How to Write a Business Plan-Part 2

By Davies Zhai - Jetek Staff

Section 7: Product (or Service) Design and Development Plan

1. If you’re developing a completely new product or service, you need to include a section in your business plan that focuses on the status of your development efforts.

2. Items to include in this section:

Development status and tasks.

Challenges and risks.

Projected development costs.

Proprietary issues (patents, trademarks, copyrights, licenses, brand names)

Section 8: Operations Plan

1. Outlines how your business will be run and how your product or service will be produced.

2. A useful way to illustrate how your business will be run is to describe it in terms of “backstage” (unseen to the customer) and “front stage” (seen by the customer) activities.

3. Items to include in this section:

The general approach to operations.

Business location.

Facilities and equipment.

Section 9: Management Team and

Company Structure

1. The management team of a new venture typically consists of the founder or founders and a handful of key management personnel.

2. Items to include in this section:

Management team.

Board of directors

Board of advisors

Company structure.

Section 10: Overall Schedule

1. A schedule should be prepared that shows the major events required to launch the business.

2. The schedule should be in the format of milestones critical to the business’s success.

3. Examples of milestones:

Incorporating the venture.

Completion of prototypes.

Rental of facilities.

Obtaining critical financing.

Starting production.

Obtaining the first sale.

Section 11: Financial Projections

1. The final section of a business plan presents a firm’s pro forma (or projected) financial projections.

2. Items to include in this section:

Sources and uses of funds statement.

Assumptions sheet.

Pro forma income statements.

Pro forma balance sheets.

Pro forma cash flows.

Ratio analysis.