Structuring Your Business Plan

When preparing a business plan, most people have some idea what goes into one, but have little or flawed ideas on what is an acceptable format for the information. The structure commonly expected by the business community breaks the business information into four general categories: description, operations, administration, and appendix materials.

The Business Description

In the business description, the planner must describe, in detail, the basic business idea. Describing the business would include its industry niche (with an overview of its potential competition), its target market, and a description of the products or services that the business will provide to the industry and market. A detailed competitive analysis and a detailed strategic analysis finishes off the first section by giving details on potential competitors and the strategies the business will use to overcome such competition, as well as other potential challenges to its success.

Operational Plans

In the operation planning section, stress is placed on the day-to-day policies and procedures of the organization. Analysis of the marketing and advertising plan is presented along with the company’s sales strategy. In the section a comprehensive discussion of production facilities, potentials and needs is included along with an overview of the technological requirements of the operation (specialized software, etc.).

Administrative Plans

The third section is the administrative planning portion of the business plan. In this section the organization and recruitment of staff, company legal structure and financial reports and projections are presented. A detailed financial analysis showing the potential for profit and breakeven time are discussed at length, as well as the payback time on any debt financing or the return on investment expectations if the financing sought is equity-based.

Appendix Materials

At the end of the business plan, critical additional information is often added, including charts of all sources cited in the plan and resumes of key officers and staff. Material researched on the market potential and information on the company’s competition is frequently included as well.

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