How to structure your business plan?

All entrepreneurs will tell you that writing a business plan can often be a tedious exercise. To help you do it, here is a standard template that you can follow step-by-step and adapt to your specific project.

Now that you understand why it’s important to elaborate your business plan before launching your activity, you’re wondering how to go about it. As there are various ways to present your business plan, the template presented here is intended to be relatively comprehensive. It is up to you to delete anything superfluous, change the order and fill in what makes sense for your project.

When you embark on this exercise, remember that the content of a business plan must be clear, concise, and structured. You need to present your project in all its aspects (financial, human, strategic, and technical) and rely on verifiable information and realistic assumptions. It will help you build and track the progress of your project, but also convince your investors, banks, and future partners.

Section 1: the executive summary

To be completed last, this first section presents a summary of your value proposition (which makes you unique), your objectives and how you will reach them in the most convincing way possible. It provides an overview of your project and strategy. It should conclude with a precise description of what you are expecting from the person to whom you are submitting your business plan.

This section is essential for capturing attention! This is the section that will determine whether your business contact will or will not take the time to read the remainder of the document. Take great care over it and do not beat about the bush.

Section 2: presenting the business

In this section, provide detailed information on your business, its vision, its objectives and its human assets. This includes:

• • the company name and legal form chosen;
  • The share capital;
  • The sector of activity;
  • the mission, related objectives and value proposition;
  • The company’s vision and values;
  • The historical background, i.e., the genesis of the project/company;
  • The detailed organizational chart (company structure);
  • Human capital and key profiles (shareholders, management and employees);
  • The applicable tax framework;
  • Useful contacts;
  • …

Section 3: products and services

Under this heading, you present your products and services, their features, their added value for the identified targets, and what distinguishes them from existing offers. If your offering is still at the project stage, remember to provide details of your objectives and how you expect to achieve them in order to deliver products and services in line with your value proposition.

Also remember to mention future updates and enhancements to your solutions in order to meet your clients’ requirements. This demonstrates that your project is substantial and viable.

Section 4: the market and the competition

To be credible, you need to demonstrate that you know your market, its trends, its potential and how it is likely to change. Also include in this section an analysis of your competitors together with details of their offering (prices, strengths, weaknesses, etc.). Lastly, determine who precisely the target customers are (age, geographical area, consumption habits, etc.). Also mention your current customers, if there are any, as well as any commitments you may have towards them. This shows that your project meets a real need, is viable, and has its place in the market.

Section 5: marketing and sales

Depending on the complexity of your business and your market, this can be a challenging section. It is, however, essential to convince your business contacts that you are able to move on from the concept to actual sales. In this section, focus mainly on the following aspects:

• • brief reminder of the targeted market segment, your positioning, and the associated targets;
  • target market share and expected turnover;
  • offer of products/services (product catalog, packages, etc.);
  • launch, distribution and sales strategy;
  • pricing policy;
  • marketing, public relations, media relations, social networking strategy, etc.

Section 6: Operational plan

In this section, you specify the concrete functioning of the activity: manufacturing process, suppliers, equipment, inventory management, etc.

Section 7: Action plan

This section explains how you will go about achieving your goals. It covers, for example in the form of a schedule, the major stages of launching your business and the associated deliverables and planned implementation costs for each of these stages.

Section 8: risk analysis

While your business contacts may pay close attention to your strengths and opportunities, they look even more closely at your project’s risks or even its weaknesses. Do not let them discover your challenges by themselves; maintain control by preparing this SWOT analysis yourself, focusing in particular on:

• • internal risks (organisational, management-related, logistics, etc.);
  • external risks (increases in marketing, product, competitive and legal costs, etc.);
  • potential safety issues (high-risk occupations, environmental risks, etc.);
  • probable barriers to market entry (political, economic, administrative and cultural barriers, etc.).

Section 9: the financing plan

In a business plan, the question of business finance is key. This section will therefore be examined very closely by most of your business contacts. The objective is to demonstrate the financial viability of your business by presenting its needs and resources during the first years of operation.

Here is one proposal among many as to how to structure this section:

=> The initial financing plan lists the necessary requirements to start the activity and the resources to be able to finance them:

• • the formation expenses (deeds, studies, consultancy, etc.);
  • the acquisition of (financial or (in)tangible) assets and the related depreciation;
  • the cost of alterations and improvements to the premises, the furniture, IT equipment, etc.;
  • the working capital requirements (current assets and liabilities);
  • the resources available (contribution of personal funds, bank funding, government aid, investors, etc.).

=> The profit & loss account which records the expenses and income for the early years of your business. Be careful to show a clear distinction between fixed overheads and variable costs. It allows determining the result (profits or losses) over the defined period and thus estimating the profitability of the company.

=> The projected cash flow which details, on a monthly basis, all cash inflows and outflows in the first year of operation. This makes it possible to verify whether you have sufficient cash to meet your payment deadlines.

=> The financing plan over a minimum of three years, i.e. the “standard” spreadsheet showing the financial requirements and the resources to meet them and to finance both your operating cycle and investments. This plan should be drawn up on the basis of points 1 to 3 and your basic assumptions. It should show the breakeven point (which determines the moment when the company starts generating profits) and the theoretical point at which it is reached.

Section 10: the appendices

This section contains all the additional information, the sources to check your analyses and the various certificates needed to help understand the status of the project and its potential success.

If you need help with the construction of your business plan, different organizations can assist you, such as the House of Entrepreneurship, which offers dedicated workshops, or the Contact Entreprise team of the Chamber of Trades.

So, all that’s left to say is… Good luck!