Once you’ve completed these steps, be sure to include them in your business plan. By detailing your market size and viability, your action plan, and the feedback and traction you’ve gain from customers, and combining this with other key information such as your marketing plan and financial model, you will be well positioned to build a viable business.
Your business plan needs to include these sections:
Executive Summary: This section sums up your entire plan and gives the reader a quick overview of what your company does and why it will be successful. The Executive Summary should not be longer than one or two pages and should entice the reader to want to read on.
Company Analysis – Type of Business, Goals and Objectives: Provide a description of the business including details about the industry, the products and services, the target market and the competitors. This section should also include information about the history of the company. Are you newly conceived? Have you been around for years? Are you incorporated? Where? And, what are your goals and objectives.
Customer Analysis: discusses the key customer segments you serve. What are their demographics (e.g., age, income, or industry and function if B2B)? What are their psychographics (e.g., what websites do they frequent)?
Competitive Analysis: shows your direct (similar offering to similar customers) and indirect competitors (similar offering to different customers OR different, but related offering to similar customers) and their strengths and weaknesses.
Marketing Plan: details your products/services you offer, your pricing strategy, your channel strategy (e.g., sell via a website, via partners, via wholesalers, etc.), and your promotions strategy.
Operations Plan: shows your short-term and long-term growth strategy and processes.
Management Team: includes your biography and biographies of other team members.
Financial Plan: provides an overview of your Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement, and discusses financing requirements.
Appendix: includes any supporting information such as your full financial projections (Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement) and other key information such as patents, lease agreements, etc.
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