PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL

YOUR COMPANY NAMEyour vision or strapline

[your logo or picture representing the business]

Business Plan[date]

Table of Contents

GENERAL POINTS...................................................................EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................... SWOT ANALYSIS...............................................................................................................2

COMPANY/BUSINESS OVERVIEW......................................... BACKGROUND.................................................................................................................... 3 KEY ACTIVITIES.................................................................................................................. 3 TEAM................................................................................................................................. 3 OTHER INFORMATION..........................................................................................................4

PRODUCT/SERVICE DETAILS................................................ PROBLEM........................................................................................................................... 5 SOLUTION..........................................................................................................................5

CUSTOMERS & MARKET........................................................ CUSTOMERS.......................................................................................................................7 MARKET............................................................................................................................. 7

MARKETING STRATEGY........................................................ CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS................................................................................................8 CHANNELS TO MARKET.......................................................................................................8

COMPETITION........................................................................ COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS....................................................................................................10

OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS.................................................FINANCIAL PLAN...................................................................APPENDICES.........................................................................

PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT..................................................................................................13PERSONAL SURVIVAL BUDGET..................................................................................................13CASHFLOW FORECAST..............................................................................................................13

Contact Information:Contact Name:Address 1Address 2Address 3Postcode

Phone:Email: Website:Company number:

GENERAL POINTS

Keep it simple: don’t use fancy words or jargon but include enough detail to show your knowledge.

Use a good readable font and size e.g. if printing out Garamond or Baskerville, if screen reading Verdana or Arial and size 12pt minimum (this document is in Arial 12pt).

Use visuals, colour, photos of products but don’t go overboard – keep it readable and not too long.

10-12 pages plus appendices (if needed) is ideal.

Bullet points, underlining, headings and sub-headings work well to break things up.

Make sure you put the right information in the right section e.g. don’t talk about Customers under Product and Cashflow under Competitors.

Double check for spellings, grammar and missed xx’s where you’ve forgotten to go back and add figures. Microsoft Word’s spell and grammar check is worth using, plus someone to read it through for mistakes.

Make sure any numbers quoted in the plan tie up with what’s in the Cashflow and Profit & Loss e.g. if you are planning on spending £4k on a new website in the marketing section show that amount in the cashflow too.

Keep things realistic and evidenced wherever possible.

Check the date - send out the most up to date copy.

[delete all non-relevant parts from this template including General points when complete]

[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Executive summary is the most important part of the plan as it may be the only part a busy investor reads. It explains the basics of the business, the problem you aim to solve, why your solution is different, your ideal customer, your vision & goals and what funding you need. It is not the introduction – it is a summary. It can be likened to a conclusion in an essay and is usually written last. You can include a SWOT analysis here. This is your chance to capture the reader’s interest. Keep it brief; a sentence or two answering each of the following points should suffice.

What is the opportunity you are addressing? (What problem are you going to solve? What have you identified your customer needs?)

What does your business do? (e.g. sells a product or a service.)

How will your product or service uniquely solve the identified problem? (USP -Unique Selling Point).

What market and customers are you targeting?

Why you and your company/team?

What are you and your company’s mission and aims? What is your vision for the business?

What are your longer term plans – growth/exit? Do you have an exit strategy? (An exit strategy e.g. to grow the business and sell it in 5 yrs, is important if you’re looking for equity investors.)

What finance do you need and what do you already have?

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

SWOT Analysis

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

Put approx. 3 points in each section

These are related to you and your business

Your experience may be one

Strengths & weaknesses are INTERNAL issues -you can control them

Having points here shows you’ve considered the downsides/problems

Lack of funding is a weakness

Mitigate them here or below

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

Opportunities & threats are related to EXTERNAL issues -you can’t control them but need awareness

E.g. growth of customer segment due to….

Competitor weakness

E.g government legislation

E.g. new competing products

Political or economic factors

Mitigating Factors:

You can add a few sentences here to state how you will mitigate the weaknesses identified in the SWOT.

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

COMPANY/BUSINESS OVERVIEW

This is where you provide a brief summary of your business, including its history and what gave you the idea, and information about yourself. After reading this the funder should have a clear idea of who you are, what you are setting out to do and have confidence you know what you are doing. Keep it brief and interesting, (it’s not your life history).

Background What gave rise to start the business/where did the idea come from? (Did you have a lightbulb moment at 4am?)

Key Activities What are your key activities – what does the company do? (Think elevator pitch here and include more detail than the executive summary.)

Team Who is running the business? (Describe yourself plus any other key individuals working in the business with short bios. Include what skills, knowledge and any relevant training you have. Demonstrate your passion for the business and why you believe it will be a success. CVs can be included in the Appendix.)

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

Other Information What are your company’s core values? Do you have a mission statement? (Include it here if you do.)

Do you have any key resources? (These can take many forms, generally they are things which are critical to the business and are significant contributors to the performance of the business e.g. skilled workforce, key equipment, location.)

Who are your key partners and advisors? (Partners are people or other businesses/organisations with whom your business has a link and collaborates with for the benefit of the business. Advisors are independent of the business i.e. solicitors, accountants and other organisations such as Access to Finance/Oxford Innovation.)

What is your current position? (Describe where your business is at present, are you a start-up or have you begun trading? If an existing business give some information such as current turnover, how long established, number of employees etc.)

What is the company’s legal structure and ownership? (Are you a sole trader, partnership, limited company etc?)

What is your Plan B should the business not succeed? (No one likes to think they will fail but investors want to see how you can pay their loans back should the worst happen.)

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

PRODUCT/SERVICE DETAILS

This is where you go into greater detail about the problem you’ve identified and your specific solution. Pictures, pictures – show what you do here! It’s a proven fact that visuals are more effective at communicating information than text. If there is lots of detail such as product specifications, or technical drawings, these could be included in the Appendix.

Problem Define the problem. (Describe the problems that exist in the market for the customers who are going to purchase your product or service. Do they need a better product, a cheaper product or a new service not available in your area? What is the customer’s pain point?)

Solution Describe in more detail what you sell and how your product/service will provide a solution? Provide photos of what you do here. (Be clear if you are selling a product or providing a service – coffee and doughnuts or day trips in a hot air balloon. You may primarily provide a service and sell ancillary products – describe this.)

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

Explain the different phases to the Proposition if there are any. (E.g. if an initial line of products will be sold followed by a second phase. Clearly if these increase the appeal or potential markets they should be disclosed.)

Pilots, product testing, test trading. (Have any pilots of the product or service been conducted or produced? Detail any product testing you have undertaken and/or test trading to evidence the suitability of the product or service.)

Minimum Viable Product. (Depending on your product or service it may be possible to offer a minimum viable product such as a small product run to test the product and the market for it.)

Pricing strategy. (How will you price your product – cheap and cheerful, high end, mid-range? What is your gross margin projection?)

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

CUSTOMERS & MARKET

It is important to have a clear idea of who your customer is. You can’t sell to everyone, but it is a good idea to have a range of customers to help strengthen the business. Many business plans fail to show demand or need. Research and evidence is key here. Keep very specific customer details e.g. 55yr old woman called Susan, for marketing plans. Include details of your industry type to show you understand your market.

Customers Describe your customers. (Very important that a business knows who its potential customers are, if it does not, how can it sell to them? Are they businesses or individuals? What is their age, income, location, and why do they buy?)

Do you have any early adopters & innovators? (Describe any customers who have been the early purchasers or users of your product or service. Particularly valuable where these are well known or larger organisations.)

Build on the match between your customers and the product or service you are offering. (Demonstrate the link between customer and product.)

Market Identify the industry type and market segment within that. Identify the size of the market segment. (Be careful to use statistics only where you can back this up with some evidence. Do your research.)

What is the need for the product or service? (Describe any market research or test trading you have done which shows that there is going to be demand for your product or service.)

Describe any potential growth in the market for your product or service.

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

MARKETING STRATEGY

How will you reach your customers - they are unlikely to just walk through the door? Once you have gained them how will you keep them? Customer loyalty has great value. Detail here what research, both desk (internet) and field, you have done to target your customers.

Customer Relationships How do you engage with your customers? (Describe how you communicate with your customers and what style you use, this may vary for different types of customer e.g. newsletters, email.)

How will you add value to your product/service to encourage customers to buy?

Channels to Market How do you reach/plan to reach your customers? (Describe the main channels to market for the business.)

What message will you use to promote your products?

Are there any strategic alliances you can make with others?

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

Include specific details of any Marketing Plan you have. (Include timings, budgets, targets etc.)

Channels to Market

Channels used (examples) Budget Timing Who will do it

Word of mouth

Social media

Direct selling

Tradeshows/exhibitions

Website

Special offers

Advertising

Leaflets/business cards

Pick about 3 main ones and discuss them. Remember, any costs shown here must also be in the cashflow.

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

COMPETITION

You will have competition. You need to show you have identified the main competitors and how you will differentiate from them. Remember competition is anyone competing for your customer’s purse.

Who are your main competitors - describe them here.? (Think direct and indirect.)

What is your competitive advantage over them? (Why will customers choose your product/service?)

How will you protect your competitive advantage? (If you have the benefit of IP Protection detail it.)

Competitive Analysis

Business Name

Products/services

Price Strengths Weaknesses Channels to market

Start with you

Add a line for each competitor

List your top 3-5 competitors. Include yourself to compare – make sure you have the advantage.

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS

Detail here how you will operate the business. Include information about key employees and suppliers, production information, warehousing, premises, insurances etc. Keep this section brief.

Detail sourcing and order fulfilment. (Are you buying finished products or parts, have you contracts in place? Who are your key suppliers?)

Will you have payment terms and what payment methods will you accept?

Describe key technology to be used (e.g. any bespoke software or use of accounting or ordering software.)

Identify any key customers and any advance or confirmed orders.

Identify key employees or the team you have in place or need to employ, if applicable.

What facilities will, or do you have? (E.g. leased premises, owned. Describe any future plans for your facilities.)

What policies and insurances do you have/ need? (GDRP, Health & safety, Public liability insurance etc.)

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

FINANCIAL PLAN

Having a good understanding of the financial side of your business from the start will dramatically increase your chances of success. Keep figures realistic and get help with the numbers if this is not your strong point! Having identified the target market and customers, along with product pricing, you should be able to estimate your sales forecast. You will need to know what your costs will be and when they will occur. Using this information, you can create your projected profit and loss and cashflow forecast.

Provide a written summary here of the key financial information. (E.g. projected sales in year one, projected gross margin and profit.)

Identify your assumptions used in calculating your figures. (Have you used past results, market research, best guess for sales figures?)

Detail out start up costs, what they will be used for.

Describe your financing plans. Where will the funding come from and how much are you looking to borrow? How much have you invested yourself?

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[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

APPENDICES

Include here the:

Profit and Loss Statement

Personal Survival Budget

Cashflow Forecast

any technical information, drawings, product details, contracts etc. Include anything you think will be relevant and strengthen your case. Don’t include information solely to bulk the plan out!

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