How to Finish a Business Plan for your new Business.

Now it’s time to collect all the data you’ve been accumulating for your business plan and organize it into a cohesive whole. Remember, your business plan is a living document that will grow with your business and evolve as it does.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 

   Provide an Executive Summary
   If you can’t convince a potential backer that you have a going business in the top two or three pages, you won’t get either a loan or an investor. In the summary hit the main points that you’ll flesh out later. Turn this into a sales document convincing everybody involved in your venture that it is viable.

2. Describe the Company.
   Include your company’s legal structure, history, values, mission statement and where your venture fits in the market.

3. Explain the products and services you offe.
   Here discuss production, pricing and delivery. Go into research and development expenditures and what you hope to accomplish.

4. Discuss Your Operations.
   Go over personnel, your facilities, what equipment you’ll be using, your location, what facilities you’re using.

5. Outline Sales and Marketing.
   Discuss how you plan to bring in revenue. Reveal your marketing and promotional strategy.

6. Talk About Management.
   Outline the job responsibilities, draw up an organizational chart and provide the biographies you’ve colleted of your management team.

7. Provide Financial Data.
   This is where you’ll supply all the accounting a backer will need, profit and loss projections, balance sheets, break even points, market assessment. Supply the most detailed, realistic data you can. Share the assumption you made for the projections. Ultimately this section will make or break any loan applications.

8. Supply Supporting Documentation.
   If this is a new venture, provide personnel financial information on the principals for the past three years, such as tax returns or financial statements. Provide letters of intent from customers, and suppliers, copies of lease agreements and the like.

9. Polish it, refines it, proof it and print it.
   Get a copy to a friend to critique it for clarity before getting it to a potential funding source.