlines what exactly the
business will set out to accomplish. Everything the business does should line up with the
mission statement and it should be a constant reference point for employees.
Vision Statement: shows the aspirations of the company and the goals toward which it will
strive. It sets the precedent for the purpose of the company while grounded on the foundation
of the company’s beliefs.
The Business Plan – Session 2
Core Values: explain what is or is not appropriate for company behavior. Core values explain
the foundation upon which the company is built and articulate the character qualities the
company stands for and encourages. For example, Coca-Cola’s core values are honesty,
integrity, diversity, quality, respect, responsibility, and accountability.
Industry Analysis: provides a comparison to other companies with similar products or services.
Research should be done on the industry as a whole, which includes companies with similar,
complementary, or supplementary products/services. An analysis of the industry’s growth and
trends should be included. Consider where your business will fit into the existing industry and
how your product could compete with current businesses. How does your business meet a
need, beyond what the competition already offers? The more extensive the research into the
industry, the more successful the proposed business will be.
Marketing Plan: Four major aspects of marketing must be addressed: the four P’s. First the
place must be considered: envision who will purchase the product or service you wish to sell and
where this will take place. Consider their age, gender, income, interests, and beyond. Second,
think about the price of your product or service—compare to competitors and ask yourself if
your targeted demographic will be able to pay that cost. Third, consider the product—how the
good or service will be distributed. Will it be sold directly to customers or will it need to be
distributed through a retailer? Finally, think about promotion. Come up with a strategy for
spreading the word about your business—what specific types of promotion you will use, which
media venues you will utilize, and how much that will cost.
Financial Plan: Consider all the money that will be needed to start and sustain the business and
how debts will be repaid. Think about what it will cost to provide a service or produce a product,
including employee training, raw materials, building construction, and beyond. Estimate what
you will expect to make in profits and make sure that the incoming revenue will sufficiently
cover all operating costs. Include who you see as a potential source of funding or loans for your
business start-up. Refer to the industry analysis to justify your estimates.
Finishing touches: All business plans need to have a cover page, title page, table of contents,
and supporting documents. Included should be the name of the business, address, phone
number, e-mail address, and logo. The cover page should come first, then the title page, which
should include the company name, names and contact information for the owners, date the
business plan was published, and the name of the author of the business plan. The table of
contents lists out the components of the business plan and provides the page number (please
number the pages in your business plan!). Make sure to cover all topics thoroughly, but the
content does not need to be lengthy. The quality of the content is more important than the
quantity. The business plan should be a minimum of ten pages, but the more thorough the
research and writing, the better the plan will be.
The Business Plan – Session 2
Team No.________
Draft a rough overview of what your business will be:
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What will be the name of your business?
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Where would you want your business to be located?
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Draft a vision statement:
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Draft a mission statement:
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What core values do you want your business to be founded on?
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The Business Plan – Session 2