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Table of Contents

Executive Summary

The first written section of the business plan is the Executive Summary this is a summary of the key points and areas of the business plan and is many times judged to be the most important section of the business plan. In the executive summary, the content presents the company and describes what it does. In the executive summary, briefly explain the company’s product(s) and / or service(s) and why the business will be successful. The executive summary should be at the beginning of the document. As the first section, it should give the reader, either management, partners, investors, lenders or other interested parties a nice high-level review of what the overall business encompasses and the strategies it will follow. What is in the executive summary should be addressed in depth throughout the remainder of the business plan. The summary should:

• Touch on the sections and content that will be detailed in the business plan, to give an overall understanding of what will follow.  
• Be captivating, but not overly puffy, as to encourage the reader to want to get deeper into each section and read the whole plan.
• Make the main points about who, how and what the company is and does.

Given the fact that the executive summary is the at the front of the business plan, usually read first and encapsulates sections from the whole document, it becomes a key component of the business plan and as such needs to be strong and crisp. Pull in the reader by encompassing the main points of the business, but just give them highpoints, so that they are enticed to read the rest of the document. A sub-heading in the executive summary is the financial summary. Here in the business plan, it is common to show the financial highlights for the company over the next few years of operation. Many times, a chart is used to convey the highlights of the financial summary. Financial outlooks such as revenue, expenses and profit are charted here. The next sub-heading in the executive summary is the mission statement. The mission statement is a short declaration of who the company is, what it provides and its beliefs. The overall philosophy of what the company advocates can be addressed in the mission statement.  Finally, in the executive summary are objectives. Objectives for a company are clearly defined targets that are set by management or business owners. The marks the company intends to hit by executing on strategies in the plan are written here. Listing company objectives helps to give management and all stakeholders a clear perspective on what targets the company expects to pursue. These targets do not have to be only financial. Looking at and reviewing objectives can give a means for a company to track growth and reflect on how the company is doing based on what it stated it would do. Objectives should take into account the desires of all those involved with the company.

Company Description

The next section of the business plan is the Company Description this section provides a wide-ranging background and narrative explanation of the company. The content here should include a broad outline of the product(s) or service(s).

Here, briefly explain who the target customers are, but just briefly as this will be covered more in-depth in later sections. You will also touch on your company’s management and organization. Ownership of the company is often mentioned here, in the template, there is mention made to a detailed ownership breakdown in the addendum of the business plan. This structure provides an easy and clean way of utilizing the template sample content while still covering all business plan requirements. Reference to more details on topics covered is mentioned in this section.

Management & Organization

The first subsection here, details management. The individuals responsible for operating and overseeing the company should be listed.

The next subsection is Organization, here the template supplies an organizational chart. The chart is in the form of a smart-art graphic which shows the organizational structure of the company. Here the names and titles of the individuals who will be running the company should be detailed. Other employees, contractors, board members, etc. can be inserted into the organizational chart. Often small businesses may have a limited number of employees, in this case it is acceptable to detail outsourced help and resources such as an attorney, accountant etc. It is important to identify any and all required personnel to run the company, if the specific individuals needed have not yet been identified, entering T.B.A. (to be determined) is an option.

Organization

The next subsection is Organization, here is where an organizational chart is detailed. The chart is typically in the form of a graphic which shows the organizational structure of the company. Here the names and titles of the individuals who will be running the company should be detailed. Other employees, contractors, board members, etc. can be inserted into the organizational chart. Often small businesses may have a limited number of employees, in this case it is acceptable to detail outsourced help and resources such as an attorney, accountant etc. It is important to identify any and all required personnel to run the company, if the specific individuals needed have not yet been identified, entering T.B.A. (to be determined) is an option

Market Analysis

The market analysis section of the business plan is where the market the company will be operating in is explained. Here, it is important to illustrate the industry the company will be operating in. This should be done with a narrative description and possible a graphic if available and necessary. Industry analysis is often available from third party research firms.

Target Market is a subsection in the market analysis section. Here, a description of who the product(s) and / or services will be marketed to is discussed. If the company has a brick and mortar operation, in which product(s) and / or service(s) will be sold, some data on the location may be included. This data is typically in the form of demographic statistics, which many times include age, income level, marital status and the like.Competitive Analysis is the next subsection of the market analysis area of the business plan. The competition the company will face for its product(s) and / or service(s) should be covered here. There will be direct competitors, other companies that are involved with selling the same product(s) and / or service(s) and indirect competitors, those companies who sell product(s) and / or service(s) that can be used as alternatives. In this subsection, the competitive advantage the company will have over others in the market is discussed as well. The next subsection under market analysis in the S.W.O.T., which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Here, describe the influences within the company that will lead to or hamper success in achieving goals. There are often external and internal elements that will have a positive or negative impact on the company achieving goals, these should be addressed here.

Target Market

Target Market is a subsection in the market analysis section. Here, a description of who your product(s) and / or services will be marketed to is discussed. If the company has a brick and mortar operation, in which product(s) and / or service(s) will be sold, you may want to include some data on the location. This data is typically in the form of demographic statistics, which many times include age, income level, marital status and the like.

Competitive Analysis

Competitive Analysis is the next subsection of the market analysis area of the business plan. The competition the company will face for its product(s) and / or service(s) should be covered here. There will be direct competitors, other companies that are involved with selling the same product(s) and / or service(s) and indirect competitors, those companies who sell product(s) and / or service(s) that can be used as alternatives. In this subsection, the competitive advantage the company will have over others in the market is discussed as well.

SWOT Analysis

The next subsection under market analysis is the S.W.O.T., which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Here, describe the influences within the company that will lead to or hamper success in achieving goals. There are often external and internal elements that will have a positive or negative impact on the company achieving goals, these should be addressed here.

Products & Services

In the Products and/or Services section, an explanation will be given on what the product and/or service is. Details should be provided to give the reader a clear understanding of the characteristics and features of any and all product(s) and service(s). This section can vary greatly depending on the product(s) and / or service(s).

Marketing & Sales Strategy

The Marketing & Sales Strategy is the next section of the business plan. In this section, the strategies on how the company will get customers should be discussed.

The methods of advertising and communicating to customers and potential customers should be detailed.

Product(s) and / or service(s) promotional methods are covered here. Some information about the pricing of the product(s) and / or service(s) the company will have would be mentioned here. Include strategic undertakings that will be used to tell potential customers and existing customers the advantages of purchasing and using the company’s product(s) and / or service(s). Declaration about how the company will penetrate the market by utilizing the marketing strategies should be discussed. The distribution of product(s) and / or service(s) is explained here as well.

Financials

The Financials are the next section. An essential element of the business plan, it is common for projections for the next few years of financial performance to be detailed in income statement / profit and loss, cash flow and balance sheets.

Lenders, investors, management, partners and shareholders may be interested in reviewing financial statement projections for the company. The act of preparing financial projections can be helpful for company management and owners. Thinking through financial estimate projections for the company can get everyone responsible for obtaining goals aware of what’s need to attain them.

In the financial section, at a minimum, the following should be covered as explained in the pages to follow