After a feasibility study and report, the next most important report you should have is the business plan. We have earlier discussed what a feasibility study is. Over the last three weeks, we have discussed what a business plan is, its importance, types and content.
In this fourth and concluding part of the ‘Planning your business’ series, we will discuss the presentation format of a business plan. While the content of a business may remain the same, certain emphasis and indeed presentation may differ from one purpose to another. Regardless of the purpose though, the facts you present must stand any and every integrity check and test that the recipient might subject it to.
The presentation of a business will usually take the following standard format:
Title Page: The title page is simply the title page. It should capture the title of the plan and any caveats that is appropriate. If it is presented to a particular recipient and for a purpose, this should be clearly stated. The title page is usually not more than one page.
Executive Summary: An executive summary is a brief about the business plan. Key objectives, strategies and metrics are brought out here. Similarly, timelines for objectives to be achieved are also mentioned. An executive summary should suffice on a page and certainly not more than two.
About Your Company: This is where you introduce and describe your company, its history, operations, etc. When was the company incorporated? What have you been doing? What are your experiences, failures and successes? What do you want to achieve? Etc. Depending on your business age, size and scope of operations, anything from two to five pages should suffice. In this section of the report, the reader should be made interested in what you are doing and what you want to do.
The Industry: Discuss the industry in which you are or will be operating. What are the difficulties and challenges in the industry? Who are the current big players? What are the big players doing differently? What is your company’s current position in the industry and where do you want to be over what period of time?
Are there any government regulations peculiar to your industry? What are the industry trends and external influences?
The Market: Define the market you will be serving. What is the size of the market? What are the sales revenue of the major players in the industry? What are the physical locations of your customers? At what rate is the market growing? If the market is shrinking, why are you considering going into it? Is there a perfect match between the industry offering and market needs?
How will your company compete and stay ahead of competition?
The Opportunity: What is the opportunity you want to seize? Are no other operators serving that need? How will you provide the good or service required?
Your Strategy: You have earlier mentioned the market and opportunity you wish to serve. Now you will bring out the details of how you will serve the market. This will involve the deployment of all resources such as staffing, financial, knowledge, property rights, logistic advantages, etc.
Marketing Plan: A market plan is a core of your business plan. You are to bring out not just what part or parts of the market you wish to serve, but also the details of how you can profitably do that.
Operational Plan: Depending on your business, operations can be critical to success. This might be as soft as developing codes to hard production, distribution and delivery of pizza. What are your operational locations, including offices, warehouses, shops?
If there are any manufacturing processes, you should describe them here and how yours might be better and ahead of the competitions’.
Whatever is your business operation, you have to bring out how it will serve the customers’ needs and be profitable to you.
Financial Plan: Any business idea, proposition, or operation can easily get killed without the required finances. Your financial plan must show what your financing requirements are and how you will meet it on a continuous basis.
What is your cost structure? What are your revenue and cash projections? At what point will you break even and what will be your profit projections? Detailed financial projections of your cash flow, income statement and balance sheet over a reasonable number of years, typically five, should be made. The assumptions underlying the projections must me clearly stated.
Your Team: Truly and truly, the most important resource you can have are the people in your organisation. If you have the right and competent people, most issues can always be addressed. Describe who your team members, what are their experiences, what value they add, etc.
What is the organisational structure? Who are the key executives and their roles?
Conclusion: Your conclusion should be a summary of what the plan has brought out. If there are any specific requests, such as some financial intervention, it is here you can restate them.
Appendices: Some charts and reports will be part of the write-up. Other relevant charts, reports, references, etc. should be added attached at the end as appendices. Ensure that each appendix is appropriately titled and referred to in the main body.
Make your business plan beautiful; use the right fonts and sizes. Use colours where appropriate, etc.
We have today concluded the series on business planning. The next most important issue that Nigerian entrepreneurs must take up seriously and handle very well is staffing. Therefore, next week, we will take Staffing on The Entrepreneur.
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