A successful business plan doesn’t get written overnight. First and foremost comes the all important foundation: research. Without a good foundation the business plan probably isn’t worth putting on paper. Your research provides the very basis for your projection of costs, expenses, sales and profit.

Business Market Information

Before you accurately project potential sales, you need market information. Who buys your products or services and how do you reach them? What are the preferred styles and colors, what doesn’t sell and why? What are the price points? At what point do you lose money and at what point does the customer stop buying. If you lower the price, how does that affect sales? Do customers for your products and services exist in your area? Is there room for growth? Is the market already saturated? Are there new technologies that will cause your products or services to phase out?

Collection of this information takes time, understanding and the wherewithal to extrapolate that which pertains to your specific market. No entrepreneur can plan for everything, but a detailed business plan exposes a lot of possible pitfalls. Researching and extrapolating data accounts for about 80% of the time involved in writing the business plan.

Business Plan Organization

Writing the business plan requires discipline and organization. Your plan should flow from the beginning to the end with continuity from one section to another.

Start with a title page which includes the name and address of your company. If your company doesn’t exist yet, use your contact address. Also include a telephone number and possibly an email address for quick contact.

Use the executive summary format for the first page. An executive summary provides a broad overview but includes sufficient data and statistical information so the reader knows the rest of the document supports the summary and its conclusions.

A table of contents makes the plan user friendly. It directs readers to the various broken down sections of the document in a quick easy method.

Follow up with the administrative details of the business. Who serves in what role and what are their responsibilities, educational background, expertise, etc. Include details as to how the company operates day to day, who makes the decisions and how these decisions are made. What are the policies and procedures for hiring and firing employees, their benefits, pay scale, and promotional opportunities and how will they be trained?

A marketing plan is a vital part of your business plan. Detail how you plan to increase sales and reach new markets. Demonstrate that your marketing plan is viable and will produce increased sales.

The financial end of the business comes next. Include data tables, charts and graphics depicting cash flow and sales projections. Back up these pictorial efforts with solid data references.

The final section of a winning business plan provides support documentation such as contracts, leases, resumes of principles, bank statements and other financial documents, letters of reference, demographics, articles and trend projections.