BUSINESS PLAN

YOUR PLAN OF ACTION

Nothing else you do in the course of running your business is going to be more important than the creation of your Business Plan because without it your business cannot even get started.

A business plan is essentially your strategy of how your business will be set up, how you intend to run it, how much money you think it will earn and why you think your business will succeed. In effect, your Business Plan outlines your business goals and tells you and others how you expect to achieve them.

BUSINESS PLAN COMPONENTS

When you present your Business Plan it should contain the following sections:

Cover Page: Company Name, Address, Phone Number, Key Contacts

Executive Summary: What company is and does; a brief history; where future opportunities exist; the amount of money required.

Background/History of the Company: Management; Qualifications; Responsibilities

Marketing Proposal: Product/service; Price; Market Research; Key selling advantages/benefits; Advertising/promotion

Operation: Production process; Labour requirements; Reporting procedures; Credit policy; List of suppliers; Inventory Control

Financial Proposal: Cash flow forecast; Collection; Repayment schedule

Basic Data: Bank, Accountants; Shareholders; Lawyers; Incorporation

Appendices: Detailed management biographies; product literature; valuation of assets; financial statements; detailed cash flow forecasts; profit and loss statements; major contacts

BUSINESS PLAN RESOURCES

A number of sites on the internet provide resource materials that will allow the client to develop a workable business plan. These include templates for both the business plan itself and the marketing plan.

Popular Business Topics - The Aboriginal Business Service Network (ABSN) provides these links in order to assist in informing the prospective business owner on various questions and business plan preparation.

Business Plan Template - Downloadable template documents for writing your own business plan. Templates are in MS Word (business plan document) and MS Excel (financial appendices) with example documents in PDF (Portable Document Format, open with Adobe Reader).