Executive summary
Briefly overview the purpose of the business and the key elements of the business plan.
Industry analysis
Provide information about the nature of the industry, including economic trends, important legal or regulatory issues, and potential risks.
Business description
Provide relevant background information on the business, including its mission, owners and legal form (for example, sole proprietor, partnership or company).
Product description
Provide information about the major goods or services to be offered by the business, with a special focus on any competitive advantages.
Market description
Describe both the current and potential future size of the market, based on your market research. Your market description should also include an analysis of competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. This analysis should be broad in order to capture all potential competition issues. In addition, the short and long term sales goals of your business should be outlined in a SMART format (i.e. the goals should be specific, measurable, actionable, reasonable and timetabled).
Marketing strategy
Target market Describe the market research you have conducted into the needs and wants of the potential customers/clients of the business. Discuss the organisation’s target market segments, their characteristics, and how the target market and market segments were selected. Be specific; for example, if the target market is ‘urban 25-30 year old single males’, then say so – do not say ‘young single men’.
Price Detail your pricing objectives (e.g. cash flow, product positioning or market share) and the pricing method(s) used to determine your prices (e.g. cost based or competition based).
Promotion Explain how your product will be promoted (e.g. via advertising, public relations, sales promotion or personal selling, or a combination of all of these).
Distribution Outline the distribution strategy that will ensure your products are available to potential customers where and when they want them.
Operations description
Describe manufacturing or service methods, systems and procedures for your business, including control mechanisms. Include relevant details for supplies and/or suppliers that your business may need to depend on.
Staffing description
Outline the management and staffing skills needed and/or available for your business, including likely remuneration requirements. Any human resource system needs for your business should also be described.
Financial projection
Describe cash flow projections for 1 – 5 years, break-even points, and an analysis of any phased investment capital requirements.
Capital needs
Detail the amount of funds that are needed to run the business, the amount currently available, and the amount requested from new sources.