Business Plan Examples – Download Templates | Business-in-a-Box™

While there is a range of business plan examples to choose from, all business plan examples have similar essential components, which can be edited to suit your particular needs. These components are:

1. Executive Summary

The same way you may read the back of a book to find out more about its contents, the readers of your business plan will first refer to its executive summary to find out if anything in your business interests them. The executive summary benefits from conciseness, which means the essential knowledge about your business must be stated in a short, clear, and straightforward manner. Although it appears at the very beginning of the business plan, it should be written after the plan is already drafted. The Business-in-a-Boxtemplate for executive summaryallows you to add the following essential information:

• Company Description
• Opportunity/Problem
• Your Solution
• Target Market
• Clients
• Revenue Model
• Marketing and Sales Channels
• Competitors
• Your Team
• Your Strengths and Weaknesses
• Your Needs
• Goals You Wish to Achieve
• Financial Projections

Every business plan is unique, which is why every executive summary will also be unique. These are, however, some indicators of which information holds the most significance in the eyes of your investors, and which information they will wish to see first before they decide to read further. Building a good image of your company is key, which is why we have phrased this template in a manner that shows a unique and innovative side to your business idea, encompassed within a clear and modern document design.

2. Opportunity

The opportunity section of your business is more subjective, but it is full of vital information. This is the section where you describe the ‘gap in the market’ that you discovered – perhaps you are aBeauty Salontrying to fulfill better hair treatment needs of people in your area or aweb developerwho has come up with an app that can bring new enrichment to people’s lives. The needs that are being left unfulfilled are the ‘gap’ which you are going to exploit. Oftentimes, it is difficult to come up with a gap in the market that other businesses haven’t already discovered. However, you must bring something innovative and new to your product or service that your competitors don’t have. In the opportunity section of your business plan, it is crucial to highlight your innovation and how it stands out from others.

This section also contains details on your target market and the industry you wish to operate in. If you have conducted primary research on the demographics of your potential customers, this is the place to add it. It would also be beneficial to add the detail of your competitors to help show investors how prepared you are to enter the industry.

3. Execution

The execution stage of your business plan is the actual action stage, where you show your readers how you intend to run your business. Business-in-a-Box business plan examples include the major components of Marketing and Operations.

Marketing

This section of the business plan describes how you will promote and advertise your product or service. For example, a beauty parlor business may choose to advertise mainly through social media, by providing visually pleasing and informational posts that promise results to the customers. You will also cover the details of your pricing methods in this section.

Operations

This is the logistics section, which describes how things will work on a day to day basis within your business. You will have to state how you intend to source, manufacture, and distribute your product or service.

You might also find it useful to state your intended goals and targets in this section, which you can use as future references once your marketing and operations are up and running.

4. Strengths and Weaknesses

It is essential to state the strengths and weaknesses of your business when creating a business plan. To adequately find out your business’s strengths and weaknesses, a SWOT analysis can be conducted. The SWOT analysis stands for:

Strengths

These are the internal, positive attributes of your company, the aspects that lead to successes. They can include assets, employees, or anything that gives you a competitive edge.

Weaknesses

These are internal, negative factors. They can include gaps in your skill level or assets or company processes that aren’t so successful in boosting sales.

Opportunities

These are external factors that can help your business succeed, such as marketing trends, events, etc.

Threats

These are external factors that have the potential to hurt your business. They can include new competitors, technology, trends, etc.

The SWOT analysis gives your reader an insight into your business like no other, and even the weaknesses that you state can help build an understanding of your firm. If you provide viable solutions alongside, it will do even more to build investor confidence.

5. Financial Plan

The Financial part of your business plan is arguably the most important. This is the section where you can back all your claims up with hard, numerical facts, which will boost investor confidence even more. For new businesses, the business plan example templates give a Sales Forecasting table and chart to help you calculate and predict your sales. There is also a section on Break-even analysis, which calculates how long it will take you to start making a profit rather than a loss in your business.

6. Management Summary

This section outlines the structure of your company. Identify key personnel and your management team, as well as their roles in the leadership of your business. This is important for investors to know as it helps build trust if they know the details of who is behind the company. It is similar to giving personality to your business and building an image of who you are and what you stand for in the investor’s eyes.