Contents of a Business Plan

A typical business plan consists of three main sections, each containing specific information about your company’s current business and financial position. The following is a brief summary of each element.

Introductory section: Usually only three to four pages, the first section is intended to give the reader a brief overview of the proposal. It should consist of the following: (1) a title page identifying the company and its principal officers, with names, addresses and phone numbers;

(2) a table of contents, listing the three principal sections and all major subheadings; and (3) a brief statement of purpose (approximately one-half page), summarizing the proposal, spelling out how much money is involved, how the funds are to be used, how the firm will benefit and how the funds will be repaid (in the case of a loan).

Descriptive section: The comments in this section should spell out your company’s current business position and its plans for the future. Be certain to address at least these five areas by describing:
● Your business. As succinctly as possible, tell what your business is, how you run it and why you are successful.
● Your market and your company’s market niche. Give some idea of your market’s size and potential as well as your marketing strategy.
● Your competition and how you handle it. Mince no words. If competition is severe, say so.
● Your management team. Emphasize the business background and experience of each member. Include some personal data, such as age, special interests and place of residence.
● How the new capital will be applied. Spell out what projects the funds will be used for. You should be as specific as possible, which means that you will have to reach some hard decisions before seeking funds.
Financial section: Your “financials,” as they are commonly tagged by lenders and other provid¬ers of capital, should be targeted at providing support for the statements made in the descriptive section. You will need both historical data and projections for the future. Start off with a Source and Application of Funding statement, which shows in detail how the proceeds of the financing will be used (for example, percentages allocated to equipment, advertising, product distribution). You can then move on to the more traditional financial statements:
● Historical statements should go back about five years in most cases. If your business is cycli¬cal in nature, however, you should cover a complete cycle, even if it means digging further into the past. The reports should include balance sheets, income statements and cash-flow statements.
● Projections should also include pro-forma balance sheets, income statements and cash-flow statements. Summary reports are acceptable in most cases. Be sure to include projections for at least the period during which the funds will be used and repaid.

When a Shorter Proposal Will Do

Usually, you will need a full-blown 12-page business plan to ensure proper treatment on most financing expeditions. But there are times when a less thorough treatment will suffice. For in-stance, you may already have established a close relationship with your bank and merely need to present a documented proposal to the loan committee. Or, you may be attempting to arrange new financing from a private investor who is already familiar with your company’s operation. In such cases, you can usually substitute a summary financing proposal for a formal business plan.

A summary financing proposal is a mini business plan consisting of no more than six or seven pages. The first page contains the proposal itself, detailing the amount of cash needed, repayment schedule, collateral and any other pertinent details. The second page summarizes how the funds will be used and how your firm will benefit. Briefly, this section sets forth your arguments on why the proposal would be a good loan or investment. This is followed by a two- to three-page outline on your company’s history, its product and marketing position, the management team and a summary of its prospects for the future. In short, this is a capsule version of the descriptive
section of a formal business plan.

Finally, you should include a condensed balance sheet and income statement, plus a year or two of projections. Cash-flow statements would give a substantial boost to your argument here.