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Need a Business Plan? Use This Simple Outline

If you want to raise money for your business, then you’ll need a solid business plan.

Is it really necessary to go through the trouble of creating a business plan for investors?  The answer: YES.     Investors are taking a gamble when they give you money to grow your business, and they want to make sure that they’re making a smart bet. And, for better or worse, your business plan will help them decide whether or not to invest.

The next question is: How do you create a business plan that makes investors want to fund your company?   In this article, you’ll learn several tips for writing a “fundable” business plan that will help you impress investors and grow your business faster.

1. Executive summary.   Your executive summary should provide a brief summary of your company. Don’t tell your whole life story – the point is to make investors want to keep reading your entire business plan     Here is some advice for writing your executive summary.    Keep your executive summary brief.   2 to 4 pages is an acceptable length.
2. Company analysis. The goal of the company analysis is to educate the investor about your company.    What info should you include?     In the company analysis, you should provide investors with a history of your company, as well as major accomplishments to date.
3. Industry analysis.   In this section, you want to show investors that there’s real demand for your company’s product or service.   And here’s a tip for accomplishing that.     Consult several sources of market research, and be sure to cite those sources in your business plan to increase your credibility.
4. Customer analysis.   In the last section, you proved that there was a need for your products or services. In this section, you need to show how your products and services satisfy those needs.     In order to explain how your products and services satisfy your customer, you should start by describing who your ideal customer is… what are the demographics (age, location, income) as well as psychographics (beliefs, interests, etc).
5. Competitive analysis.    In this section of your business plan, you describe your customers in detail.      Here’s a helpful tip for completing your competitive analysis.    Make sure to talk about your competitors strengths and weaknesses, as well as what makes your company superior.
6. Marketing plan.   In the marketing plan, you need to explain how you’re going to penetrate your market, deliver products and services to customers, and then retain your customers.    Explain how your marketing strategy will reap a return on investment (ROI) as your company grows.
7. Operations plan.   In the operations plan, you present a detailed action plan for achieving your company’s goals.   Make sure that you detail the short-term processes of your business, as well as the long-term milestones that you want to achieve.
8. Management team.   Your goal is to show how your management team is prepared to take advantage of the business opportunity.     Here’s some advice.  Don’t just list resumes and biographies. Show off your team’s unique and relevant experience and accomplishments.
9. Financial plan.   Your financial plan has 1 goal: to show investors how they will make money.    Here’s some advice.     Make sure that the numbers and assumptions in your financial plan are aggressive but credible. Of course, investors want you to forecast profit and growth, but your financial projections must be believable.
10. Appendix.   The appendix is the place to include charts, graphs and other information that may be helpful for investors.

Remember that your business plan is really a marketing document. If you want to raise capital, you need to impress and convince investors with your business plan.   If you follow the tips provided in this article, you can create a business plan that raises capital and allows you to build the business of your dreams.

Finally, if you want to save time writing your business plan, you may want to use a business plan template. This simple business plan template allows you to finish a professional business plan in 1 day.

Related articles

• Expert Tips for Writing Your Business Plan (dohertyassoc.com)
• Business Plan Formatting (dohertyassoc.com)
• Do You Need a Business Plan? (dohertyassoc.com)
• Get Out of Corporate America and Buy a Business (dohertyassoc.com)

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