Business Plan Ready | What is Business Plan Model?
Think you found the perfect business idea? Test the validity of this by creating a Business Plan. In this article, you will find a ready-made business plan that will guide you in your interest.
The business plan provides a comprehensive and practical view of the project. It can be used when you want to transfer your idea to a project on the ground, or to help present your idea to financial institutions or potential investors when searching for funding.
A business plan consists of a single document divided into several sections: organization description, market research, competitive analysis, sales strategies, capital requirements, and financial statements. Your plan may include more or fewer sections depending on the type of your project.
Do I need a simple or detailed business plan?
A business plan for large organizations can be hundreds of pages long. But for a small business, it’s best to keep the plan short and concise, especially if you’re sending it out to bankers or investors. It should be about 35 to 50 pages. You can add some pages to include extras such as images of products, equipment, logos, workplaces, or site plans.
The pros and cons of using a ready-made Business Plan
– Positives
Ready-made formats: You will never find yourself stuck in front of the first page after looking at ready-made Business Plan templates, as they provide general and specific instructions on the required information and how to organize it.
Differences: If you know what kind of business plan you need: traditional, simple, or industry-specific, you can probably find a specialized template.
Free Downloads: There are many free business plan templates available online, which can be useful for comparing layouts and features, or improving your design.
– Negatives
Uncustomized: Business Plan templates usually contain just the essentials, and there will still be a lot of work required to customize a template to fit your project. For example, you may have to reformat, revise, and populate tables.
No financial guidelines: You’ll need industry-savvy knowledge to apply financial models to your business, and math skills to create formulas and calculate numbers.
Additional Skills Required: You will also need some degree of technical expertise to integrate charts and graphs, merge data from tables, and update them completely.
How to use Business Plan Ready
The business plan template below has been divided into several sections as shown in the table of contents. You can copy each section into your own document. You will have to make some adjustments to suit your own needs.
Once you’re done, make sure your business plan is attractively and professionally formatted and then printed. Your business plan should make the best possible impression. Make it something people want to catch and see.
Book title page
Enter information about your project, including its legal name and address. If you have a business logo, you can add it at the top or bottom of the title page.
- Business plan for the “trade name”
- History
- Project Title
- the phone
- Website link
If you will be directing it to a company or individual, include:
- Submitted to “Name”
- In Company”
Business plan template table of contents
- Executive Summary……………………………Page #
- Business/industry overview …………. the page #
- Market and competition analysis……………………Page #
- Sales and Marketing Plan ……………………….. Page #
- Ownership and management plan ……………………. the page #
- Operation Plan……………………………………..Page #
- Financial Plan…………………………………….Page #
- Appendices and exhibitions …………………………. the page #
Section 1: Executive Summary
Although the executive summary is the last thing to be written, it acts as an introduction to the plan, providing a brief overview of your project. The executive summary should serve as a bait for the reader, drawing in the reader and creating a desire to learn more. The executive summary should not exceed two pages, as it includes brief summaries of other sections of the plan.
- Describe your mission: What need does your project cover? You have to market your vision.
- Briefly define your company while sticking to vital details such as size, location, management and ownership.
- Describe your main product(s) and/or service(s).
- Determine the customer base you plan to target and how your project will serve those customers.
- Summarize the competition and how you will gain market share. What is your competitive advantage?
- Set your financial projections for the first few years of operation.
- Determine your startup financing requirements.
This section provides an overview of the industry and explains in detail what sets your business apart from the rest.
- Describe the general nature of the industry, including sales and other statistics. Consider trends and demographics, as well as economic, cultural, and governmental influences.
- Explain your business and how it fits into the industry.
- List your current competition, which you will expand on in the next section.
- Determine your target market segment and the new, improved or lower cost products and/or services you will offer.
Section 3: Market and competition analysis
This section focuses on the competitiveness of your business and justifies it with financial models and statistics. You need to prove that you have done a thorough analysis of your target market, assessed the competition, and concluded that the demand for your product or service is sufficient to make your business viable.
- Determine the target market for your products/services in your geographical area.
- Explain the need for your products/services.
- Estimate the total market size and units of your products/services that your target market might buy. Include projections of how much repeat buying is likely and how the market might be affected by economic or demographic changes.
- Estimate the volume and value of your sales compared to current competitors, then highlight any key strengths that might help you outpace the competition, such as access to capital, technology, employee skill sets, or location.
Section 4: Sales and Marketing Plan
This section gives a detailed strategic view of how to convince customers to buy your products and/or services, including advertising or promotion, pricing, sales, distribution, and after-sales support.
- Offers of products or services
Answer the question: What is your unique selling proposition? Describe your products and/or services, how they benefit the customer and what differentiates them from competitors’ offerings.
How will you price your products/services? The price should be low enough to attract customers, and high enough to cover costs and make a profit. You can base pricing decisions on a number of financial models, or in comparison to similar products and/or services in the market.
Sales and distribution
Describe how you plan to distribute your products to customers. Will you sell wholesale or retail? What type of packaging is required? How will the products be shipped? If you provide a service, how will it be delivered to the customer? What methods will be used for payment?
Advertising and promotion
List the different forms of media that you will use to promote your project (websites, email, social media or newspapers). Will you use free samples and product demos? What about product launches and trade shows? Don’t forget about business cards, flyers or brochures. Include an approximate budget that covers all of this.
This section describes the legal structure, ownership, management and staffing requirements for your business.
- Ownership Structure: Describe the legal structure of your business (corporate, partnership, LLC, or sole proprietorship). You will have to include a list of ownership percentages, if any.
- Management team: Describe the managers and their roles, key employee positions, and how each will be compensated. Include brief bios for each of them.
- External Resources and Services: List any outside professional resources you may need, such as accountants, attorneys, or consultants.
- Human Resources: List the type and number of employees or contractors you will need, and estimate salary costs for each.
- Advisory Board: You can include an Advisory Board as a supplemental management resource.
Section 6: Operating plan
An operating plan outlines the physical requirements for your business, such as office, warehouse, or retail space, equipment, supplies, or labor. This section may vary by industry. A large manufacturer should provide full details about their supply chain or specialized equipment, while a psychotherapist’s office’s list would be much shorter.
#. Development: Explain what you have done so far to identify potential sites, equipment sources, supply chains, and other relevant relationships. Describe your production workflow.
#. Production: Explain how long it will take to produce the unit and when you will be ready to start production. You should also include factors that may affect your production timeframe and how you will handle potential issues.
#. Utilities: Describe the actual location of the business, geographic or building requirements (estimates are in square feet, with room for expansion if foreseen), mortgage or rental costs, and estimates for maintenance, utilities, and related overhead costs.
#. Staffing: Determine expected staffing needs and key duties for staff, especially key staff. Describe how the staffing and working relationship (contract, full-time, part-time) will be sourced as well as any training needs and how they will be met.
#. Equipment: Include a list of any specialized equipment needed and its cost, whether to rent or purchase it, and sources.
#. Supplies: If you specialize in manufacturing, retail, or food service, include a description of the materials required, reliable sources, key suppliers, and how you will manage inventory.
The financial plan is the most important section for lenders or investors. The goal is to prove that your business will grow and be profitable. You will need to prove this by creating realistic predictions.
#. Income statements: The income statement shows projected revenues, expenses, and profits. Do this on a monthly basis especially in the early stages of a project.
#. Cash Flow Forecast: A cash flow projection shows projected monthly cash income and expense expenditures. It is important to prove that you can manage your cash flow.
#. Balance sheet: The balance sheet is a brief summary of your company’s assets, liabilities, and equity at a particular point in time.
#. Break-Even Analysis: A break-even analysis will show lenders or investors what level of sales you need to achieve to make a profit.
Section 8: Accessories and Galleries
The Extensions and Galleries section contains any detailed information needed to support the other sections of the plan.
Possible accessory or display items include:
- Business owners credit history
- Detailed market research and competitor analysis
- Biographies of owners and key employees
- Charts and research findings about your products and/or services
- Site, building or office plans
- Copies of mortgage or equipment rental documents (or quotes)
- Marketing brochures and other materials
- References from co-workers
- Links to your project site
- Any other material that might interest potential lenders or investors
This was a ready-made Business Plan template. When you first start out with your business plan, it can be daunting. That’s why it’s important to make sure you understand the format and the information you want to include. Then, you can use the template to guide your process.