Business Plan: What is it? What are its Components?

What do you mean by a business plan?

A business plan can be viewed as a method of creating a roadmap having a main intention to achieve the goals of the business. Every business plan would involve the partners of the firm coming together with innovative ideas, strategies, plans and putting them together to form a successful plan. A business plan specifies the main objective, tasks and methods in attaining profitability.

What type of components are included in a business plan?

Summing up the components of a business plan, the very first component would include an executive summary. While writing an executive summary it is always better to bear in mind to jot down the simple and easy points. Once you’re done providing a short detail it is easy to extract out the main content to develop an executive summary. The shorter the executive summary, the more understandable it turns out to be.

Speaking of the second component of a business plan which is inclusive of providing a brief description and structure to the business. While developing a business description and structure it is better to reason out the need to start the business and what sort of products are sold.

In case you specify the products sold, describe the ways of manufacturing these products. Also specify the raw materials that are available to produce the same. In case you provide services instead of products specify the types of services you provide and what are the customers you target as well. To draw up a better business plan specifying other details would be a plus point.

The third component includes illustrating the strategies and providing an explanation of the industry analysis. While providing a brief description of these, it is better to include the approximate sales your business would achieve in the upcoming future. Also specify the methods you would use to outwit your competitors.

Coming to the fourth component, it is necessary to provide a brief description of your company’s past as well as present profile. Specify how the members of the company such as the executives and managers would help your company to reach the goals of the organisation. The shareholders must be ready to bear the losses and uncertainties of the business.

Pointing out at the final component of the business plan which includes the financial documents. This can be labelled as the document of numbers. These numbers clearly describe the way you have described the organization.

While preparing financial documents include the balance sheet, cash flow as well as the profit and loss statement for the past three to four years. Keeping track of these documents help you to forecast the future outcomes of the business developed.