A bound business plan – i.e., one that's printed up and sealed at the seam with a professional comb- or flat-bind – will go a long way towards helping you be taken seriously. But having your plan printed up and presented with a glossy cover is just a small part of the successful equation for funding. What's inside the plan, obviously, is the most important, and your role as the entrepreneur – along with your collateral, credit history, and experience – will be what carries the day. Remember that a business plan is much more than a collection of thoughts and research leads spun together into a narrative. Your plan needs intelligent market research, compelling analyses of your sales potential, and a complete pro forma financial model showing:
• Start-up summary (or past performance) & intended use of funds
• Revenue forecast & break-even analysis
• The profit and loss for each year
• Cash flow and a running balance sheet
• Appendix with Year 1 shown by month
The financials should be something you can tie to market assumptions, which will prove that you've done your homework and know a thing or two about the market conditions generally. You should have data on competitors nearest you to help inform the pro forma and to give you an idea of what sort of pitfalls there are in the industry locally. Who are the main competitors, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and how many people do they need to employ to stay afloat operationally? How will you be better than they are? Having a coherent strategy for differentiating yourself – and a marketing plan that your funders can get on board with – matters hugely. Need assistance here? MasterPlans has an expert team in-house and can get your plan done in as little as 10 days. Call 877-453-2011 now!
