1. Company Name Business Plan
Business Plan Subtitle
Contact: Contact person name
Company Address, City, State Postal Code
Phone: 000-000-0000, Fax: 000-000-0000
Email: name@example.com, Web Site: www.company.com

2. Executive Summary
The Executive Summary must capture the essence of your proposed business venture. Try to keep
the summary as brief as possible. Whether you are preparing this proposal for a venture
capitalist, banker, or your boss, it is imperative that your summary be of the highest quality.
These individuals are flooded with requests for assistance. Since the summary is a distillation of
your plan, you might want to complete this section after you complete the rest of your business
plan. Or write the summary first, then create the business plan and then go back to the summary,
improve it and insure its consistency with the rest of your plan.
Since your objective is to lure the reader to want more information, your summary should have
the following elements:
• It should be concise - you have one or two minutes to tell someone about your business.
• It should be exciting
• It should communicate how your business concept is unique
No matter how long you spent developing and honing your business plan, the reader of the plan
will only spend five minutes reading it! It’s important to make those five minutes work to your
favor. You may have the most meticulous and well-crafted business plan imaginable - in the end,
however, the best plan is the one that entices the reader.
Surprisingly, many business plans neglect to include their formal name, address and principal
contact. Please insure that you leave a number that is attended. If the business plan recipient
can’t reach you in one or two attempts, they will move on to the next proposal. Make sure this
information is on your proposal - there is a prominent location on the front cover to put this
information. Feel free to repeat the information in the Executive Summary.
Type of Business
This section answers the question - What business am I in - a non-trivial question. Deciding what
business you are in is probably the most important decision you will have to make. If you know it,
include the SIC code that describes your business. Indicate whether the business is a start-up or
an existing business.

3. Company or Business Summary
Here, you can briefly describe the history of the company. Is this a startup? An expansion of an
existing business? A division of a larger business that is launching a new product or service? Is the
business a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation? If your business is a going concern,
briefly describe the company’s historical performance. If the company is introducing a new web
site or if the web site is a critical component of the business (retailing, business-to-business,
virtual community, etc.), briefly describe the web site and any significant future plans for that web
site.
Financial Objectives
Clearly state the sales and profitability objectives and the underlying ways that you will meet
these objectives. Perhaps a chart from the Business Plan Excel workbook would visually describe
your goals. It is within this section that you can summarize sales and profitability objectives for
the five year planning period. Financial goals could be cash flow related, described by financial
ratios, by growth rates of sales, assets, cash flow, and profits, or by cost and expense
relationships.
Management Overview
Perhaps the biggest keys to success of any business are the people who run it. Be sure to
summarize the expertise of the management in this particular business. Since poor management
is a key contributor to business failure, describe why the cards are stacked in your favor.
Products and Services
Describe the product or service you are offering and clearly state why the product is unique. If the
product is not unique, be sure to explain why it will succeed over existing products.
Name of Your Product - Here you can briefly describe the primary
characteristics of this product. Use copy and paste if you have
additional products.
Name of Your Product - Here you can briefly describe the primary
characteristics of this product. Use copy and paste if you have
additional products.
Funds Requested (optional)
If you are writing this proposal to an audience from which you are requesting funds, be specific in
your request. Select a number and explain why that amount is needed. Also state whether the

4. money you are raising is in the form of equity or debt. When you send the proposal to
organizations, you can save valuable time by understanding which types of investments they
make. Some investment companies do not make any equity investments while others specialize in
this investment.
If you are seeking debt financing, be prepared to discuss whether collateral is available. If you are
seeking an equity investment, be prepared to discuss the percentage ownership position.
Here are some additional questions to consider when writing this section:
• What is the total amount of funds needed by your business? Is it needed immediately or
over the next two to five years?
• What part of this financing is being sought from the investors or lending institution that will
receive this business plan (including the amount, terms, and any related security
agreement)?
• For equity financing, what percentage of the company are you willing to give up and what
is the proposed return on investment and anticipated method of taking out the investor
(e.g., buy-back, public offering, sale)?
• For debt financing, what is your company’s proposed interest rate and repayment
schedule?
Use of proceeds (optional)
Be as specific as possible on how the proceeds will be spent. Include a chart or table to describe
this if you wish.
Exit (optional)
If you are requesting funds to grow your business, your investor will want to understand how you
are planning your exit strategy. Most investors want to realize a gain over a medium term
horizon. Don’t underestimate the time it will take to either take the company public or sell the
business. Most investors should be willing to wait for a three-year period before their investment
can be realized.
Company Background
The first part of a business plan should clearly define the Identification of Market Opportunity. Be
prepared to discuss the total dollar volume of the market, the rate that the market is growing and
the overall demand for the product or service that you are offering.

5. Business History
Give a brief history of the company’s business to date, when your product or service was
introduced, and the key milestones that you have met. Be sure to keep this section brief, since
your investor is primarily concerned about the future, not the past. Some of the information you
might include in this section could be:
The firm’s date of origin.
The names of the founders.
A summary of the major milestones achieved or the stages of the life cycle through which the firm
may have passed.
The major episodes or stages of development in the firm’s past.
A brief description of any significant changes the business has undergone or challenges that the
company has faced up to.
Other developmental indicators such as sales levels, net worth, market share, assets, and
company valuation.
Company mission statement.
Growth and Financial Objectives
The objectives in your business plan can begin with a short list of what you hope to achieve in the
next year or so and those significant goals that you would like to achieve in later planning periods.
Objectives will vary according to your mission statement and where your company is in the life
cycle. For example, a start-up company might want to set a short-term objective of profitability
(to be profitable by year-end) or may take a longer-term view and simply look to build a
competitive business model by the end of year one.
State your growth and financial objectives as clearly as possible. You can start with the sales chart
for the five-year period and follow that up with the sales table broken down by product line. Then
you might want to explain how you plan to keep certain financial metrics and use the Financial
Highlights table to clearly portray your goals.
Follow this up with the sales table broken down by product line.
Then you might want to explain how you plan to keep certain financial metrics and use the
Financial Highlights table to clearly portray your goals.
Legal Structure and Ownership
Describe how the company is legally organized. This is a decision that is best made in the early
stages of the company. The decision to establish your company as a sole proprietorship, a
partnership or a corporation that will issue stock is an important one. You may want to consult
with an attorney and/or accountant before doing this.

6. Company Location and Facilities
State where the company conducts its business and what real estate the company owns or leases.
Be sure to address the issues regarding your future space requirements and how this might
determine your need to expand or move.
Name and/or address of your facility - Here you can briefly
describe the facility and location. Use copy and paste if you have
additional locations.
Name and/or address of your facility - Here you can briefly
describe the facility and location. Use copy and paste if you have
additional locations.
Plans for Financing the Business
Investors prefer to see a defined financing proposal which shows the capital needs of the venture
and the proposed equity or debt agreement. The financing proposal may refer to the Start-Up
Costs that are attached in the appendix if it is a start-up. If the company is a start-up, or an
ongoing concern, be sure to detail the use of the proceeds from the financing. What collateral or
personal guarantees will be offered for an equity or debt investment?
Financial Plan and Analysis
The sections below contain text summaries of the workbooks that are attached in the subsequent
pages.
Start-Up Costs
Briefly describe the numbers in the report and on the chart.
Financial Highlights
This table includes key financial ratios - discuss the ones that might draw attention.
5-Year Income Statement
Describe these numbers.

7. 5-Year Balance Sheet
Point out any key issues from this report.
Cash Budgets
There are two cash budgets - one for the first 12 months and one for a five-year period. Two
charts also depict these 12 month and 5 year cash balances. Use the ones that make sense for
your business and describe the cash trends.
Break-Even Analysis
Use the Break-Even analysis to compare your projected monthly sales with the break-even point.
Supplemental Worksheets
Insert other worksheets that you may have developed or include the worksheets from some of the
supplemental files that come with the product to round out your specific plan.
Company Name Business Plan