Beverlee Rasmussen CEC PCC As an entrepreneur, your business plan is one of your most important documents. Your plan is the best way to share your goals and secure financing. A well-written plan shares your story, drive, passion, and tells the world that you are serious and committed to making your dream real. So what should you include in your business plan to highlight this?
In your plan, you share your business concept, what you plan to do with your business, and how you intend to execute your idea and achieve your goals. Your business plan is a written document and management tool that outlines the details of your company.
What to include in a business plan
A business plan is the story of your company split up into key sections. These include but are not limited to:
- Cover Page – Include your company name, a logo, title of the document, contact information and a confidentiality disclaimer.
- Executive Summary – Just as it sounds, you’ll write a summary that covers everything in your business plan. I suggest waiting until you write every part of your business plan before you write this one. It will be easier to do later. Although you will want your executive summary to be the first thing people read in your business plan. Often readers won’t get past this part, so it’s important your key details are here to snag their attention and keep them reading further.
- Business Overview – Introduce the key parts of your business, including a description of your company, your place in the market, your product and your strategic objectives.
- The Market – Who are you selling to? Break down your market and ideal customers here.
- Marketing & Sales Plan – Create a plan that covers your product, price, place and promotion strategy so you can effectively reach and sell to your chosen market.
- Operations Plan – Outline how your business will operate on a daily basis, from location, to inventory, to customer service. Include key operating systems.
- Management Plan – Who is part of your team? Describe your existing and projected team members. Include an org chart if you have one, if you don’t I suggest making one.
- Financial Plan – Prove your business will be profitable by projecting your company finances for the next 3-5 years. Find out where you can get funding and list those options here.
- Action Plan – How do you plan to meet your objectives? How will you put your business plan into action? You’ll explain that in this section.
Next steps
Taking your great business idea and putting it onto paper is no easy task. It’s one thing to document your idea, and another to do the research, analysis, writing and presentation to create a comprehensive, neat package you can use to easily sell your idea to investors, funders, employees or potential customers.
Take your time really giving each section the detail and attention it deserves. If you need any assistance with your business plan, we are here to help. Reach out any time.
Until next time, enjoy your Entrepreneurial Journey
