Business Plan

A business plan is a written account of a business's future. It is a

manuscript that speaks about what the entrepreneur plans to do and how
they plan to do it. Business plans are inherently strategic. One starts at a
particular point (X) with certain resources and abilities, and the plan is to
get to another point (Y) in the future, which is usually three to five years
down the line. By the time one reaches Y, the business should ideally have
a different set of resources and abilities as well as greater profitability and
increased assets. The business plan shows how to get from X to Y.
The primary contents of a business plan are:
1. Executive Summary: An excecutive summary describes the 5 ws and
h what, who, why, when, where and how much. It also describes the
product or services, while summarizing key objectives, marketing strategy,
and financial analysis. Furthermore, it talks about key success factors and
most importantly, it explains the differentiation or uniqueness factor of the
business.
2. Introduction and Background: The business plan should introduce
the key products or services. Additionally, it is essential to provide
background information on the organization and people. Knowing the
backgrounds of the entrepreneurs and the rest of the team adds an
element of reliability in case of any sort of investment.
3. Products or Services: The business plan should describe ones
current and future organizational products or services. Moreover, it should
explicitly explain what differentiates the products or services in question
from that of the competitors.
4. Market Analysis and Marketing: It is very important to conduct
market analysis and segmentation, and thereafter, describe the market,
demographics, age, income, geographical location, race, culture etc in a
business plan to provide clarity. The market needs should be clearly
defined. It is crucial to identify market trends and growth opportunities,
and moreover, to analyze main competitors. The business plan should also
describe the four Ps of marketing (product, price, people and promotion)
and the sales strategy and the channels of distribution. Finally, the
promotional material and branding strategy should be portrayed.
5. Strategy and operational plan: The overall strategy and tactics for a
three to five year period should be explained, as should the value
proposition and key milestones. Furthermore, it is essential to describe
strategic alliances, partnerships and stakeholders. There should also be an
operational plan drawn, describing the smart objectives, activities, people
responsible, timeframes, resources, required budget, indicators of success,
monitoring mechanism etc.
6. Financial Plan: It is important to describe past, current and future
financial performance, and to explain start-up costs and break-even
analysis. It helps to estimate profits and losses and also to label key

financial indicators. The business plan should provide a realistic cash-flow

projection that defines financial controls, accountabilities and name of the
auditing company. It is crucial to define clearly what is required of
investors or funders, and how exactly they can benefit from investing in
the plan.
7. Management, Leadership and Governance: A business plan should
explain the organizational structure and describe the ownership structure,
leadership and management team. It should also provide an overview of
the HR plan, number of people, types of positions and salary costs. The
business plan should reflect the principles of sound corporate governance
8. Conclusion: Finally, to conclude a business plan, it always helps to
summarize key business plan features, strength, benefits, uniqueness, and
profits. It also helps to write a powerful and stirring conclusion that
inspires the viewer/reader to have faith in the business/product/service.
- Trisha Bose
MA Graphic Design