Setting up your business plan is a tedious step, but more and more often essential to start your business. The document, even if it is not mandatory, makes it possible to materialize your project, to set objectives in the medium term and to validate your financing hypotheses. It may be required by your banker, your investors or in competitions.
About twenty pages, the business plan details both the history of your project, your development strategy and all the financial elements that ensure the profitability of your business. As a real weapon to discuss with your future investors, a solid business plan will enable you to raise funds effectively, which is why SBA reminds you of the main elements that are essential for its drafting.
- Synthesis
The first pages of your business plan should be devoted to a summary of the elements you will present. From the administrative information to the market situation and the proposed solution, you have to enter the main information on 3 or 4 pages. Incisive and catchy, this summary should be enough to convince your readers (and perhaps future investors) of the interest, the feasibility and the profitability of your project. This first chapter is one of the most important; it must arouse the attention and make you want to learn more about your future society.
- Your project
Kind of portrait of the company that will allow your reader to know you better and discover your company, this chapter takes the main stages of the history of your project. In a few pages, you need to explain your idea, its genesis and the prospects for evolution.
It is also an opportunity to explain the structure of your company, the path of leaders and employees, their legitimacy in the sector, their contribution to the project. The purpose of this chapter is to reassure investors about the complementarily of teams and the strength of your idea.
- The demand
Your project is innovative, but it must still meet a real need of the market! It is in this chapter that you will have to demonstrate the relevance of your idea and how it responds to consumer demand. From statistical elements, from field observations, you must be able to answer the following questions:
- Who are your clients?
- What are the characteristics of your market?
- What are your competitors and how are you going to differentiate themselves from them?
Your consumer should be at the heart of this chapter, show that you know your future customers and explain why and how they might be willing to pay for your services.
- Your offer
Intimately linked to the previous chapter, this part allows you to explain how you intend to meet the stated demand by detailing the offer you want to implement.
This is where you have to present your product range, the different design stages and possibly the prototypes.
- Your strategy/business model
How will your company go about making a profit?
Behind this trivial question lies the business model that you will present. In an effective and relevant way, you need to discuss the different sources of revenue you are considering and the strategy you are deploying to achieve your profitability goals. To support your argument, do not hesitate to mention the pricing policy you are considering, the distribution model of your product. This part also makes it possible to advance the major stages of development that you envisage in the medium term.
- Financial data
Usually considered as the last chapter of a business plan, this part contains all the figures related to your project. You will detail your financing plan, your cash budget, and your working capital requirements. Be careful to respect the financial equilibrium (debt ratio / margin rate) to show your investors your cost control. This part is also an opportunity to make a forecast of the first 3 years.
