Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Business Plan Preparation Guide
Business Plan Preparation Guide
3 First steps
4 Getting Help
The business plan acts as the backbone of the venture and gives
you the benchmark to gauge progress. The business plan should
afford you the opportunity to think, plan, and articulate the
business’ value proposition to yourself, the employees, and
potential investors.
-Victor Hugo
A business plan is the pen-to-paper “rallying cry” of any start-up investors are inundated by investment opportunities; they can
venture. Sound business plans not only help a company that choose but a few. An investor’s decision frequently turns on the
needs to raise capital but also help create enduring value. The quality of the business plan. Piquing, capturing, and retaining their
business plan acts as the operations manual for the company and interest is critical.
as a reference tool for investors and board members. Developing
the plan forces you to analyze corporate strengths, weaknesses, Keep in mind that investors do not purchase good ideas. They are
opportunities, and threats. more interested in dynamic and flexible people who can execute a
well reasoned plan for a business with strong opportunities in a
An effective business plan should: growth market. To effectively write the plan you must keep in mind
what a good investor is looking for:
1) Help focus ideas about a market opportunity and turn them
into a realistic course of action. 1) A specific and realistic source of value that differentially fulfills
2 Create a track for management to follow in the early years of a a specific and unmet need.
business. 2) A team that can plan and execute the plan with success.
3) Identify milestones and benchmarks that the management 3) A sustainable and defensible product/service position.
team can use to measure progress.
4) Be succinct, interesting, and sufficiently solid enough to attract For more information regarding the specifics of obtaining venture
prospective investors. capital, growing the business, going public, executing mergers
5) Be flexible enough to handle contingencies and unexpected and acquisitions, developing competitive executive compensation
events. plans, look to the other literature in the StartUp Suite and to the
knowledgeable professionals at Arthur Andersen.
This guide focuses on developing a business plan to assist with
financing the venture. It cannot be overemphasized that major
First steps
The plan should be for mula-driven and Before you solicit financing, an important
fluid, not a static estimate.Your projections first step is to analyze the business
and your plans of attack must be thoroughly and prepare yourself for the
committed to but must also demonstrate fierce competitiveness of the capital
room for flexibility. More than likely, an markets. Keep in mind that it is not just the
investor reviewing the plan will cut the numbers that matter, you should be able to
sales projections and raise the costs. The make transparent your venture’s source of
plan should be prepared to handle these value.
types of contingencies as well as flexible
enough to cope in dire situations. Building Ask yourself:
a fluid set of plans and decision criteria will 1) What core competencies and values
take longer but it will pay off in the end to will the business possess?
have multiple levels of projections 2) What need does the venture fill?
formalized in the plan. 3) What is the company’s basic value
proposition?
Lawyers, accountants, marketing professionals, IT specialists, • Growth potential for the industry and the company.
scientists, and engineers can provide valuable input for emerging • Competitive forces and new product development.
companies. • Market acceptance of a proposed new product.
• Creative marketing approaches.
For example, attorneys can:
• Check patent, copyright, trademark or trade secret protection. In addition, outside IT and engineering expertise may be needed
• Review proposed arrangements or contracts for both short- to perform research and development and determine the technical
and long-term benefits. feasibility of new systems and products.You may also need
• Consult on product liability, antitrust and environmental consultants to help you with real estate, office design, inventory,
concerns. logistics, production, etc. Consulting with outside professionals
• Address the myriad of legal pitfalls facing every new or can diminish the need for high salaried in-house executives in the
expanding business. company’s early years, and give you insights to enhance the
probability of success.
Experienced accountants can:
• Help you develop a realistic business plan. Business incubators are a good source for providing these
• Review financial projections for the plan. services or recommending resources. Incubators affiliated with
• Recommend information and computer systems technology. universities may provide access to laboratories, specialized
• Provide tax planning, as well as state and local tax consulting. equipment and research experts. Many “virtual” incubators
• Create the proper corporate structure from the beginning. provide these services through the Internet. Consult the National
Business Incubator Association for more information.
Lawyers and accountants can offer knowledge of and contacts
with venture capital firms, banks, other lending sources and NOTE:While seeking consultants’help in developing a business
underwriters as well as advice on how to structure the venture. plan is important, the need for active management involvement in
every aspect of the planning process is paramount. A business
Outside marketing professionals can develop a comprehensive plan prepared principally by outside consultants will not reflect an
market analysis for inclusion in the business plans. Their research entrepreneur’s total insight and broad concept of the business.
can determine: The entrepreneur must take full ownership of the plan.
Do
1. Talk about managing change
2. Talk about maintaining competitive advantage
3. Write an engaging executive summary
4. Use visuals to enhance the presentation
5. Indicate the plan is private and confidential
6. Make the venture’s true value transparent
7. Spiral bind the final copy
8. Provide a table of contents
9. Demonstrate the plan’s flexibility
10. Base financials and projections on for mulae
Don’t
1. Make the plan more than 30 pages
2. Make claims you can’t substantiate
3. Discuss possible valuations in the plan
4. Wander in your writing - be succinct instead
5. Send your plan to a VC cold - talk to them first
6. Underestimate current/possible competition
7. Overestimate the company’s strength
8. Underestimate required funding
9. Go it alone - enlist knowledgeable help
10. Ignore the potential for unexpectedobstacles
More often than not, the summary is all that investors will read, so
it must capture their attention. An effective summary positions the Introduction
company accurately and differentiates a company from others
competing for limited investment capital. If the summary fails to This section is intended primarily for prospective investors who
persuade the prospective source of capital to read further, it has need to know where a business has been before they can
not done its job. evaluate where it is likely to go. If you have little history, you
should place more emphasis on the description of the
At the very least, the summary should include: management team and relevant experience. This section of the
• A depiction of the business and the target markets for the plan should discuss:
product or service.
• How the product or service will distinguish itself from its • When the business was founded, its progress to date and a
competition and emphasize the need that it will fill. brief description of the founders, emphasizing their relevant
• An arguement that concisely and persuasively addresses why experience and their roles in the company.
the venture will succeed in a competitive situation. • The form of organization (partnership, S Corporation, LLC,
• A description of the management team, relevant experience etc.) and distribution of equity. Summarize the company’s
and special skills of each key executive. Cite and discuss how capitalization, classes of stock, shares outstanding and other
and when correction of weak management practices will take relevant data.
place. • Past loans to, or investments in, the company by outside
• A summary of key financial projections for the next three to sources, as well as management’s investment in the company.
five years. Detail any outstanding stock options or warrants as well as
• A synopsis of funding requirements, amounts of capital as well other financial commitments, including name of those involved
as when and how it will be spent. and principal terms (price, expiration date, and so on) of
• A grid showing projected estimates of Revenues and EBITDA each commitment.
for the next 5 years (as shown below). • Products or services the company has developed or marketed
and the success of each.
• The state of development that your product or service is in
and what further approvals, upgrades, or development it must
still undergo (e.g. stage of FDA approval, R&D status, status
of website’s technology if imperative to operations, etc.)
He who can see three days ahead One of the keys to success is knowing what sets you apart from
the competition.When describing the product or service, give
will be rich for 3,000 years. special attention to characteristics distinguishing it from others in
the market. State the specific benefits (i.e. lower cost or greater
versatility).
Japanese proverb
Ask yourself
1) How is the venture different from other companies in the
market?
2) Is the product or service patentable?
3) How will the venture maintain long-term profitable growth?
4) Can a layperson understand the description of the product or
service?
• When you plan to complete stages of product development John Maynard Keynes, economist
(e.g. FDA trials, patents or copyrights, and the like) and/or
rollout on new and existing products.
• What the planned state of your technology will be and when
you plan to upgrade and/or redesign (e.g. your website’s
status).
• What strategic alliances you plan to vie for and when you
expect to complete negotiations.
For further
when these goals are compared to actual results in the future.
Ask yourself
1) What is the current state of the planned product line in terms
assistance
of research and development and rollout?
2) When will the new products be completed and rolled out?
3) Is the venture’s technology up to par? If not, when will the
necessary adjustments be completed?
4) Is the venture’s means of doing business (e.g. website) up to
par and scalable? If not, when will it be completed and/or
upgraded?
5) What lines of expansion will the venture take to continue to For further assistance or to learn more from the Arthur Andersen
grow its business? StartUp Suite, visit us at www.arthurandersen.com/enterprise or
contact the experienced professionals in Arthur Andersen’s
Enterprise Group. They are available to consult with you regarding
the challenges facing your company.