Answer:
Your business should include a summary of what your business does, how it has developed and where you want it to go. In particular, it should cover your strategy for improving your existing sales and processes to achieve the growth you desire.
You also need to make it clear what timeframe the business plan covers - this will typically be for the next 12 to 24 months.
The plan needs to include:
The marketing aims and objectives, for example how many new customers you want to gain and the anticipated size of your customer base at the end of the period. To find out about marketing strategy, see our guide on how to create your marketing strategy.
Operational information such as where your business is based, who your suppliers are and the premises and equipment needed.
Financial information, including profit and loss forecasts, cash flow forecasts, sales forecasts and audited accounts.
A summary of the business objectives, including targets and dates.
If yours is an owner-managed business, you may wish to include an exit plan. This includes planning the timing of your departure and the circumstances, e.g. family succession, sale of the business, floating your business or closing it down.
If you intend to present your business plan to an external audience such as investors or banks, you will also need to include:
your aims and objectives for each area of the business
details of the history of the business, including financial records from the last three years - if this isn't possible, provide details about trading to date
the skills and qualifications of the management involved in your business
information about the product or service, its distinctiveness and where it fits into the marketplace
Drawing up a more sophisticated business plan
If your business has grown to encompass a series of departments or divisions, each with its own targets and objectives, you may need to draw up a more sophisticated business plan.
The individual business plans of the departments and separate business units will need to be integrated into a single strategy document for the entire organisation.
This can be a complex exercise but it's vital if each business unit is to tread a consistent path and not conflict with the overall strategy.
This is not just an issue for large enterprises - many small firms consist of separate business units pursuing different strategies.
To draw up a business plan that marries all the separate units of an organisation requires a degree of co-ordination. It may seem obvious, but make sure all departments are using the same planning template.
