Before you get down to the task of drafting your business plan, you need to know a business plan’s major building blocks. A business plan, whether small and simple or long and highly detailed, has basic, distinct parts, which include the following:
- Mission Statement – a few short and sweet sentences that capture the heart and soul of your business, is vital to your organizational philosophy, as well as the overall business plan its entirety.
- Executive Summary – one or two page overview that briefly summarizes the overall plan for your business.
- Business / Company Description
- Business Growth Strategy
- Marketing Analysis / Strategy / Marketing & Sales
- Plan of Operations / Organization
- Service or Product Line
- Financial Statements / Projections
- Management Team
Resources:
Cleaver, Joanne. Starting a Business: An Easy, Smart Guide to Starting Your Own Business. Barnes and Noble Books: New York (2003).
Small Business Association. “Create Your Business Plan” http://www.sba.gov/writing-business-plan
Tiffany, Paul and Peterson, Steven, “Business Plans for Dummies,” 2nd Edition, Wiley Publishing, Inc., New Jersey (2005).