HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN
For Entrepreneur Women Starting Their Own Business
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SECTIONS OF A BUSINESS PLAN
Executive Summary
Company Summary
Products & Services
Market Analysis Summary
Strategy & Implementation Summary
Management Summary
Financial Plan
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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Wait until you’ve finished the rest of your business
plan before writing the executive summary. Then take
your time to create and polish it.
This section is an overview of the entire business
plan, from your company’s products and your
implementation plans to your financial vision. Busy
executives you want to impress—for example, a
potential venture capital firm—will focus first and
foremost on the executive summary.
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2. COMPANY SUMMARY
This section, although similar to the executive
summary, is a bit narrower, focusing on the key
company start-up issues: ownership, expenses, and
initial funding and sources.
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3. PRODUCTS & SERVICES
Sell it.
Whether your company specializes in products,
services, or a combination (as in the case of many
day-spa businesses), you need to spell out what makes
those products and/or services special. That sets the
stage for your marketing approach.
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4. MARKET ANALYSIS SUMMARY
Describe how your market is divided up and outline
your prospective customer base. A pie chart can be
helpful in showcasing your analysis of the market.
Describe your target market and evaluate your
competition.
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5. STRATEGY & IMPLEMENTATION
SUMMARY
Detail your plan for edging out your competition,
including your promotional strategy, advertising
program, and website.
Your sales strategy and forecast need to be realistic
and persuasive, and should include key milestones for
implementing your business plan.
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6. MANAGEMENT SUMMARY
Who’s captaining this voyage? That’s the question
prospective investors will ask—and you need to
answer it in this section. Include your executive
team’s qualifications.
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7. FINANCIAL PLAN
Anchor your plan with detailed data. Include your
assumptions, such as primary methods of payment
and a thorough break-even analysis.
For these and other sections, such as your projected
profit and loss, margins, cash flow, balance sheet, and
ratios, you may want to bring a CPA on board.
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