Business Plan Tips

Business Plan Tips for a Start-up Company By Brian Hill

Developing a business plan for a company or start-up involves extensive research, gathering data, analysis and planning, and creativity. In addition you must have the skill to put it all down on paper in a clear, concise manner that will be meaningful to potential financial partners. Many times a business plan is thought of as something that is produced specifically to help entrepreneurs raise capital. The planning process itself is extremely beneficial as well, providing the management team with a blueprint or roadmap to follow in running the company.

Describe your products/services. Focus on the benefits of your products and services to your actual or potential customers. Don't just talk about how great the technology you invented is. Show how the consumer or business customer will use your products and services in day-to-day life.

Provide background information. Investors like to know how a company has evolved, going back to its inception. Talk about where the original idea for the venture came from, and why you thought it had great potential.

Outline the business model. Business model has two components: how your revenues will be generated and the factors that will allow your company to be highly profitable. Perhaps your business requires limited staff and as a result has lower than average fixed costs.

Talk about your industry. Give the reader a picture of the current status of the industry in which you will be competing. Provide data about the recent and projected rate of growth. Let the reader know why you think this is an exciting industry.

Explain your target markets. Provide a description of your most important customer groups. If you are marketing to consumers, provide demographic information such as age, income level and education. If you are selling to other businesses, describe them by size and industry.

Describe your competitors. Let the reader know who you will be competing against, and talk about their strengths and weaknesses relative to those of your company.

Outline your marketing plan. Explain the strategies and tactics you will use to obtain customers. Include a marketing budget showing how much it will cost to implement the strategies.

Introduce your management team. Discuss the background, prior experience and skills of the key members of your team.

List the capital required. Show the largest categories of expenditures and how each expenditure is necessary for the success of the venture.

Provide financial projections. A forecast profit and loss statement for the next 3 to 5 years is included in the business plan.

Helpful Hints and Business Plan Tips:

Explain the assumptions you used in building the financial models, so investors can understand the logic behind your numbers.

Highlight the milestones your company has already reached. These could be such things as patent filings, securing the first customer(s), or building a working prototype.

As you receive feedback from readers of your business plan, don't be afraid to make changes to the document. A business plan is evolves along with a company.