Business plan

Your contact details must go here. Telephone, e-mail, webpage, any social media and a logo
of your company.

To insert your business logo, click an insertion point using your mouse to the right of the
word ‘logo’ above, then go to the menu at the top of this window (File, Edit, View, Insert,
etc), click on Insert/Picture/From file/(and select your logo).
 Contents
Page
1. Summary...................................................................................3
2. Business overview.....................................................................4
Introduction......................................................................................................................4
Current position................................................................................................................4
Competitive advantage.....................................................................................................5
Growth plan......................................................................................................................5
3. Business strategy......................................................................6
Tactics...............................................................................................................................6
Strategic issues.................................................................................................................6
Core values.......................................................................................................................6
4. Marketing..................................................................................7
SWOT and critical success factors.....................................................................................7
Market research................................................................................................................7
Distribution channels........................................................................................................7
Strategic alliances.............................................................................................................7
E-commerce and technology............................................................................................7
Tactical promotion plan....................................................................................................7
Marketing budget.............................................................................................................8
Credibility and risk reduction............................................................................................8
5. Team and management structure..............................................9
Skills, experience, training and retention..........................................................................9
Advisors............................................................................................................................9
Management systems.......................................................................................................9
6. Financial budgets and forecasts..............................................10
7. Appendicies.............................................................................11

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 1. Summary
(Enter your text here)

The summary is the last part of the plan that you write, but should be included at the beginning
of the plan. This allows busy readers to quickly see what the plan is about without reading all
the details.

Use the summary to highlight the key points of your plan. If you are using your plan to raise
financing, the summary needs to make the reader (eg the bank manager or a potential investor)
want to find out more and read the whole plan.

i. This should be no more than 1 -2 pages in length

ii. This is the very last part of the plan to be written
iii. It is a summary of what, where, when, who and how and your vision
for the business
iv. It outlines headline costs, investment needed and likely returns

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2. Business overview
(Keep this section brief)

Introduction
(Enter your text here)
A brief history of your business (or of the idea that has prompted you to start it).
The purpose of your business: what business you’re in and why you started it.
Note its location and explain if this is important (or a competitive advantage).
Describe your products and services.
- the main aims and objectives of the Business and your own personal aims and
may include a mission statement

What do you personally want to achieve and why?

What do want out of this achievement for yourself – power, success, excitement, status, money,
Where do other people fit in? Are you doing this alone or is this a shared ambition
What is your idea? Where has your idea come from? What sparked it?
Is it your idea alone or do you share it with anyone?
Have you told anyone else about it? Who and what have you told them?
Do you want a business – something to set up, manage and run or do you just want an income
from licensing or selling your ideas or intellectual property?
What do you want from a business – a nice place to work, companionship, to be the boss, a
shared achievement, money?
What do want for your business – steady or rapid growth, to go public, sell out, build an empire?
What have other businesses been able to achieve in the industry sector you’re proposing to
join? Where have they failed? Why will you succeed where they’ve failed? Business proposals
which deviate significantly from industry norms may be heavily criticised and substantial
reasons should therefore be given.
And obviously, not every ambition and goal will be reached at the same time, but what is your
near future estimate of how long you think it will take to achieve the bulk of the ambitions.

Current position
(Enter your text here)
What have you achieved so far?
Outline the current position of your business: where is your business in the business lifecycle
(introductory phase, growth phase, mature, declining)?
Explain what industry you operate in and where it sits in the business lifecycle (emerging
industry, growth industry, mature industry, declining industry).

Competitive advantage
(Enter your text here)
What are the strengths and weaknesses of your competition?
Explain your competitive advantage(s) and the market niche(s) you’ve identified.
What makes you confident your business will continue to grow and endure? Why is your
business model effective?
– A summary of the Trading Process, The product, and for
whom, Where? Details of the product and services you will be
offering

So what is your business response to the opportunity you have identified? Is it a new
product/service altogether? Or are you delivering your product into the market in a novel way? In
other words, how do you propose to commercially exploit the perceived opportunity?

Growth plan
(Enter your text here)
Provide a brief overview here of what will be described in more detail in the rest of the plan.
Describe the current reach of your business and explain how this business plan will change that.
Give an overview of your goals and the future you plan for your business.

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Business plan prepared Month Year Page 5
3. Business strategy
(Enter your text here)

Outline here your business strategy for:

 The next year
 The next 3-5 years (choose your own strategic horizon).
Describe your business objectives and goals (make sure they are specific and measurable).

Tactics
(Enter your text here)
Outline the gap between where you are now and where you want to be (as above).
Cover the main practical steps you have to take to get your business from where it is now to
where you want it to go. What extra resources will you need?

Strategic issues
(Enter your text here)
External threats:

External opportunities:

Outline the external threats or opportunities that could impact on your business during your
strategic horizon:
 The next year
 The next 3-5 years (or a horizon of your choice).

Core values
(Enter your text here)

Describe the core values that underpin your business. Explain why these core values are crucial
to your long-term business success, how they will affect customers (the benefits) and how they
will help to motivate both you and your staff.

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 4. Marketing
SWOT and critical success factors
(Enter your text here)

Outline briefly your marketing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

What are therefore the critical success factors for your business?

Market research
(Enter your text here)

Explain what market research you’ve done and methods you use.
Outline how ongoing market research is built into your daily business operations.
What target market(s) has your market research (and trading experience) established.
Explain how intimately you understand these markets (how close you keep to your customers)
and how this feeds back into your business (improvements, product/service changes, etc).
– Primary and Secondary research
b) How undertaken –describe the method
c) Customers …identify customer base, segmentation of market
d) Competition and competitor analysis
e) Consumer reaction

What research are you going to do to prove there is a demand for your product or service. How
will you know that there is a need or want?
Who are your competitors?
Why are they your competitors? What products or services do they supply, or what do they do
now that makes you recognise them as competitors?
What do you think your competitors will do when you launch your product into the market place?

Distribution channels
(Enter your text here)

Describe the current marketing reach of your business (local, national, international?) and how
you reach customers (eg through distributors, using the Internet).
In terms of your strategy, what new markets do you plan to access:
 In the next year?
 In the next 3-5 years?
Describe how you plan to accomplish this.

Strategic alliances
(Enter your text here)

Explain what strategic alliances you have in place or are planning to increase your access to
markets, leverage resources, etc.

E-commerce and technology

(Enter your text here)

Explain how you’re using e-commerce and technology in your business to lower costs, speed up
business, access new markets, build online sales, etc.

Tactical promotion plan

(Enter your text here)

Explain how you will promote your business to customers (eg advertising, exhibitions, PR).
f) Product - …identify the benefits / USP’s
g) Place – where based, where interface with your customers, location , facilities
etc
h) Price – clear and reasoned pricing policy

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 i) Promotion – initial plans, How the market will be captured -advertising,
discounting of pricing, timing of launch.
c) How the market will be reached- outlets, distribution plan
d) SWOT and PESTEL analysis
e) Any Projected Sales targets must be justified and realistic to achieve

Where do you think the business opportunity is?

Who do you think are your customers? What do you think are their needs or wants that make
them your customers?
What currently happens? What do they do now to satisfy those needs or wants? Is there already
an existing product being supplied into the market place for them? What’s wrong with it as far as
your customer is concerned?
Is it your intention to take a share of that market? Or is it a new market altogether? In other
words, what is your rationale for setting up a business operation?
What is especially unique (and therefore valuable) about the product or service or process that
you are proposing? Have you taken any steps to protect this uniqueness (e.g. patent, trade mark
applications)? Have you told anybody about this?

Marketing budget
(Enter your text here)

Detail your marketing budget for the year. Explain how you will monitor it to manage and
improve results.

Credibility and risk reduction

(Enter your text here)

Explain your tactics for increasing the credibility of your business and reducing the customer’s
risk in doing business with you.

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5. Team and management structure
Skills, experience, training and retention

Describe the skills, business track record and experience of yourself and key members of your
team.
Outline your team. Explain the key staff, their positions and key responsibilities.
Briefly describe the incentives you’ve put in place (or are planning) to retain them and keep
them motivated.
Describe your staff training programme and its budget.
If there are gaps in your team, or you need extra staff to fulfil your short and longer term
strategies, outline the gaps here, and who you need to fill those gaps.
Explain how new staff will be trained.
a) Personal Strengths and Weaknesses of you and all key principals,
b) Experience, Motivation and what you bring to the Business, but NOT your CV
(that can go in the appendices). Why are you the person(s) to run this business
c) Key personnel and Training (if relevant)

Why should anyone work with you and help you achieve your ambitions?
Why should any investor back you? What’s special about you compared with other
entrepreneurs?
What do you bring to the party?

Advisors
(Enter your text here)

Describe your core team of advisors (lawyer, accountant, consultants, business mentor or ‘guru’
you can access for advice, etc).

Management systems
(Enter your text here)

Briefly outline the management structure of your business.

Describe the business systems you have in place to manage efficiently. Do you have written
operations manuals in place or house rules for staff (always wear name badges, etc)?
What accounting software or systems do you use? How regularly can you produce financial
reports and analyse key business ratios?
Cover compliance issues too: how you prepare for and deal with payroll and employment issues,
tax and VAT obligations, health & safety, etc.
a) A description of the business and how it will operate –the business model to be
employed
b) The legal structure of the business
c) Premises, Equipment, Insurance, Legislation and Licences etc
d) How the market will be reached- outlets, distribution plan
e) Management and personnel – how the functions will be covered.
f) The support /other stakeholders in the business.
g) Any IPR issues – Patents, trade marks, design rights etc.

Summarise all that now in a few simple paragraphs, or better still, draw a picture or diagram or
flow chart – what’s your big business idea?

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 6. Financial budgets and forecasts
(Enter your text here)

Attach financial budgets and forecasts you are attaching to the business plan such as:
 Profit and loss forecast
 Cash flow forecast
 Balance sheet forecast
 Capital expenditure budget
 Break-even analysis
Provide brief notes on each of these forecasts. It’s a good idea to produce Optimistic, Pessimistic
and Realistic versions of the first three.
If the cash flow forecasts pinpoint future cash flow difficulties, explain how you plan to deal with
these challenges.
a) Detailed assumptions regarding income (sales forecast), ongoing expenditure
and cost of sales / overhead costs , initial ‘Capital Costs’ and other ‘Start-Up’
costs.
b) Projected Profit & Loss Account for first 3 years ( on one sheet)
c) Break Even Calculation(s)
d) Cash Flow Forecast for first 3 years ( 3 separate sheets)
e) Sensitivity Analysis e.g. “how will you balance the books if sales reach only
75% of forecast?”(Pessimistic) or “what is the impact if sales reach 125% of
forecast?” (Optimistic) v. ‘Realistic’. For Year 1 only.
f) Funding required to start-up – your own financial contribution v. any grants,
loans or overdraft facilities required
g) Personal Survival Budget – your fallback position (these details go into the
appendices)

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7. Appendicies
- these are the Supporting Documents and may include -

j) Curriculum Vitae (CVs) of owners / managers / partners

k) Market Research Data and Competitor Analysis, including specimen
questionnaires, tables of results, etc. and may include detailed results of the
surveys done
l) Letters of Intent to sell(to customers ) or to provide( from suppliers)
m) Copies of Patents applied for / other Intellectual Property
n) Copies of any letters of consent (e.g. from landlord, local authority etc.)
o) Terms & Conditions of Trade
p) Letters of Reference or Support

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