Sunday, September 18, 2005

Content of a business plan

Content of a business plan

A business plan can be seen as a collection of sub-plans including a marketing plan, financial plan, production plan, and human resource plan. The business plan has many forms. There is however a format that is typical:

  • Executive summary
    • explains the basic business model
    • gives rationale for the strategy
  • Background
    • gives short history of company (unless it is a new company)
    • provides background details such as:
      • age of company
      • number of employees
      • annual sales figures
      • location of facilities
      • form of ownership including
        • sole proprietor
        • Partnership
        • entrepreneurial startup
        • private corporate startup
        • publicly traded corporation.
        • public utility
        • Non Profit Organization
    • background of key personnel including
      • owners
      • senior managers
      • head scientists and researchers
  • Marketing
  • Production and manufacturing
    • describe all processes
    • production facility requirements - size, layout, capacity, location
    • inventory requirements - raw materials inventory, finished goods inventory, warehouse space requirements
    • equipment requirements
    • supply chain requirements
    • fixed cost allocation
  • Finance
    • source of funds
    • expected return
    • break even analysis
    • monthly pro-forma cash flow statement
    • existing loans and liabilities
  • Human resources
    • assign responsibilities
    • training required
    • skills required
    • union issues
    • compensation
    • skills availability
    • new hiring

Specialized sections such as product research and development, legal strategies, marketing research, or inter-company collaborations, are added to deal with unique features or characteristics of the business or its markets.