Business plan writing tutorial

1. Executive summary is a one to two page summary of the business plan. Includes:

1. A brief description of the business (also known as the "elevator speech")

2. Overview of the opportunity

3. Goals Market description and forecast

4. Competitive advantage

5. Economic conditions and profitability forecast

6. Team overview

7 , Benefits provided

2. Industrial background Company overview 1. Detailed market description, main competitors, and market driving forces.

2. The company overview should include a detailed product/service description and how it meets a key customer need.

3. Be sure to describe your entry strategy and market development strategy.

3. Market research and analysis This is a window to show your understanding of the market. Be sure to explain the following issues:

1. Customers

2. Market capacity and trends

3. Competition and respective competitive advantages

4. Estimated market share and sales

5. Market development trend (for new markets, this is quite difficult, but we must strive to be close to the reality)

IV , Corporate strategy explains how the company competes, and it includes three issues:

1. Marketing plan (pricing and distribution; advertising and promotion)

2. Planning and development plan (development Status and goals; difficulties and risks)

3. Manufacturing and operation plan (operation cycle; equipment and improvement)

5. Overall schedule The company’s schedule, including the following areas Important events:

1. Revenue

2. Break-even point and positive cash flow

3. Market share

4. Products Development introduction

5. Main partners

6. Financing

6. Risks, problems and assumptions 1. Entrepreneurs often make assumptions about the company and will face it The risks are not realistic enough

2. Explain how you will deal with risks and problems (contingency plan)

3. Strike a careful balance between pragmatism in vision and optimism about the company’s potential Balance

7. Management Team 1. Introduce the company's management team. Be sure to introduce the education and work background of each member related to the management company

2. Pay attention to the division of management and complementarity

3. Finally, introduce the leadership members, business consultants and major Investors and shareholdings

8. Corporate economic status Introduce the company's financial plan and discuss key financial performance drivers.

Be sure to discuss the following levers:

1. Gross profit and net profit

2. Profitability and durability

3. Fixed, variable and Semi-variable costs

4. Number of months required to break even

5. Number of months required to achieve positive cash flow

9. Financial forecast 1. Including income report and balanced statement, with quarterly statements for the first two years and annual statements for the first five years

2. Valuation cash flow analysis for the same period

3. Highlights Cost control system

10. Assume benefits This is your "selling point", including

1. Overall capital needs

2. In this round of financing Which level do you need

3. How do you use these funds

4. The returns investors can get

5. You can also discuss Possible investor exit strategies

Writing a business plan

How to write a business plan executive summary [3]

Investors love reading business plans Take a look at the synopsis on the first two pages. If the summary of the business plan is like a glossy marketing sheet, with the text arranged in columns and some relevant pictures, it can better attract the attention of investors, who may otherwise be too lazy to read.

There are articles on many websites and books about how to write a perfect executive summary. All of these articles list a lot of writing points, and it might take 50 pages to write them all. Of course, authors will ask you to write concisely.

Before you start writing, remember that the purpose of the executive summary is to provide a hard copy for your elevator pitch and to leave a positive first impression on the reader. Think of it as a sales attempt rather than an attempt to fully describe the item or product. Pay attention to the following key elements when writing an executive summary:

1. Problem and solution: These are the hooks used to hook investors, and they are best described clearly in the first paragraph. State the value proposition of the project and who it wants to offer something special. Do not include acronyms, company history, or the technology behind your solution in this section.

2. Market size and growth opportunities: Investors are looking for huge markets that are in a growth period. In a few sentences, write down the basic market segment, market size, growth and market dynamics: how many people or companies there are, how much output value, what is the growth rate, and what factors drive this market segment. If the market penetration rate is conservatively estimated to be only 1, then don’t mention it.

3. Competitive advantage: Identify sustainable competitive advantages, such as unique strengths, cost savings, or industry relationships. At the very least, write about how it competes with other people's current solutions. Investors have probably seen many business plans similar to yours.

4. Business model: Who are your customers, how are the products priced, and how much does a product cost? Do you currently have real customers and is it in the development stage? Outline sales and marketing strategies (direct marketing, sales channels, viral marketing, lead generation, etc.). List some key figures, such as: number of customers, number of licenses, number of products, profit, etc.

5. Execution team: Remember that investors invest in people, not ideas. Why is your team capable of success? What have they done before? Explain each person’s background, role, and companies they have worked for. If your entrepreneurial mentor or consultant has relevant industry experience, you can also mention it in the team introduction.

6. Financial forecasts and financing: Generally, income and expense forecasts for 3 to 5 years need to be shown. Investors need to know how much money you want to raise now and what kind of return you can give them. This financing requirement is usually the minimum amount needed to achieve the next major milestone in the business plan.

The above summary points are not rigid requirements or dogma for the outline of a business plan. There's no one-size-fits-all executive summary for a startup, but make sure every key issue is addressed. Think about what are the key points in the entrepreneurial project, and emphasize the advantages.

If key points are overlooked, it's a red flag. Investors' first impression of the project will turn negative.

The last important element is not the executive summary, but the company introduction paragraph in the email sent to investors. Less is more here, so write something eye-catching that shows passion and commitment.

How to write a business plan [4] The core of a business plan is to elaborate on three questions: what do we do, what value services or products do we provide to whom, and how do we achieve it? . Focusing on these three core issues, an excellent business plan is generally between 20-30 pages including appendices. A business plan that is too lengthy will make people lose patience. Writing the entire business plan is a step-by-step process that can be completed in five stages.

The first stage: refine the business plan concept, and initially propose the plan concept

The second stage: market research, contact with companies and professionals in the industry, and understand the entire industry Market conditions, such as product prices, sales channels, customer distribution, market development trends and other factors. You can conduct some questionnaire surveys by yourself, or you can turn to a market research company for help when necessary.

The third stage: Competitor investigation, determine your potential competitors and analyze the competitive direction of this industry. What about distribution issues? Possibility of forming strategic partners? Who are your potential allies? Prepare a one- to two-page summary of your competitor research.

Phase 4: Financial analysis, including valuation of the company. It is necessary to ensure that all possibilities are considered. Financial analysis quantifies the company's revenue goals and corporate strategy. Requires detailed and precise consideration of the funds required to realize the company.

The fifth stage: writing and revising the business plan. The collected information is used to formulate the company's future development strategy, and the relevant information is adjusted according to our above structure to complete the writing of the entire business plan. After the plan is completed, the feasibility of the plan can still be further demonstrated, and the entire plan can be continuously improved based on the accumulation of information and market changes.

Writing skills A famous venture capitalist in the United States once said, "Inviting people to invest or join a venture company is like proposing to a divorced woman, not like falling in love with a girl for the first time. Both parties have different opinions. If you have a plan, just making empty promises will not help.” The business plan is the "golden key" for those venture companies that are seeking funds, which determines the success or failure of the investment. For venture companies that have just started to start a business, the role of the business plan is particularly important. By formulating a business plan, writing down all the positive and negative reasons, and then reviewing each item one by one, you will find that the project that was still in the "prototype" has become It will be clear and distinguishable, and it will be easier for venture entrepreneurs to understand and grasp the project.

The business plan first sells the business to be established in the plan to the venture entrepreneurs themselves. Secondly, the business plan can also help promote the planned venture to venture capitalists. One of the main purposes of the company's business plan is to raise funds. Therefore, the business plan must explain:

(1) The purpose of starting a business: Why should we take risks and spend energy, time, resources and funds to establish a risky enterprise?

(2) Why do we need so much money to start a business? Why is it worth investing money in?

For established venture companies, the business plan can set a more specific direction and focus for the development of the company, so that employees can understand the business goals of the company and encourage them to work for their colleagues. strive for goals. More importantly, it allows the company's investors, suppliers, sellers, etc. to understand the company's operating status and business goals, and persuade investors (original or new) to provide funds for the further development of the company. It is for the above reasons that the business plan will be the most important business document written by venture entrepreneurs. So, how to develop a business plan?

Part One: Abstract

The abstract is the first part that venture investors see. Through the abstract, venture investors form the first impression of you and your plan, so the abstract must be in perfect form and the narrative must be clear and smooth.

Part 2: Company and Future

This part should give venture investors a certain understanding of your company’s major projects and future development strategies. It must be unique and yet form a relevant whole.

1． Overview: As long as the company name, address, phone number, contact person and other information you provide are clear and correct, venture investors will not ask any questions. If possible, you can propose industry classification standards. Please be careful not to give people phone numbers that cannot be received. If you are not available, you should set up a service organization to receive and forward calls or ask a friend to forward them on your behalf.

2. The company's natural situation: Here, you should try to describe the company's business situation in the most concise paragraph. More importantly, use the shortest sentence to give venture capitalists an overview of your company. If your company is already a member of the computer network, your description of the company should be consistent with the description on the computer. In this way, venture capitalists can have a general understanding of your company based on your industry classification directory. If your text is not concise, then The other party may ask you to explain to confirm the industry your company belongs to.

3. Historical context: Here, venture capitalists are primarily looking for an overview. Even if the person has read the company history section, they may want to ask you to describe the company's history. They want to know more about what happened in the past. It may seem difficult to determine the basic type of questions in this section, but the other party is likely to ask questions related to special historical events in the company. One typical question may be: "Why did you help people do this or that?" Another typical question may be: "What are the important milestones in the history of your company's development? Why were they achieved?" These historical turning points? "

4. Company Management: This section mainly introduces the company's management, leaders and other people who have a key influence on the company's business. Typically, small companies have no more than three key people. Venture capital cares a lot about key players. You should start at the top and work your way up, and be aware that key people do not equate to achievers. It mainly includes the professional ethics, salary, etc. of directors and senior staff, key employees, and managers.

5. The company's future development plans: Here again, venture investors seek information about the milestones that the company can achieve in the future. They may ask questions involving key stages in the future. The basic question may be: "How will you accomplish the key indicators specified in the plan?"

6. Uniqueness (unique management, unique products and services or unique investment basis, etc.): Here, the question you must answer is: "What makes this company unique?" This question can be rephrased as: "Compared with all small companies in the world, there are What factors make your company thrive? "If you believe that there is some truth to the fact that large companies generally outperform small companies within the overall scope of the company, how can you ensure that your company will succeed when you have to compete with large companies? Win? To satisfy and reassure venture investors, you must clearly present your company's unusual advantages that can ensure success. If you just answer with "Besides, I'm about the same" type of answer, the other person will probably fall asleep listening to it.

7. Product or service introduction: Here, the venture capitalist needs to understand what you are selling, and what kind of products and satisfactory services are needed in the market; he must work hard to evaluate the marketability and innovation level of your product; he also cares about the status of your company's products. Which stage of the product life cycle. His question might be: "Why does this product or service have practical value? What functions does it provide to the user? What is the user's motivation for purchasing?" What is the life cycle of this product? When might it be lowered by a new product? Do you have any plans to launch new products or use existing products to break out of your product market? Is this rush helpful or harmful? What is your product liability? What responsibilities do you have to bear if a user is injured while using your product? What are the price restrictions on your products? What is the price elasticity? How durable is the product? How to improve product technology? At what stage is your product in the product life cycle curve? "

8. Industry situation: Here, venture capitalists try their best to analyze and understand your industry.

His questions might be: "What is the key to your success in your industry? How do you ensure that your company and products are aligned with your industry?" There are also basic questions like, "How do you understand the total sales and growth of your industry?" rate? What are the basic development trends of your industry? Which industry changes have the greatest impact on your company’s profitability? What trade barriers exist in your industry? How difficult is it for a third party to enter your industry circle for the first time? Compared with other products in the same industry, what is new about your product? What seasonal factors affect sales in this industry? How broad is your sales scope? Is it local, regional, national or worldwide? "

It should be noted that the sales of the industry you introduce during a certain period of time cannot include sales in areas not occupied by your products. For example: if a company only manufactures microcomputers, then It cannot be said that it has occupied the entire computer market. The microcomputer market is only a part of the entire computer market, and the corresponding industry is only the microcomputer market, not the entire computer market. In fact, the current microcomputer market is very broad.

9. Competitors: Here, venture investors want to know: who are the competitors, what are their strengths, what are their advantages, and what are your own advantages? A typical question may be: "What are your advantages over your competitors?" ? How does your company stack up against your competitors in terms of price, performance, service, and warranty? What advantages do your competitors have over you? Who are your main competitors? Who are your industry partners? Who are you competing against on a high level basis? Are there any substitutes for your product? If so, who manufactures this product? How frequent is the replacement of land? What's the price difference between you and your competitors? Are there any competitors joining your industry? If you plan to choose a certain market to share with your competitors, what are your specific measures? How do you expect competitors to react? Do your competitors have publicly traded companies? "

10. Sales strategy: Here, venture capitalists will focus on analyzing your marketing strategy. They want to understand the entire process of your product from the production site to the hands of users. Some basic questions It might be: "Describe your product's distribution channel, that is, explain the entire process of your product from the production site to the end user. What are the marketing aspects of your product? Does the company retail directly, or does it sell through industry sales networks? What is the place of advertising in marketing strategy? What is your basic advertising strategy? What is its cost? How responsive is your sales to advertising? What market penetration strategies have you used? What market penetration strategies are currently planned? What market strategy do you plan to adopt if your product and industry enters the mature stage? How difficult is it to sell now? Do you need direct marketing? That is, do sales staff need to sell directly to users? Is sales complex and long-term; or is it fairly simple and straightforward? Is it more or less expensive to purchase a single product? Do users have to make a budget in advance when purchasing a product? What is the length of time from signing a contract with a buyer to the final sale? Does the government have strict controls on market transactions? ".

Part 3: Investment Description

Regarding investment, you should propose your own financing plan, that is, various investment forms such as loans, stock options, preferred stocks, and common stocks. State your opinions and make them as specific as possible so that the other party can fully and accurately understand what kind of financing method you are prepared to use and how much you are willing to pay.

Part 4: Risk Factors

What risks may investors encounter when investing in your company? You should describe it in terms of policies, operations, resources, finance and other aspects. In the explanation process, only positive descriptions should be made without commentary explanations. It mainly includes: operating history. limitations, resource limitations, management experience limitations, market uncertainty limitations, production uncertainty limitations, dependence on key managers for bankruptcy, etc.

Part 5: Investment Return and the Way Out.

This is an issue that investors are very concerned about, because most venture investors do not really want to hold the company's equity for a long time, but hope to "escape" when the conditions are ripe, so as to pass the stock price. Add value to gain revenue.

Generally speaking, venture investors can propose three ways to realize investment, including stock listing, selling the company and buying back. You should indicate how you wish to do so.

Part Six: Business Analysis and Forecast

This part is mainly based on the company’s historical business performance analysis and is used to predict future business conditions. The company’s past financial data should be used as the basis. The basis is to predict the possible income, costs and expenses of future operations, and at the same time, predict the level of future operating efficiency and the quality of operating results through ratio analysis.

Part 7: Financial Reports

The plan should contain your company's current financial reports, with appropriate explanations. Regardless, a plan without current financial statements is unacceptable. It is difficult for a project without current financial reports to attract the interest of venture investors.

Part 8: Financial Forecast

Forecast the company's financial status in the next five years, and also predict the annual fund flow statement so that each reader can accurately understand the company's funds. flow state.

Part 9: Six elements of product reports, introductions, samples and pictures. How can we make investors "notice" our business plan among the many business plans? Without being thrown into the trash? In order to ensure that the business plan can impress investors and successfully obtain funds from venture capitalists, the business plan must pay attention to the following six points

1. Detailed introduction of the product

In business The plan should provide all details related to the company's products or services, including all surveys conducted by the company. These questions include: What stage of development is the product at? How unique is it? What is the company's method for distributing its products? Who will use your company’s products and why? How much does the product cost to produce and how much does it sell for? What is the company's plan to develop new modern products? Attract investors to the company's products or services, so that investors will be as interested in the product as you are. In a business plan, writers should try to use simple words to describe everything. The definition of a product and its attributes is clear to the writer, but what they mean may not be clear to others.

2. Description of competing companies

In the business plan, it is necessary to analyze the situation of competitors in detail. Who are the competitors? How do their products work? What are the similarities and differences between competitors' products and our company's products? What marketing strategies are used by competitors? You should clarify the sales, gross profit, revenue and market share of each competitor, and then discuss your competitive advantages over each competitor. The business plan should convince investors that you are not only a powerful player in the industry competitors, and in the future will be leaders in setting industry standards.

3. Marketing plan

The business plan should provide investors with an in-depth analysis and understanding of the company's target market. It is necessary to carefully analyze the impact of economic, geographical, occupational and psychological factors on consumers' choice to purchase the company's products, as well as the role of each factor. The business plan should also include a major marketing plan, which should list the areas where you plan to carry out advertising, promotion and public relations activities, and clarify the budget and revenue for each activity. The business plan should also outline your sales strategy: Will you use outside sales representatives or internal staff? Will resellers, distributors or franchisees be used? What type of sales training will be provided? In addition, the business plan should also pay special attention to the details of sales.

4. Develop an execution plan

Your action plan should be watertight. Your business plan should clarify the following questions: How will you bring your product to market? How to design a production line and how to assemble products? What raw materials are needed for production? With those production resources, what other production resources are needed? How much does production and equipment cost? Should companies buy equipment or rent equipment? Explain clearly the fixed and variable costs associated with product assembly, storage and delivery.

5. Management Team

The key factor in transforming an idea into a successful venture is to have a strong management team. Members of this team must have high professional and technical knowledge, management skills and many years of work experience. The function of a manager is to plan, organize, control and direct the company's actions to achieve its goals. In the business plan, you should first describe the entire management team and its responsibilities, then introduce the special talents, characteristics and attainments of each manager separately, and describe in detail the contribution each manager will make to the company. The business plan should also clearly define management objectives and an organizational chart.

6. Refined plan summary

The plan summary of the business plan is also very important. It must make investors interested in getting more information, and it will leave a long-lasting impression on investors. The plan summary in the business plan will be the last part of the writing, but it is the first thing that the funder will look at. It will extract the details most relevant to raising funds from the plan: including the basic internal situation of the company, the company A concise and vivid summary of the company's capabilities and limitations, the company's competitors, marketing and financial strategies, the company's management team, etc.

Sample business plan

Chapter 1 Company Basic information

1. Project company and affiliated companies

2. Company organizational structure

3. Company management composition

4. Historical financial operating status

V. Historical management and marketing foundation

VI. Company geographical location

VII. Company development strategy

VIII. , Company Internal Control Management

Chapter 2 Project Product Introduction

1. Product/service description (category, name, specification, model, output, price, etc.)

2. Product characteristics

3. Product trademark registration status

4. Product update cycle

5. Product standards

6. Product production raw materials

7. Product processing technology

8. Main equipment of the production line

9. Core production equipment

10. Research and Development

1. Introduction to products under development/to be developed

2. The company’s past research and development results and their technological advancement

3. Research and Development Plan and timetable

4. Intellectual property strategy

5. The company’s existing technology development resources and technical reserves

6. Intangible assets (trademark intellectual property) Patents, etc.)

11. Product after-sales service network and user technical support

12. Project location and background

13. Basic project construction Plan

Chapter 3 Project Industry and Product Market Analysis

1. Industry situation (industry development history and trends, which industry changes have a greater impact on product profits and profit margins, enter Technology barriers and trade barriers in the industry.

Policy restrictions, etc., industry market prospect analysis and forecast)

2. Product raw material market analysis

3. Current supply and demand situation and forecast of product supply and demand in target areas (target market analysis)

4. Analysis of product market supply situation

5. Analysis of product market demand situation

6. Analysis of product market balance

7. Analysis of product sales channels

8. Competitor situation and analysis

1. Competitor situation

2. Comparison between the company and the five major competitors in the industry

9. Analysis of Industry Access and Policy Environment

10. Product Market Forecast

Chapter 4 Project Product Production Development Strategy and Marketing Implementation Plan

1. Project execution strategy

2. Project cooperation plan

3. Company development strategy

4. Construction of market rapid response system (IIS)

5. Construction of enterprise safety management system (SHE)

6. The composition of product sales costs and the basis for setting sales prices

7. Product marketing strategy

1. Strategies and implementation in establishing sales network, sales channels, setting up agents and distributors

2. Strategies and implementation in advertising and promotion

3 .Strategy and implementation in terms of product sales price

4. Strategy and implementation in establishing a good sales team

7. Product sales agency system

8 , Product Sales Plan

9. Strategy and Implementation of Product After-sales Service

Chapter 5 Project Product Production and SWOT Comprehensive Analysis

1. Project Product Manufacturing Situation

1. Product production plant situation

2. Existing production equipment situation

3. Product manufacturing process and technological process

4. Main raw material suppliers

2. Project advantage analysis

3. Project weakness analysis

4. Project opportunity analysis

5. Project Threat Analysis

6. SWOT Comprehensive Analysis

Chapter 6 Project Management and Personnel Planning

1. Organizational Structure

2. Introduction to the management team

3. Construction and improvement of the management team

1. What incentive mechanism will the company adopt for the management and key personnel

2. Whether to consider the issue of management shareholding

IV. Personnel recruitment and training plan

V. Personnel management system and incentive mechanism

VI. Cost control management

7. Project Implementation Progress Plan

Chapter 7 Project Risk Analysis and Avoidance Countermeasures

1. Operation and Management Risks and Their Avoidance

2. Technical talent risks and their avoidance

3. Safety, pollution risks and control

4. Product market development risks and their avoidance

5. Policies Risks and their avoidance

6. Financing risks and countermeasures for small and medium-sized enterprises

7. Risks of dependence on key personnel of the company

Chapter 8 Project Investment Estimation and Financing Description

1. Financing needs and loan methods of small and medium-sized enterprises in the project

2. Project fund use plan

3. Small and medium-sized enterprise financing fund use plan

IV. Loan methods and repayment guarantees

V. What supervisory and management powers can investors enjoy?

VI. How investors can recover their investment, specific methods and Execution Time

Chapter 9 Project Financial Budget and Financial Plan