A business plan should be clear and concise. If you... reading, attach this as an appendix.

A Guide to Preparing Your Business Plan
A business plan should be clear and concise. If you have information which is necessary background
reading, attach this as an appendix.
The sections of a business plan should be broken down as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Business details
Mission statement
Executive Summary
Business profile description
Consumer and Market Analysis
Sales and Market Strategy
Product Technology
Financial projections and funding requirements
Company Structure and Operations
***
1. Business details
Name and address, website and contact numbers for business
Contact details for accountants and lawyers
2. Mission statement
A statement of the business purpose i.e. what it wants to accomplish in the wider
environment
Describes a company's function, markets and competitive advantages
Defines what an organisation is, why it exists, its reason for being
See the <Business Plan Template> for further information
3. Executive Summary
One page summary of the business and highlights from the business plan including
history, details of management team, product range, current sales outlets, plans for the
future etc.
This section is best written when the rest of the plan is completed. Bear in mind that
some stakeholders will only read this section so it must summarise all key information.
This section will outline the business, long term goals and the strategies involved
The following should be covered:
Purpose of the Business Plan
Introduce the business and its promoter(s)
The product or product range
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Market opportunity
Financial projections
Funding requirements
The Management Team
Growth expectations of the company set out in table format for the period of the
business plan
4. Business profile description
Founders background – detailing relevant experience
Products
Description of the product range
Include details of any brand names
The goals of the business
Include details of:
Target markets
Geographical spread
Routes to market
New product development
SWOT Analysis (Internal Strengths and Weaknesses and External Opportunities and
Threats) of the business
5. Consumer and Market Analysis
Information that should be included:
o Target market
o What is the size of the market
o Total market valuation
o Who are my target customers
o Customer profiles
o What are the consumer trends
o What are the usage occasions
o Who are my competitors
o Competitor profiles
The following information should be summarised in the business plan and attached as an
appendix:
Results of a Market Audit
o Market Size and Trends
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o Market Sectors and key players in each
o E.g. retail market, foodservice market, farmers markets, events, online sales
o Include details of current and target stockists
o Anticipated growth rate in each sector
Outline your targeted portion of the market e.g. 10% of market share
Results of Market Analysis
o SWOT Analysis of your business
o Market Assumptions
o Development and Trends in the marketplace over the life of the Business Plan
o Market growth
o Consumer Dynamics
o Inflation
o New Entrants
o Innovation
Details of your Competition
o Who is the competition (domestic and international)
o Competitive Performance
o SWOT Analysis of all competitors
o Potential investors may already be aware of your competitors
o You must demonstrate that you have analysed them (SWOT) analysis and
demonstrate how you are differentiating your products from theirs
Competitive Advantage
Price, Quality or Service
o What is the price point of competing products
o Can you compete on price?
o Is the price point for your product too expensive
o Is your product better quality
o Better value for money?
o Can you provide superior customer service?
o Customer Profiles
Customer Segmentation and Market Positioning
o Customer segments
o Profiles of customer segments in terms of:
 Demographics – Age, gender, income, occupation
 Psychographic – Social class, life style, health conscious
 Behavioural – Purchase occasion, benefits sought
Market positioning for each target customer segment
o Arrange for a product to occupy a clear, distinctive and desirable place relative to
competing products in the minds of target consumers
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o Develop product positioning for each target segment
Product positioning – by the way the products are defined by consumers
o Quality
o Taste
o Health Benefits
o Usage Occasion
o Provenance
For guidance on market research, please visit our ‘Marketing Your Business’ section of this
website.
6. Sales & Marketing Strategy
Marketing Strategy
o Detail how the business intends to position the product in the market and
differentiate it from its competitors
o Unique selling points (USPs) - examples
 Taste
 Fresh ingredients
 Legally compliant Health Claims
 Provenance
 Usage Occasion e.g. on-the-go, healthy snack
 Added features
 Product differentiation
o Branding
 Description of how you are branding your products to differentiate them
from competitors through highlighting the USPs of your products/product
range
Brand Name
Product description
Photography of product/serving suggestion
Colours
Packaging
Origin, stories about the brand owners and company
o Activation of Marketing Plan
o What marketing tools work best with target customers
 Study Consumer Trends / Fashions
 Establish the life styles of target customers
 Strong Indication of what promotional tools work e.g.
Time spent on internet
Reading papers
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o
Commuting (listening to radio)
Watching TV
Attitude to flyers
Marketing mix for each customer segment
 Explain in terms of:
Products
Price
Place, sales and route to market
Promotion
Export markets
Target Geographical area
 Examples of Marketing tools
 PR – Public Relations
 eMarketing
 Website
 On-line Portal
 B2B
 Email marketing campaigns
 On-line Social Networking
 Competitions
 Exhibitions
 In-store tastings
 Sponsorship of events
 Celebrity endorsements
 Targeted Advertising
Print media advertising
Target publications – magazines
Digital Advertising
Radio advertising
TV advertising
Bill board advertising
Mail shots, Leaflets and flyers
Directories
Pricing
o Detail pricing for each product
o Refer to the Financial Projections and Funding Requirements section for
breakdown of pricing and attach as an appendix
Sales Strategy
o Field marketing sales team
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o Van sales
o Price promotions
Routes to market
o Retailers
o Foodservice sectors
o Markets
o Distributors
7. Product Technology and Development
Manufacturing in-house or sub-contracting manufacturing? – explain your decision for
either scenario
Details of your production process
State if there is any patentable technology
What is your Product Development Strategy and Plans for New Product Development
Details of the product brands and plans for brand extensions
What trademarks have you registered (Visit the Legal Issues section of this site for more
details)
R&D – is this ongoing? In which areas?
8. Financial projections and funding requirements
This section should include financial information for the current year as well as projected financial
information for the life of the Business Plan e.g. 3 or 5 years.
Sales Performance – details of sales performance to date. This information should be broken
down to product type and route to market in table format.
Future Volume Projections - This information should also be broken down to product type
and route to market in table format for each year
Margins - State the gross profit margin per product. Attach a pricing model for each product
as an appendix. Demonstrate the gross margin per product in terms of % of wholesale price
Summary Cash Flow Analysis
Summary Profit & Loss
Summary Balance Sheet
Funding Requirements - Describe in detail the current funding requirement and future
funding requirements. Explain what the funding is to be used for and when. Demonstrate in
the cash flow analysis in the Appendix how the funding is to be re-paid and when
Funding to date - Detail funding invested in the business to date including the following:
o Founders investments to date
o External investors including bank finance, equity investors
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o Grant funding received, amount repayable and when
Assumptions/Notes to the Financial Projections
o Notes to the accounts are included to explain the basis on which the financial
projections were prepared. It will explain how key figures in the projections were
arrived at e.g.
 Sources of revenue (using the sales forecasts above as a guideline)
 Employee numbers
 Projected investment
 Projected/expected costs
 Depreciation policies
 Expected Debtors and creditors days (working capital requirements)
 This section will also include assumptions that could affect the financial
forecasts e.g.
Interest rates
Currency rates if the company is exporting or planning to export
Inflation (which could affect costs assumptions)
Appendices
o Pricing model for each product
o Cash Flow Statements
o Profit and Loss Accounts
o Balance Sheets
o Sensitivity analysis – for movements in Interest rates and Currency rates
9. Company Structure and Operations
This section describes the structure of the company, the business model used or anticipated and
details of the founders and owner/managers background in detail and the management structure
and responsibilities of the management team and key staff e.g. marketing/sales/production staff.
Company Structure
o Business model – done in the format of a flow chart
o Operations – again using a flow chart
o Responsibilities chart of the management team and key staff
Owner/Manager
o Track record (personal as well as business)
o Practical knowledge of the product
o Experience in the market for the product
o Marketing and selling skills
o Leadership and responsibility
o Level of involvement in the business
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Management
o Names, backgrounds, key skills and responsibilities of the management team
Operational staff
o Names, backgrounds and responsibilities of the operational staff
Family businesses – planning for succession
End.
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