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The
Business Plan
As
well as being a fundraising document, the business plan can
help you to structure your business in the correct way, and
as you devise it, more ideas come to mind.
The
original Business Plan will be a benchmark for identifying
the performance of your business, after one year. The business
should then be analysed, and a new business plan formulated.
The
Business Plan should not be too long, nor should it be too
short if you intend to make an impression, and require a substantial
amount of money. Even if you do not intend to borrow money,
some banks still insist on seeing a business plan before they
will let you open a business account. It is possible to run
a small business from a personal account, but banks are not
too keen on this. They want to know about your business.
Of
course it is possible to start a business without a business
plan, and many do. Especially if you already have the funds,
or no further investment is needed. Or a kindly aunt, or bank
of Mum and Dad is helping you out. Or if you are starting
a business, which actually requires no start up capital -
just get up and go.
The business plan can be extensive, averaging about 20 pages.
Initially investors only want to see the Executive summary.
An executive summary gives the main points of the business
plan and this can be between 2 and 4 pages long.
An
outline of the business plan follows.
1. Cover Page
2. Contents Page
3. Summary of Business, Name, Nature, Market, Location Aims
& Objectives
4. Key Personnel, Relevant experience & CVs
5. Outline and Detail of Business Idea
6. Market Research
7. Premises, Machinery, Equipment
8. Prior Advertising
9. On-going marketing
10. Sales & Procedures
11. Cashflow forecast for first 12 months
12. Notes to cashflow outlining key assumptions
13. Profit/Loss Projection for first year
14. Financial Requirements & Sources
15. Book-Keeping procedures
16. Risk Assessment - What could go wrong, and how you would
seek to minimise these risks. How would you deal with major
problems?
17. Time Schedule- Dates for important milestones in development
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