Having a great business plan is like perfecting the best cookie recipe; once you’ve organized all the required elements, you’re all set to cook up exactly what you want. But what ‘ingredients’ are best for your company and where do you start? Continue reading to learn the 8 main components of a business plan to ensure no part of your ‘recipe’ is forgotten.
1) Title and Subtitle
Although this seems obvious, it’s important that your business plan has a captivating title and subtitle. Think of it like a newspaper article; your title and subtitle need to be clear and draw the reader into your company and its story.
2) Executive Summary
This is the most important section of your plan. It presents an overview of the complete business plan and outlines the mission statement. It’s best to write this section last, when you have the best understanding of your business’ goals.
3) Business Description
This section is meant to introduce the reader to your company and includes details such as the business name, years of operation and key offerings.
4) Competitive Analysis
In this component, you outline where your company fits in your industry’s landscape. A great method for determining this is conducting a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis.
5) Target Market
It’s important to know who you are selling your products to and why you chose them. The target market should provide the demographics, psychographics and geographics of your ideal customer.
6) Marketing Plan
This section outlines the specifics of how you plan to market and sell your products and services. This includes details such as the promotional tactics you intend to use.
7) Financial Summary
As with most things in life, it’s important to have your finances in order. Running a small business is no different and this section should outline where your business is financially and where you aim to be in the future.
8) Funding Requirements
One of the main goals of a business plan is to convince investors to provide you with funding. They will want to know where their money is going so it’s important to outline the amount your business needs and for what reasons.
At the end of the day, finding and organizing all of these details into a plan that flawlessly fits your business can be hard. Luckily for you, here at STEPS, we have teams of professionals available to help. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us and we can help you perfect a strong business plan that is created and customized for you and your business.
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