Business Plan Outline - 23 Point Checklist For Success
Dave Lavinsky
, Contributor
If you’re looking for funding for a new or existing business, you need a business plan. Your business plan gives lenders and investors the information they need to determine whether or not they should consider your company.
Your business plan outline is the first step in organizing your thoughts. And, when you follow the outline below, you ensure your business plan is in the format that prompts investors and lenders to take action.
In the business plan outline below, you will see the ten (10) sections common to business plans, and the twenty-three (23) sub-sections you must complete.
Section I – Executive Summary
1 – Executive Summary
The Executive Summary is the most important part of your business plan. Because if it doesn’t interest readers, they’ll never even get to the rest of your plan.
Start your Executive Summary with a brief and concise explanation of what your company does. Next, explain why your company is uniquely qualified to succeed. For example, does your management team have unique competencies? Do you have any patents? Are you the first mover in your market? Does a huge, unmet market opportunity exist? Etc.
Finally, include a synopsis of your financial projections in your Executive Summary. Specifically, include your expected revenues, expenses and profits for each of the next five years, how much funding you are seeking, and the key uses of these funds.
Section II – Company Overview
2 – Company Overview
The Company Overview section provides a brief history of your company.
Here you will answer questions such as when and how your organization was formed, what type of legal entity you are, and accomplishments to date.
Importantly, your past accomplishments are perhaps the best indicator of potential future success, so be sure to identify and include all key milestones your company has achieved to date.
Section III – Industry Analysis
Your Industry Analysis section has two sub-sections as follows:
3 – Market Overview
The Market Overview section discusses the size and characteristics of your market. For example, if you are a restaurant, you would include the size of the restaurant market, a brief discussion of sectors (e.g., fast food versus fine dining) and market trends.
4 – Relevant Market Size
The relevant market size is a much more specific calculation of your market size. It is the annual revenue your company could attain if it attained 100% market share. Your relevant market size is calculated by multiplying 1) the number of customers who might be interested in purchasing your products and/or services each year and 2) the amount these customers might be willing to spend, on an annual basis, on your products and/or services.
Section IV – Customer Analysis
Your Customer Analysis section has two sub-sections as follows:
5 – Target Customers
Your Target Customers section precisely identifies your current and/or intended customers. Include as much demographic data on your target customers as possible, such as their gender, age, salary, geography, marital status and education.
6 – Customer Needs
In this section of your business plan, specify why customers want or need your products and/or services. For example, do customers care most about speed, quality, location, reliability, comfort, price, value, etc.?
Section V – Competitive Analysis
Your Competitive Analysis section has three sub-sections as follows:
7 – Direct Competitors
Direct competitors are companies that fill the same customer need you fill with the same solution. For example, if you operate an Italian restaurant, other Italian restaurants would be direct competitors.
In this section of your business plan, outline who your direct competitors are, and their strengths and weaknesses.
8 – Indirect Competitors
Indirect competitors are companies that fill the same customer need you fill with a different solution. For example, if you operate an Italian restaurant, a French restaurant would be an indirect competitor.
In this section of your business plan, outline who your indirect competitors are, and their strengths and weaknesses.
9 – Competitive Advantages
Importantly, identify your Competitive Advantages in this section. Specifically, state what is it about your company that will allow you to effectively compete (and win) against both direct and indirect competitors.
Section VI – Marketing Plan
Your Marketing Plan section has four sub-sections as follows:
10 – Products & Services
Here is where you give the details of the products and/or services your company offers.
11 – Pricing
Detail your pricing here. In particular, discuss how your pricing relates to competition. For example, are you the premium brand? The low cost brand?
Discuss your expected branding based on your chosen pricing model.
12 – Promotions Plan
Your promotions plan details the tactics you will use to attract new customers. For example, you might choose radio advertising, or online pay-per-click ads, or press releases, and so on. In this section, detail each form of promotions you will use.
13 – Distribution Plan
Your Distribution Plan outlines the ways in which customers can buy from you. In many cases, they can only buy directly from you, perhaps at your physical location or web address. In other cases, you might have distributors or partners who sell your products or services. In such a case, detail this structure.
Section VII – Operations Plan
Your Operations Plan section has two sub-sections as follows:
14 – Key Operational Processes
Your Key Operational Processes are the daily functions your business must conduct. In this section, you will detail these functions. For example, will you maintain a Customer Service department? If so, what specific role will it fill?
By completing this section, you’ll get great clarity on the organization you hope to build.
15 – Milestones
In this section of your business plan, list the key milestones you hope to achieve in the future and the target dates for achieving them.
Here is where you set goals for specific and critical undertakings, such as when a new product will be created and launched, by when you plan to execute new partnerships, etc.
Section VIII – Management Team
Your Management Team section has three sub-sections as follows:
16 – Management Team Members
This section details the current members of your management team and their backgrounds.
17 – Management Team Gaps
Particularly if you’re a startup venture, you will have holes in your team; roles that you’d like to fill later. Identify such roles here, and the qualifications of the people you will seek later to fill them.
18 – Board Members
If you maintain a Board of Advisors or Board of Directors, detail your Board members and their bios in this section.
Section IX – Financial Plan
Your Financial Plan section has four sub-sections as follows:
19 – Revenue Model
As simple as it seems, this section of your business plan gives clarity on how you generate revenues. Do you sell products? Do you sell advertising space? Do you sell by-products, like data? Do you sell all of the above?
20 - Financial Highlights
Your full financial model (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement) belong in your Appendix, but in this section you’ll include the highlights. For instance, include your revenues, key expenses, and projected net income for the next five years.
21 – Funding Requirements/Use of Funds
If you are seeking funding for your company, detail the amount here, and importantly for what you will use the funds.
22 – Exit Strategy
Particularly if you are seeking equity funding, detail your expected exit strategy. The most likely exit strategy is to sell your company to a larger firm. If so, detail the types of firms that might be interested in purchasing you and why. List the specific names of potential acquirers if applicable.
Section X – Appendix
23 – Supporting Documentation
As mentioned above, your full financial model (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement) belong in your appendix.
Likewise, include any supporting documentation that will help convince readers your company will succeed. For example, include customer lists, awards, and patents received among others.
I hope this business plan outline has helped you organize your thoughts and answer the key questions needed to start and grow a successful business. While twenty-three sections seems like a lot, if you complete them one at a time, you can make progress and finish your entire plan quickly and effectively.
商业计划书提纲：通向成功的23点清单（来源：福布斯中文网）
如果你正在为一项全新的或已有的业务寻求融资，你就需要一份商业计划书。商业计划书能够提供必需的信息，供出资人和投资人判断他们是否应考虑投资你的公司。
商业计划书提纲是你组织思路的第一步。如果你按照下面的提纲来制作商业计划书，那么就确保了它从格式上起到促使投资人和出资人采取行动的作用。
在下面的商业计划书提纲中，你将看到商业计划书中常见的十个（10）章节，以及你必须完成的二十三个（23）子章节。
第I章：执行摘要
1：执行摘要
执行摘要是商业计划书最重要的部分，因为如果执行摘要不能引起读者的兴趣，他们甚至不会去看你计划书的其余内容。
在执行摘要的开头，简洁明了地解释你的公司开展的业务。然后，介绍为什么你的公司能够取得成功，它具备哪些独一无二的特质。例如，你的管理团队是否拥有出色的竞争力？你是否拥有专利？你是否是所在市场的先行者？是否存在着尚未被满足的巨大市场机会？等等。
最后，在执行摘要中需要提供财务预测概要。具体而言，需要包括未来五年中，每一年的预期营业收入、成本支出和利润，以及你需要的资金数额和这些资金的关键用途。
第II章：公司概述
2：公司概述
公司概述这一章，简要介绍了你的公司的发展历程。
这一部分需要回答的问题，包括公司的成立时间和成立过程、公司的法人实体类型、以及目前为止取得的成就。
过去的成就非常重要，它可能是评估你公司成功潜力的最佳参考指标，所以一定要确保公司取得的所有关键里程碑都包括在这一部分中。
第III章：行业分析
行业分析由如下两个子章节构成：
3：市场概览
市场概览部分讨论公司所在市场的规模和特征。例如，如果你的公司是一家餐厅，那么这部分就需要包括餐饮行业的市场规模，对细分市场（例如，快餐业vs正餐业）和市场发展趋势的简要讨论。
4：相关市场规模
相关市场规模是对市场规模更加具体的计算，它的定义是：如果你的公司取得100%的市场份额，每年能够获得的营业收入。相关市场规模是两个数字的乘积：1）每年可能会购买你的产品和/或服务的消费者数量，以及2）每一年，这些消费者愿意为你的产品和/或服务所支付的费用。
第IV章：消费者分析
消费者分析包含如下两个子章节：
5：目标消费者
目标消费者这一部分需要精准地定义公司当前和/或计划针对的目标消费者。需要尽可能多地提供目标消费者的统计信息，例如性别、年龄、收入、地域分布、婚姻状况和教育情况。
6：客户需求
在商业计划书的这一章，详细阐明消费者需要你的产品和/或服务的原因。例如，消费者最看重的是速度？质量？位置？可靠性？舒适性？价格？价值？诸如此类。
第V章：竞争分析
竞争分析包含如下三个子章节：
7：直接竞争者
所谓直接竞争者，是指采用与你的公司同样的解决方案，并满足同样的客户需求的公司。例如，如果你经营一家意大利餐厅，那么其它意大利餐厅就是直接竞争者。
在商业计划书的这一章，介绍你的直接竞争者有哪些，以及他们的竞争优劣势。
8：间接竞争者
间接竞争者虽然也满足同样的客户需求，但和你的公司采用不同的解决方案。例如，如果你经营一家意大利餐厅，那么法国餐厅就是间接竞争者。
在商业计划书的这一章，介绍你的间接竞争者有哪些，以及他们的竞争优劣势。
9：竞争优势
在这一章阐明你的竞争优势至关重要。具体而言，介绍能够支撑你的公司与直接和间接竞争者进行竞争、并取得领先的因素。
第VI章：营销计划
营销计划包含如下四个子章节：
10：产品和服务
介绍公司提供的产品和/或服务的详细信息。
11：定价
详细介绍你的定价策略。尤其需要重点讨论定价策略与竞争态势的关联。例如，你的公司是高端品牌？还是低成本品牌？
根据选择的定价模型，介绍你所预期的品牌定位。
12：推广方案
推广方案详细介绍你用来吸引新消费者的策略。例如，你可能选择广播广告、按点击次数收费的网络广告、或新闻稿件，等等。在这一章，详细介绍你会使用的每一种推广形式。
13：渠道方案
渠道方案介绍消费者能够购买你的产品和/或服务的方式。多数情况下，消费者只能直接从你的公司购买，他们既可能前往实体渠道购买，也可能通过网络购买。在其它情况下，你可能拥有渠道商或合作伙伴，来销售产品或服务。在这种情况下，需要详细介绍渠道体系的架构。
第VII章：运营方案
运营方案包含如下两个子章节：
14：关键运营流程
关键运营流程是你的业务每天必须执行的工作。在这一章，你需要详细介绍这些工作。例如，你是否需要运营一个消费者服务部门？如果答案是肯定的，那么它具体扮演怎样的角色？
完成这一章节，你将能够极为清晰地阐明你希望建立的组织架构。
15：里程碑
在商业计划书的这一章，列举在未来你希望实现的关键里程碑，以及实现里程碑的预期时间节点。
在这一章，你将为至关重要的具体工作设立目标，例如新产品完成研发和发布的时间，计划实施新的合伙关系的时间，等等。
第VIII章– 管理团队
管理团队包含如下三个子章节：
16：管理团队成员
这一章详细介绍当前管理团队的成员及其背景。
17：管理团队空缺
尤其当你是一家创业公司时，你的团队中肯定存在空缺的职位；存在你希望在未来能够补充的角色。在这里具体介绍空缺的职位，以及你希望未来能够填补空缺的候选人所具有的资格条件。
18：董事会成员
如果你的公司拥有顾问委员会或董事会，在这一章详细介绍董事会成员及其简历。
第IX章：财务规划
财务规划包含如下四个子章节：
19：营业收入模型
这一章很简单，清晰地阐明你的公司如何产生营业收入。你的公司销售产品？销售广告位？销售副产品（比如数据）？还是以上全部都在你的公司的销售范畴？
20：财务概要
完整的财务模型（损益表、资产负债表和现金流量表）应该放在附录中，但是这一章需要包括财务概要。例如，未来五年的营业收入、关键费用支出和预期净利润。
21：融资要求／资金使用
如果你在为公司寻求融资，这一章需要详细介绍需要的金额，并且资金用途也至关重要。
22：退出策略
尤其是当你寻求股权融资时，需要详细阐述你预期的退出策略。可能性最高的退出策略是将你的公司卖给更大的公司。如果是这种情况，详细介绍可能对收购你的公司感兴趣的公司类型，及其可能收购的原因。如果可能的话，列举潜在收购者的名称。
第X章：附录
23：支持性文件
如上文所述，完整的财务模型（损益表、资产负债表和现金流量表）应该放在附录中。
类似地，任何能够帮助你说服阅读者、使他们相信你的公司能够取得成功的支持性文件都应放在附录中。例如，客户名单、所获奖项，尤其是所获专利。
我希望这份商业计划书提纲能够帮助你理清自己的思路，并为建立和经营一份成功的事业所必需回答的关键问题带来答案。尽管二十三章的篇幅看起来过长，但如果每次完成一个章节，你也能够取得进展，并快速有效地完成整个计划书。