Business Plan Guidelines

Purpose of Business Plan

 Set Goals and Objectives for the Business  Resource Planning  Secure Funding

Structure and Presentation

  

Executive Summary



maximum two pages

Business Plan Elements

 must address

relevant

strategic and functional elements of the business 

focus on specifics

Presentation

 avoid

complex technical language

 use

tables

as appropriate  use appendices as appropriate.

Executive Summary Case Study

      

Company Profile/ the Team Market Opportunity

Description of Product/Service Competitive Analysis Sales and Marketing Plan Production and Operations Plan Summary Financial Projections

Product Market Description

    Describe your proposed service(s)

(non technical

description).

market description with size and growth rates

(focus on target market segment) Append

copies of / references to relevant market reports.

Identify the

specific customers

you propose to target. or types of customers

Competitive Analysis

  Give a pen picture of your main existing and potential competitors. 

table highlighting the relative strengths and weaknesses



competitors can be direct and indirect

Clearly identify why you will have a competitive advantage against these competitors.

Sales and Marketing Plan

    Explain your pricing strategy How you will promote the product, sell it, deliver it, provide technical support and/or customer service, etc. Detail the resources required for these tasks Describe any marketing alliances or sales channels which have been agreed.



specify sales process, lead times



costs must be quantified

 

specify projected returns on investment use tables as appropriate

Sales Projections

 Give a breakdown of your projected annual sales by customer, product or geographic area as appropriate. 

assumptions must be supported



projections must be credible and related marketing effort

The Team

  Name the promoters, investors, senior managers, board members, key advisers etc. Provide the following for each of these individuals: CV; role in company; shareholding %; time and cash commitment to company, other business interests.



use appendices and tables as appropriate

HRD Plan

    Provide organisation chart showing key personnel and their responsibilities.

Outline plans to strengthen the management or board, e.g. training, recruiting managers, consultants, non executive directors, etc. Outline any Human Resource Development plans

Employment projections by year and employee category (Include the average annual salary for each category and projected total wage bill by year).

Financial Projections

 Current balance sheet (if company already formed)  Projected quarterly P&L and Balance Sheets for 3 years.

 Projected cash flows by month until breakeven is achieved and quarterly thereafter.

Financial Projections (continued)

  List all assumptions used in drawing up the above projections.

Justify the key assumptions.

Copies of any other schedules or information used in preparing your financial projections.

Note



Summary information in Business Plan



Detailed information in Appendices

Funding

   Detail of proposed funding (loans, credit, equity) indicating amount, status of negotiations, sources, and the terms/valuation etc.

Any funding shortfall

funding. and plans to seek additional Detail any investment in a form other than cash (e.g. time spent, equipment donated etc.)

Provide table setting out Requirements and Sources of funds

Technology

   Provide R&D Plan including current/projected number of R&D staff by year and current/projected R&D spend by year.

Details of patents if significant in retaining/growing sales Indicate the technical strengths and plans to address gaps if any.

  Details of external sources of technical expertise Identify likely bottlenecks and plans to address them

(provide tables as appropriate)

Production and Operations

   Give an overview of proposed operating processes Detail proposed location as well as the size and specification of building requirements. Details of any capital expenditure required.

Project Plan/Timeframe

   Indicate clearly the timeframe for the different key tasks/stages of the project (e.g. initial fund-raising, developing first product etc) , Milestones that must be achieved before subsequent phases (including the next round of funding) can properly commence.

Ideally, provide this by means of a Gantt chart with back up notes

SWOT Analysis

 Please provide (in bullet point format) a summary of the company’s Strengths and Weaknesses and the Opportunities and Threats facing it.

Legal Structure

 Outline the (proposed) legal structure, e.g. if there are patent companies etc.