How to Write a Business Plan

You cannot begin a successful business venture without a solid plan of action. A business plan is the cornerstone of any successful launch. This plan will serve as a guide as you go through the various stages of beginning and managing a business.

While this list is not entirely inclusive of a comprehensive business plan, here are four primary elements to consider when writing your winning guide.

Write an Executive Summary:

The first thing that you need to include in your business plan is an executive summary. This verbiage will provide a snapshot of what your business is about and why it is destined to be a success. In this important section, you will need to include basic information such as your company’s mission statement, the products or services that you offer, and high-level specifics about your employee base. This is also where you need to include general finance information.

Funding Requests:

One of the key initiatives of a business plan is to provide information for potential investors. If you are going to need to solicit funding for your business, it is imperative that your plan include a detailed section on funding requests. Savvy business leaders understand that they will need to be precise and convincing in this section if they are looking for business loans for small business purposes. Investors and lenders will be interested to see funding needs in the business plan.

Items to include in this section include how you plan to use the funds as well as your long-term financial strategy. You may also consider looking at a loan through the newly established federal CARES Act. According to Lantern Credit, “these loans are great options because up to the full principal loan amount may be forgiven when used for approved purposes.”

Financial Projections:

This is the section to drive home the potential of the venture. It is a good idea to look at this section as a supplement to the information provided in the funding request. Potential investors or lenders will look to see if you have a solid financial plan in place that takes into account both how you plan to get started and your long-term projections. Once your business has been established, you can use this section for balance sheets and cash flow statements.

Organization and Management Information:

In order to successfully sell your business and what it offers, you need to provide general information about the organization and management structure of your team. This is where you need to provide data about the legal structure of your company. To bolster this section, you may want to consider including the resume and accomplishments of some of the key members on your leadership team. This will demonstrate that you have the people in place to drive your company into the future with success.

Your business plan should serve two purposes. In addition to providing a framework for your own planning needs, it should also be a document used to sell your vision to investors and other people who have a stake in your success.