What should a small business plan look like?

Question

I am looking to visit my bank to discuss ideas for starting a small business and they suggested that I might wish to make a plan. Please could you tell me what the plan should consist of and how I would go about writing it?

Answer 1

Sounds great. If you are going to see your bank, presumably you are looking for finance. You may be better off asking them for the right format otherwise anything you write will have to be 'translated' into their format, with a risk of delays, misinterpretations and inconsistencies.

Otherwise, I would suggest the following sections:

- executive summary - this is crucial, just a few paragraphs condensing the rest of the document - there should be no new fact or opinion in here compared to the rest of the document

- team: who you are, and if applicable, other people involved or likely to be involved, whether as partners or employees

- description of the business opportunity - what you plan to sell or offer, why and to whom, and what competition there is (if you think there is none, scratch your head, there is always some competition risk, if you think it is not a great risk to your business, that's fine but explain why not, and don't say there is no competition)

- marketing and sales - how you will get access to potential buyers of your product/service, how you will deal with new clients, how you will retain them

- operations - premises, sources of supplies, production, distribution (mail?, shop(s)?, physical delivery, whatever), computer systems and financial management (e.g. how you will track your outgoings, your sales, your clients, who your accountant will be), web site, backup/insurance etc... - all depends on what your business will do of course

- forecasts - what you expect in (1) profit and loss: revenues, direct costs, overheads, other items (e.g. bank interest), profit, taxes, and net profit (2) balance sheet: assets and liabilities, particularly your bank's loan to you!

Good luck, these should be exciting times, times to be creative and bold, but rigorous at the same time!

Answer 2

I just wanted to add to the answers given already - I would personally start off with a simple plan. They can always ask you to find out more information if they need it but basically they will want to know you will make money - at the end of the day.
Also you don't want to bore them rigid for an hour - keep it exciting and to the point. Use bullet points for information. Be enthusiastic in your delivery of the idea. Use visuals if you can (graphs, charts, photos of your location etc).

And make sure your business plan is SMART - Specific (what do you want to achieve), Measurable (how will you know you achieved it), Achieveable (are you setting your goals too high?), Realistic (is there a need for your business?) and Timely (when are you going to do this by)?

Good luck!

Answer 3

try the business link site www.businesslink.gov.uk they have a wonderful help section, with all this in, but to summerise -

Your plan should include:

An executive summary - this is an overview of the business you want to start. this is the bit most people will read if nothing else

A short description of the business opportunity - what you plan to sell

Your sales/marketing strategy - how will you sell to people, why should they buy from you

Your management team - your experiance, qualifiactions credentials in the area of this business. Also include senior personnel

What you will need - premises, production facilities, computer systems etc.

Financial forecasts - cash flow & profit and loss forecasts

Answer 4

Sounds exciting. First off, you'll need to summarize your business idea. What you're going to do, how you're going to do it, who your customer is. You should include any pertinent letters of resume for the key personnel. If your operation is going to be a merchandising operation, you should include some information about whom you will buy from. Essentially, you will need verbage on all of the specifics of your business. Be as complete as possible. The information is of as much benefit to you as it is to your banker. The next thing you will need is a flexible budget and a forecasted balance sheet. You should be able to determine your profitability at various levels of operation. Bare in mind that you will need contingencies for both the written and budgeted plans. Good luck.

Answer 5

Go to http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/ or http://www.bplan.com/ where you will find sample plans and instructions on how to write a business plan