"I'm not offended
by all the dumb blond jokes because I know I'm not dumb. ... I also
know I'm not blond."
Dolly Parton,
Songwriter and Singer
PARTS OF A BUSINESS PLAN
Basic? Yes. Boring? Not By A Long Shot.
Yep, the parts of a business plan are pretty the same for all business
plans.
Here they are.
COVER
Is the cover of the business plan really part of it?
Good grief, guys.
Yes, it is. Just as the cover of any magazine is
part of it. Or the cover of any annual report. It's
absolutely true that the same chocolate eclair can be inside a plain
box, but I'll pick the box that says "Scrumptious, made just for you,
utterly delicious French chocolate eclair."
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This is the one page masterpiece that tugs at the
reader's interest. Include important contact information, as well
as the nature of the loan/investment.
No matter the size
of your business, your 7 Step Business Plan will help get you
there. It's fast and easy, using MS Word and Excel templates.
Click on the book covers for
more information.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Make it easy for the reader to find the information he
wants.
INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY ITSELF
When was it formed?
What kind of company is it?
If it is a corporation, how many shares are issued?
To whom?
If it is a partnership, who's involved?
Who formed the company?
If you aren't the founder, how did it come to be
yours?
Who is presently involved? What is the nature of
their involvement?
Add any other information that seems pertinent.
INFORMATION ON THE INDUSTRY
Here is where
BizMiner is
worth its weight in gold.
Show how the industry is growing.
Show how your company fits into the industry.
Include charts to visually show strength of industry.
Include demographic information.
Bankers and lenders like figures and statistics.
It's easy for them to compare and analyze. It's a whole lot harder
to analyze your character.
So give them solid figures. They will see the
BizMiner stats whether you include them or not. So include them.
And show them in a manner that benefits you.
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON PRINCIPALS
While venture capital companies consider the strength of
the management team the most important component of the business, this
section by itself is not necessarily the most important. They will
see the strength of the team in the Industry Information, the Marketing
Plan and the Financial Summaries. This section is to give them a
notion of who they are talking with.
Most business plan writers tell you to write a paragraph
on each officer. I don't. I tell you to write a page on each
principal. That page is not a bio. It is a summary of
accomplishments. If you haven't got a page of accomplishments,
maybe you've got the wrong management team.
MARKETING PLAN
So what makes you think you can promote this idea or
product or service? How will you go about it? What will it
cost? What are other doing, and how can you compete with them?
If you have a history of successes, this is the place to
shout about them.
FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS
For existing companies, the rule of thumb is that you
summarize by year the past 5 - 10 years, depending on your industry.
Then project as for new companies.
For new companies, project quarterly for the first year
or two, then annually until the loan is comfortably paid back, or the
investment has made a profit.
The more you can put into charts for easy reference, the
better.
The parts of a business plan need to look sharp, be
concise, and provide all pertinent information.
C.J. Ralph,
