It’s important to know about the parts of a business plan before writing one.
The components to include in the plan depend on business objectives and nature of operation. However, some elements appear repeatedly because they provide essential information to stakeholders (and lenders) while keeping everything in order.
What is a Business Plan?
We can define a business plan as a document that outlines the goals of a potential business and the steps to achieve them.
The plan often includes mission statement, products and services, investment cost, marketing strategies, and expected profit margins.
A business plan serves as a tool to identify opportunities, expose risks, motivate participants, and draw the attention of investors.
What are the Different Parts of a Business Plan?
A comprehensive business plan has the following key components:
1. Executive Summary
An executive summary describes the aims of the business with unique details about its operation. The executive summary allows you to capture an investor’s attention with a brief overview of what to expect in the subsequent sections.
- Describe the motivation to take a specific action and pitch investors to contribute in different ways.
- State the mission of the business and incorporate ethos to get the reader motivated to read and learn more about your business idea.
- Touch on the benefits of the business in transforming lives and promoting a sustainable world.
2. Business Description
Write a clear business description that presents clear information about the business and affirms its credibility. Include details about employees, experiences, management philosophy, target customers, and market conditions.
If you’re writing business plan with the intention to enter a new market, you may want to focus on the success in present markets before expressing the need to expand.
3. Market Analysis
Market analysis shows how your business will connect with customers and the product feature that will attract these buyers. Include the information about the market you intend to serve and the opportunities you expect to tap.
Evaluate demographics, customer preferences, and explain how your business intends to meet and satisfy consumer needs.
4. Marketing Plan
A business can succeed or fail partly because of the marketing plan. To succeed, you need to come up with a plan the draws a positive consumer response to the business.
Focus on strategies that easily influence product awareness, perception, and consumption.
- State the pricing mechanism and prediction for sales in the target market.
- Introduce a unique selling approach you can use to beat competition to achieve a market leadership status.
- Give details about why you strongly believe the target market will buy the produce at the estimated price and volume.
- Evaluate the risks and rewards of your marketing plan.
5. Sales Plan
This part should feature the strategies and approaches you’ll use to sell products to your customers, increase revenue, and make profit. Give details of the methods you’d use to close sales, such as lead generation.
6. Competitive Analysis
Potential investors want to know whether you understand the market in terms of competition. Therefore, doing a competition analysis goes a long way. A business can have direct or indirect competition.
- Direct Competition: A direct competitor offers the same products and services. For example, Nike is a direct competitor to New Balance because they deal in footwear products.
- Indirect Competition: An indirect competitor offers alternative products or services that satisfy the same consumer needs.
7. Organization Structure
Mention your company’s legal framework. There should be clear description of the management team and the responsibility of each member of the team. The organization’s structure should also have a detailed operating plan of the business.
8. Products and Services
List your products or service and explain why they’re important for the consumers in your target market. Your product or service description should include features, benefits, unique selling points, current developments, and upcoming plans.
Mention supplier information, pricing strategy, and the intellectual property right of every product or service your business intends to sell.
9. Operation Plan
Explain how your business will operate on a day-to-day basis. Cover aspects such as service delivery, product promotion, product process, team management, and human resource management.
10. Financial Plan
A financial plan is one of the most important parts of a business plan because the information can help you and investors determine whether your business is likely to be profitable or otherwise.
The financial plan should include forecast income statement, capital expenditure, and cash flow statements.
11. Funding Sources
Your business plan should have clear details on your funding source. Indicate the money needed to acquire inputs and resources for the business operations. The financial project should indicate the expected gains supported by data analytics for evidence.
Describing the ideal economic conditions and terms of securing the funds can help you choose the best business partners and avoid exploitation and fraud.
How Do You Write a Business Plan?
You write a business plan by following a strategic formula guaranteed to yield results.
Conduct in-depth research to understand your audience. Set clear goals before you start writing. Be precise and direct to the point as you write. And keep your tone, voice, and style consistent from the beginning to the end.
Can You Write My Business Plan for Me?
You can use our business plan writing service if you wish to hire someone to write the document for you. This service is by highly trained writers with years of industry experience.
Our team takes you from a completely blank page to a comprehensive plan in under a week. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the last minute rush or you’re under pressure to get the plan written fast. We’re only a click away and ready for hire.
How Much Does It Cost to Write a Business Plan?
It costs $12.99 to $40 per page to write a business plan depending on the urgency. Note that the total cost for a business plan to have the project written and edited will vary depending on the number of pages you want your document to have.
Our writing service also includes up to 10% discount, which saves you money and gets your document written according to your brief and delivered before your deadline.