1. Executive Summary
The Executive Summary section of your plan is the most important part of the entire document. This is the first section potential lenders see, so it should grab their attention and impress them with clear, concise information. This is where you tell them why your business plan will result in success.
A good tip: Write this Executive Summary after you’ve ironed out all the other details of your plan. At that point you’ll have had time to pull out the relevant bullet points and summarize your plans more clearly and succinctly.
2. Company Description
Now you get the opportunity to describe your new business in more detail. Provide enough detail to tell the story, while also providing a bird’s eye view of your business and how its various elements will fit together.
Also include the most important factors that demonstrate what will make your business a success: your people. Include information on any business partners, your planned organizational structure (who reports to whom, etc.), and if you have an advisory board or board of directors, provide a resume or list of qualifications for each. Don’t forget to share information on your “inner circle” of trusted advisors, including those that provide you with legal, tax/accounting or other professional insights that can help you navigate the business world successfully. Show the lenders why these people are assets in their planned roles in your new business. You’ll also provide a planned org chart and related compensation plan for any employees.
And tell them what you plan to offer: your products and/or services. Be sure to include detailed descriptions of the benefits these products or services provide to your target audiences, as well as applicable copyright or patent information and any relevant legal agreements such as NDAs. Be ready to describe/compare what it costs to create/acquire/ provide the offerings vs what you hope to charge for them. This should include any market analysis on the going rate for equivalent products or services in that market/industry.
3. Market Potential and Location Analysis
This is where you’ll share your research in context of what you know and learned about the potential for the business in your marketplace. You’ll need to share your experience in your industry plus the details for any market research information you’ve compiled. You’ll also need to include an in-depth description of the target market, the demographics for the location, industry-specific risks, and potential trend changes that could affect your business for worse – or for better.
This section should wrap-up with a five-year projection of revenue based on the research and assumptions you described above.
4. Marketing, Communications and Sales Strategy
In the Marketing, Communications and Sales Strategy section, you will define the details of your marketing strategy, including how you are planning to attract and engage your potential customers; your channels of distribution, overall sales strategy, and detailed communications strategy.
