Parts of a Business Plan

I. Executive Summary

II. Management and Organization

III. Product/Service Plan

IV. Market Plan

V. Financial Plan

I. Executive Summary

This part can be found at the beginning of the plan but is the last to be accomplished since this
synthesizes the whole plan. This contains a brief introduction and summarizes everything that is relevant
and important to the prospect business audience.

These are the information needed to guide you:

 description of your proposed business and business model

 description of the market opportunity you want to capture or market problem the business solves

 reasons why this is an attractive business opportunity

 key distinctions or differentiators of your business versus competitors

 overview of the sales, marketing, and operations strategy and plan

 description of your executive planning timeline

 overview of the projected financials containing revenues, cost, profits, and assumptions of your
business

II. Management and Organization

This part includes all the basic information of your business. This also describes the workflow
(organizational structure; the background, experience and role of each) of your business

from the highest position up to the lowest.

These are the information needed to guide you:

 Company Name, Logo, and Address

 Vision and Mission Statements

 Key Personnel

 Organizational Chart
 Ownership Capitalization, Compensation, and Incentives

 External Management Support

III. Product/Service Plan

This part describes the highlight of the product or service offered to the customers so that they will be
encouraged to patronize your product or service. It also explains how the products or services will be
accepted and carried by the distribution channels.

These are the information needed to guide you:

 Purpose of your Product or Service

 Product’s/Service’s Unique Features

 Material Requirements and Sources of Supply

 Processing Equipment that will be Used to Manufacture the Product or Render the Service

 Production or Service Process and Controls

 Distribution Logistics

 Regulatory and Other Compliance Issues

IV. Market Plan

This includes your business strategies, the target market, value proposition of your product or services
that may increase the company sales (Chen, 2019).

These are the information needed to guide you:

 Market Analysis

 Marketing and Sales Strategies

 Product or Service Characteristics

 Pricing Policy

 Sales Projection

Market Analysis

This includes the process of how you divide the total market into smaller groups seeking similar needs
and wants (market segmentation) and the characteristic analysis of the business in relation to internal
and external factors. (SWOT Analysis)
SWOT Analysis, on the other hand, is a popular tool to evaluate the internal environment pioneered by
George Albert Smith Jr. and Ronald Christensen, two Harvard business professors (Aduana, 2016). SWOT
stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

Strengths refer to strong attributes or capabilities of the business that provide great advantage in
exploiting the business opportunity. Weaknesses are poor attributes or deficiencies that give
disadvantage to the business. Both strengths and weaknesses are considered internal origins, meaning
they are attributes inside the business venture.

On the other hand, opportunities are business situations that must be exploited due to their potential in
terms of profit and growth. Threats are possible external factors that may harm the business. Both
opportunities and threats are outside origins and are attributes outside the business.

Marketing and sales strategies

These are also known as the product PUSH. These have three key characteristics that allow to perform
marketing function of persuading customers to buy right away. (Go, 2010)

1. Temporary – Sales promotions are conducted at short periods creating a sense of urgency on the part
of the customers.

2. Better value – Sales promotions are used to create short-term differentiation by offering a better
product value.

3. Beneficial – Sales promotions promote growth sometimes even at artificial level.

Product/Service Characteristics

This includes value proposition of the product/service.

Pricing Policy

This part specifies the price of the product/service.

Sales Projection

This is also called sales forecast or the prediction of the amount of revenue your company expects to
earn at some point in the future.
V. Financial Plan

This is a document containing your current financial situation as an entrepreneur and long-term
monetary goals, as well as tactics to attain those objectives.

These are the information needed to guide you:

 Start-up costs requirements – These are expenses that you will be needing during the course of
creating a new business.

 Financial projections – These are estimates of your future profits and expenses.

 Break-even analysis – This is a financial tool that will help you determine at what stage (or period) your
company will start gaining profit.

 Budget – This includes the amount needed for business operations

as well as sources of such funds (equal shares or through a creditor).