Preface
This document is an edited (and
abridged) version of the Business Plan template that can be downloaded from the
HSBC website. It is provided to
give you a start in preparing your own Business Plan. You do not have to follow the structure or use the
section headings exactly as they appear below, but you must provide all
the content as specified.
Do not be frightened by how much
information seems to be required.
The trick is to keep adding a little more every day, and not be afraid
to change what you have already written, whenever a new idea occurs to you or
you discover more information.
As your document nears completion,
you can focus on the presentation and appearance. Do not try to do this at the beginning; it will only
distract you from concentrating on the content. Try to use your friends, family, and fellow-students to
comment on your work. They may
well come up with useful suggestions for improvement.
A point to remember!
Even though this is not an imaginary
business, If you begin to realise that it may not be as successful as you would
like, this really doesn’t matter.
You are being assessed on how well you understand all the processes, not
on whether or when you might make a profit. It will have been good practice for when you really decide
to go into business!
At a practical level, do not forget to remove all these “Advice” boxes,
change the footer, and edit the Contents page!
Business Plan
Your
business logo
Business
name
Address
1
Address2
City/town
Post
code
Phone
Fax
Mobile
E-mail
Web
site
Contents
Page
1. Summary................................................................................................................................. 4
2. Business
overview...................................................................................................................................... 5
Introduction
Competitive advantage
4. Marketing................................................................................................................................. 6
SWOT and critical success factors
Market research
5. Team and
management structure.................................................................................................. 7
Skills, experience, training and retention
Advisors
Management systems
6. Financial
budgets and forecasts........................................................................................................ 8
Profit and loss forecast
Cash flow forecast
Break-even analysis
Summary
The summary is the last part of the plan that you will write, but it
should be included at the beginning of the plan. Assume you are using your plan to raise finance (i.e.
start-up and working capital). This summary needs to make the reader (e.g. a
bank manager or a potential investor) want to find out more.
Business
overview
Introduction
This is a brief explanation of the idea that has prompted you to start
your business. Describe your
products and services, as well as the location. Explain what industry sector you will operate in and where
it sits in the business lifecycle (i.e. in an emerging industry, growth
industry, mature industry, or a declining industry).
Describe your business objectives and goals. Make sure they are specific
and measurable.
Competitive advantages
Explain your competitive advantage(s) and the market niche(s) you have
identified.
Marketing
SWOT and critical success factors
Outline briefly your marketing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats in a SWOT chart. From
these, what will be the critical success factors for your business?
Market research
What is your target market? Describe what market research you have
completed and what you might do in future.
Promotion plan
Explain how you will promote your business to customers (e.g. through
advertising, exhibitions, Public Relations).
Team
and management structure
Skills, experience, and training
Describe the skills and experience required of yourself and your
employees.
Management and Legal requirements
Briefly outline the management structure of your business as well as any
legal (compliance) requirements: tax and VAT obligations, health & safety,
etc.
Financial
budgets and forecasts
Attach the following financial documents
to the business plan, together with brief notes explaining them:-
Profit and loss forecast
Cash flow forecast
Break-even analysis
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