Business Plan How-To

If you are looking for lenders or investors, it is to your advantage to understand the elements that they would most want to see in a well-written business plan and presentation report. Investors (or Venture Capitalists) will become equity partners in your company. They will need to justify to themselves that the money they are investing in your company will essentially result in the desired return on their investment. Remember that bankers are people, too. Just as you will have to present your business plan to them, they will have to present your plan to their bank's loan committee or syndicate of investors.

PlanOne Financial Corp can help you increase your chances of success with lenders and investors by preparing a business plan and presentation report addressing the following topics:

1. Executive Summary:
    •    Activities and products, history, market, target (who and where), competitors, and
         amount of funding required.

2. Vision and Mission:
    •    Present Situation
    ◦    Management: management team
    ◦    Product and services
    ◦    Market environment: brief description of the market
    ◦    Pricing and profitability
    ◦    Customers : target market - geographic area definition
    ◦    Distribution : direct sales/export, local retailers/distributors or licensees
    ◦    Financial status : how much capital has been raised to date
    •    Statements
    ◦    Vision statement
    ◦    Mission statement

3. Company Overview:
    •    Legal Business Description
    ◦    Company name
    ◦    Legal form of business
    ◦    Business location
    ◦    Government regulations
    •    Management
    ◦    Management team and subsidiaries
    ◦    Responsibilities
    •    Product Strategy
    ◦    Current product
    ◦    Return on investment
    ◦    Useful features/benefits

4. Market Analysis:
    •    Market definition : industry analysis
    •    Market segment : strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, unexploited opportunities
         and threats
    •    Competition
    •    Observations and conclusions
    •    Industry growth
    •    Environment risk : economic and natural

5. Marketing Plan:
    •    Size of the industry markets
    •    Industry trends
    •    Geographic location
    •    Sales and profit potential by country/continent
    •    Customer profile
    •    Customer needs : problems with competitors' products
    •    Product benefits
    •    Target market
    •    Sales strategy
    •    Advertising
    •    Media objectives and strategy (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, internet, social
         media, etc.)

6. Financial Plan:
    •    Income statement
    •    Balance sheet
    •    Cash flow budget
    •    Ratios: liquidity, operating, solvency, etc...
    •    Five-year forecast: income statement, balance sheet, cash flows
    •    Complete and detailed financial analysis
    •    Thorough risk analysis