How to Write a
Winning Business Plan: formats and layout

There are
predictable contents of a standard but good business plan. For example, a
business plan normally starts with an Executive Summary, which should be concise
and interesting. People almost always expect to see sections covering the
Company, the Market, the Product, the Management Team, Strategy, Implementation
and Financial Analysis.

If you have
the main components, the order doesn’t matter that much, but here’s the
order I suggest.

Executive
Summary:

Write
this last. It’s just a page or two of highlights.

Company
Description:

Legal
establishment, history, start-up plans, etc.

Product
or Service:

Describe
what you’re selling. Focus on customer benefits.

Market
Analysis:

You
need to know your market, customer needs, where they are, how to reach them,
etc.

Strategy
and Implementation:

Be
specific. Include management responsibilities with dates and budgets. Make sure
you can track results.

Web
Plan Summary:

For
e-commerce, include discussion of website, development costs, operations, sales
and marketing strategies.

Management
Team:

Describe
the organization and the key management team members.

Financial
Analysis:
Make sure to include at the very least your
projected Profit and Loss and Cash Flow tables.

It
is not recommended to develop the business plan in the same order you present it
as a finished document. For example, although the Executive Summary obviously
comes as the first section of a business plan, I recommend writing it after
everything else is done. It will appear first, but you write it last.

Below I include layout
or format in the making of a good business plan. Depending on your taste you
could vary the format to your liking but the main title headings should be
included. This way you have yourself a comprehensive and good formatted business
plan.

Expanded good Business Plan Outline

1.0
Executive Summary

1.1
Objectives

1.2
Mission

1.3
Success factors

2.0
Company Summary

2.1
Company Ownership

       
2.2 Company History (for ongoing companies) or Start-up
Plan (for new companies).

2.3
Company Locations and Facilities

3.0
Products and Services

3.1
Product and Service Description

3.2
Competitive Comparison

3.3
Sales Literature

3.4
Sourcing and Fulfillment

3.5
Technology

3.6
Future Products and Services

4.0
Market Analysis Summary

4.1
Market Segmentation

4.2
Target Market Segment Strategy

4.2.1
Market Needs

4.2.2
Market Trends

4.2.3
Market Growth

4.3
Industry Analysis

4.3.1
Industry Participants

4.3.2
Distribution Patterns

4.3.3
Competition and Buying Patterns

4.3.4
Main Competitors

5.0
Strategy and Implementation Summary

5.1
Strategy Pyramids

5.2
Value Proposition

5.3
Competitive Edge

5.4
Marketing Strategy

5.4.1
Positioning Statements

5.4.2
Pricing Strategy

5.4.3
Promotion Strategy

5.4.4
Distribution Patterns

5.4.5
Marketing Programs

5.5
Sales Strategy

5.5.1
Sales Forecast

5.5.2
Sales Programs

5.6
Strategic Alliances

5.7
Milestones

6.0
Web Plan Summary

6.1
Website Marketing Strategy

6.2
Development Requirements

7.0
Management Summary

7.1
Organizational Structure

7.2
Management Team

7.3
Management Team Gaps

7.4
Personnel Plan

8.0
Financial Plan

8.1
Important Assumptions

8.2
Key Financial Indicators

8.3
Break-even Analysis

8.4
Projected Profit and Loss

8.5
Projected Cash Flow

8.6
Projected Balance Sheet

8.7
Business Ratios

8.8
Long-term Plan