Welcome to Business Angel Investors
Business Plan Guide
What is a business plan?
A business plan is a written document that describes a business, its objectives, its strategies, the market it is in and its financial forecasts. It has many functions, from securing external funding to measuring success within your business.
What format should a business plan take?
A business plan usually takes the form of a written document. If it's to be used for external funding then the document should be word processed and be presented well, as how it looks is important.
The length of a business plan will obviously vary depending on the company and its stage of development. 5 or 6 pages may be adequate for an internal document, whereas you are likely to need 20+ pages if you are seeking funding.
The plan should be written in sections, in clear paragraphs with headings, and bullet points should be used where applicable to make the information easy to read and digest.
What should a business plan include?
- A title and contents page. This should include the company logo if you have one.
- An executive summary. This is an overview of the business and includes the key points of the whole plan. It should not exceed 1 page in length.
- A description of the business opportunity. Who you are, what you plan to sell or offer, who your target market is, what your USP is, SWOT analysis etc.
- Your marketing and sales strategy. Why you think people will buy from you, how you plan to sell, pricing and positioning, advertising and promotion.
- Your management team and personnel. Your credentials and the people you plan to recruit to work with you.
- Your operations. Your premises, production facilities, IT etc.
- Financial forecasts. Start-up budget, cash flow forecast, forecast profit and loss, staffing and employees, sales charts and graphs and so on.