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Writing a Business Plan
Business plans follow set guidelines. This is to ensure the plan covers all aspects of your business operations. While it may appear that the plan is repetitious in some areas, presenting the material in context to each heading is important. Some readers will go directly to the headings that interest them and may not read your entire business plan. You must make it easy for the reader to find their specific area of interest (ie: lending institutions will want to see your financials). Your business plan should also include all relevant supporting data for areas such as appraisals, environmental studies, suppliers price lists, competitors price lists, product photographs, product tests etc.
A good way to begin writing your business plan is by writing your Table of Contents. Once this is complete you can fill in the information as you gather it. Our sample table of contents below outlines all the sections of a business plan and what kind of information is required in each section. The major sections of a business plan are show in ALL CAPS with related subheadings below. Clicking on a major section will take to that section of the plan. If you have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer you may wish to download our PDF version of this plan so you can print it out.
(Click to view)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Vision and Mission Statement
Business History (for existing businesses)
Business Goals -Key Initiatives, Objectives and Implementation Plan
Location and Facilities
Major Strengths and Weaknesses
Description of Product or Service
Uniqueness of Product or Service
Future Products and Services
Suppliers
Production Plan (if applicable)
Competitive Production Advantage
Franchise Information (if applicable)
Pricing Strategy (Image and price consideration)
Pricing and Margins (include a price list)
Description of the Industry
Competition
Target Market and Analysis of Market, Marketing Survey
Signed Letters of Intent, Purchase Orders or Contracts
A New Millennium Marketing Consideration (On-Line marketing)
What Can my Web-Site do? It can:
How much will it Cost?
Where can I Find out More?
Key items to consider
Sales Strategy
Purchase Process and Buying Criteria
Analysis of Competitive Position
Distribution Strategy
What Advantage Do You Offer?
Competitive Analysis
Ownership and Organisational Structure
Choosing A Business Structure
Personal Goals of Management
Management Resume
References for Management
Partnership or Joint Venture Agreements (if applicable)
Day to Day Operations
Staffing
Labour Market Issues
Health, Fire, and Safety Building Inspections
Business Licensing
Trade Name Registration
Labelling Information
Intellectual Property Protection, Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks
PST, GST, WCB and Revenue Canada Accounts
Risk Evaluation
Insurance Requirements and Proposed Coverage
Management/Personal Financials
Personal Assets Brought into the Business
Personal Net Worth Statement
Personal Monthly Budget
Business Financials
Use and Source of Funds
One Year Cash Flow Statement
