BUSINESS PLAN

FORMAT
BY: JUSTINE S. RAMOS
A business plan refers to a written document that
comprehensively outlines what your business is,
where it is going, and how it will get there. The
business plan outlines in specific terms the
financial objectives of your business, and how it
will position itself to achieve those goals in the
context of the current market environment. In
addition, the business plan is an indispensable tool
to attract business capital.
BUSINESS PLAN FORMAT
I. TITLE PAGE
II. TABLE OF CONTENTS
III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
IV.COMPANY DESCRIPTION
V. MARKET ANALYSIS
VI.ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT
VII. PRODUCTS/SERVICES
VIII. MARKETING AND SALES
IX. FUNDING REQUEST
X. APPENDIX
III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Write the executive summary. 
Your executive summary will serve as an introduction to
your business plan. It will include your company's mission
statement and provide readers with an overview of your
products or services, target market, and goals and
objectives.
IV. COMPANY DESCRIPTION
In this chapter, the goal is to outline the legal and operational structure
of your company, the history behind the company, mission statement and
the management team. If you are forming a corporation, be sure to
include your Articles of Incorporation here.

Mission, Vision and Goals: Here you define the purpose of your business
(Mission) and a statement about your perception of the company's growth
and potential (Vision). Include specific goals and objectives of the
business

Business Description: Provide background information about the

company including brief history of the business and list of key company
principals.

To do this, describe your business and identify the marketplace needs for
your product or service. Briefly describe your key customers and how you
intend to succeed.
Example:

if your business is a small coffee shop, your description may read

something like, "Joe's coffee shop is a small, downtown-based
establishment focused on serving premium brewed coffee and fresh
baking in a relaxed, contemporary environment. Joe's coffee is located
one block from the local University, and aims to provide a comfortable
environment for students, professors, and downtown employees to study,
socialize, or simply relax between classes or meetings. By focusing on
excellent ambiance, close location, premium products, and superb
customer service, Joe's coffee will differentiate itself from its peers."
V. MARKET RESEARCH
The purpose of this section is explore and demonstrate knowledge of
the market your business is operating within.

• Include information about your target market. You should be able to

answer questions like, who is your target market? What are their needs
and preferences? How old are they, and where are they located?

• Make sure to include a competitive analysis that provides research and

information on immediate competitors. List your main competitors
strengths and weaknesses and the potential impact on your business.
This section is extremely important, as it outlines how your business
will gain market share by capitalizing on competitor's weaknesses.
Define Your Market: Describe the industry within which your business will
operate, identify your target market, provide a general profile of your
targeted clients, and describe what share of the market your currently
have and/or anticipate. For this section of the business plan, your will
undertake following types of research:

Industry Analysis: how is the industry structured, trends and statistics,

key players, segmentation, sales and distribution channels etc.

Competitive Analysis: major competitors, strengths and weaknesses, how

would you position yourself against the competition, market niche,
product/service comparison

Customers: who are the customers (demographic data), what do they

want, customer buying habits, market share/market size, consumer
preferences

**Include Industry, SWOT and PEST analysis**

VI. ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT
This section of the business plan focuses on key personnel. Include
details about the business owners and its management team.

• Talk about your team's expertise and how decisions will be made. If
the owners and managers and have extensive backgrounds in the
industry or a track record of success, highlight it.

• If you have an organizational chart, include it.

VII. PRODUCTS / SERVICES
Describe your product or service. 

• What are you selling? What's so great about your product or service?
How will customers benefit? How is it better than your competitors
products or services? Address any questions about your product's life
cycle. Do you currently have or anticipate developing a prototype, or
filing for a patent or copyright? Note all planned activities.

• For example, if you are writing a plan for a coffee shop, you would
include a detailed menu that would outline all your products. Before
writing the menu, you would include a short summary indicating why
your particular menu sets your business apart from others. You may
state, for example, "Our coffee shop will provide five different types
of beverages, including coffee, teas, smoothies, soda's, and hot
chocolates. Our wide variety will be a key competitive advantage as
we can provide a diversity of product offerings that our main
competitors are currently not offering".
VIII. MARKETING AND SALES
Write your marketing and sales strategy. 

In this section, explain how you intend to penetrate the market,

manage growth, communicate with customers, and distribute your
products or services.

• Be clear in defining your sales strategy. Will you use sales

representatives, billboard advertising, pamphlet distribution, social
media marketing, or all of the above?

• Advertising and Promotion: How will you reach out to potential

customers? Where do they currently shop for product/service? Where
will you advertise and how will you measure the effectiveness of your
advertising and promotion efforts?

• Pricing: strategy, policies, price list, break-even analysis

• Location: Where is your business located? (home-based; retail; commercial,
etc….), is the location of your business important? Any special zoning, land
or building improvements needed to accommodate your operation? If
location is important, what are the features of your location?

• Marketing & Sales Strategy: Identify and describe your market -- who are
your customers and what's the demand for your products and services;
channels of distribution you will use; your sales strategy specific to pricing,
promotion, products, and place.
IX. FUNDING REQUEST
Make a funding request. If you will use your business plan to secure funding,
include a funding request. Explain how much money you need to start and
maintain your small business. Provide an itemized summary of how start-up
capital will be used. Give a timeline for your funding request.

• Gather financial statements to support your funding request. To accurately

complete this step, in some cases it might be necessary to hire an accountant,
lawyer, or other professional.

• Financial statements should include all historical (if you are an existing
business) or projected financial data, including forecast statements, balance
sheets, cash-flow statements, profit and loss statements, and expenditure
budgets. For one full year, provide monthly and quarterly statements. Each
year after that, yearly statements. These documents will be placed in the
Appendix Section of your business plan.

• Include projected cash flows for at least 6 years or until stable growth rates
are achieved and if possible, a valuation calculation based on discounted cash
flows.
X. APPENDIX

Include an Appendix. This is the very last section and it's meant to provide
additional information. Potential investors might want to see this information
before making a decision. The documents you include here should support claims
made in other sections of the business plan. 

• This should include financial statements, credit reports, business licenses or

permits, legal documents and contracts (to demonstrate to investors that
revenue forecasts are secured by concrete business relationships), and
bios/resumes for key personnel.

• Elaborate risk factors. There should be a section clearly outlining the risk
factors affecting your venture and your mitigation plans. This also indicates to
the reader how well prepared you are for contingencies.
God Bless.. ☺