Chapter 4

Writing a
Business Plan
Bruce R. Barringer
R. Duane Ireland

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Chapter Objectives
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1. Explain the purpose of a business plan.

2. Discuss the two primary reasons for writing a
business plan.
3. Describe who reads a business plan and what
they’re looking for.
4. Explain the difference between a summary
business plan, a full business plan, and an
operational business plan.
5. Explain why the executive summary may be
the most important section of a business plan.

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Chapter Objectives
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6. Describe a milestone and how milestones are

used in business plans.
7. Explain why its important to include separate
sections on a firm’s industry and its target
market in a business plan.
8. Explain why the “Management Team and
Company Structure” section of a business plan
is particularly important.
9. Describe the purposes of a “sources and uses
of funds” statement and an “assumptions
sheet.”

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Chapter Objectives
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10. Detail the parts of an oral presentation of a

business plan.

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What Is a Business Plan?

Business Plan
A business plan is a written narrative, typically 25 to
35 pages long, that describes what a new business
plans to accomplish.
Dual-Use Document
For most new ventures, the business plan is a dual-
purpose document used both inside and outside the
firm.

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Why Reads the Business Plan—And
What Are They Looking For?
There are two primary audience for a firm’s business plan

Audience What They are Looking For

A Firm’s A clearly written business plan helps the

Employees employees of a firm operate in sync and move
forward in a consistent and purposeful manner.

Investors and A firm’s business plan must make the case that the
other external firm is a good use of an investor’s funds or the
stakeholders attention of others.

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Guidelines for Writing a Business Plan
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Structure of the Business Plan

• To make the best impression a business plan should
follow a conventional structure, such as the outline
for the business plan shown in the chapter.
• Although some entrepreneurs want to demonstrate
creativity, departing from the basic structure of the
conventional business plan is usually a mistake.
• Typically, investors are busy people and want a plan
where they can easily find critical information.

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Guidelines for Writing a Business Plan
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Structure of the Business Plan (continued)

Software Packages
• There are many software packages available that employ an
interactive, menu-driven approach to assist in the writing of
a business plan.
• Some of these programs are very helpful. However,
entrepreneurs should avoid a boilerplate plan that looks as
though it came from a “canned” source.
Sense of Excitement
• Along with facts and figures, a business plan needs to
project a sense of anticipation and excitement about the
possibilities that surround a new venture.

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Guidelines for Writing a Business Plan
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Content of the Business Plan

• The business plan should give clear and concise
information on all the important aspects of the
proposed venture.
• It must be long enough to provide sufficient
information yet short enough to maintain reader
interest.
• For most plans, 25 to 35 pages is sufficient.
Types of Business Plans
• There are three types of business plans, which are
shown on the next slide.

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Guidelines for Writing a Business Plan
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Types of Business Plans

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Guidelines for Writing a Business Plan
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• Recognizing the Elements of the Plan May Change

• It’s important to recognize that the plan will usually
change while written.
• New insights invariably emerge when an entrepreneur or a
team of entrepreneurs immerse themselves in writing the
plan and start getting feedback from others.

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Outline of Business Plan

Outline of Business Plan

• A suggested outline of a business plan is shown on the
next several slides.
• Most business plans do not include all the elements
introduced in the sample plan; we include them here
for the purpose of completeness.
• Each entrepreneur must decided which elements to
include in his or her plan.

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Section 1: Executive Summary
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• Executive Summary
• The executive summary is a short overview of the entire
business plan
• It provides a busy reader with everything that needs to be
known about the new venture’s distinctive nature.
• An executive summary shouldn’t exceed two single-space
pages.

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Section 1: Executive Summary
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Key Insights
• In many instances an investor will
ask for a copy of a firm’s executive
Executive Summary summary and will ask for a copy of
the entire plan only if the executive
summary is sufficiently
convincing.
• The executive summary, then, is
arguably the most important
section of a business plan.

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Section 2: Company Description
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• Company Description
• The main body of the business plan beings with a general
description of the company.
• Items to include in this section:
• Company description.
• Company history.
• Mission statement.
• Products and services.
• Current status.
• Legal status and ownership.
• Key partnerships (if any).

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Section 2: Company Description
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Key Insights
• While at first glance this section
may seem less important than the
Company Description others, it is extremely important.
• It demonstrates to your reader that
you know how to translate an idea
into a business.

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Section 3: Industry Analysis
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• Industry Analysis
• This section should being by describing the industry the
business will enter in terms of its size, growth rate, and
sales projections.
• Items to include in this section:
• Industry size, growth rate, and sales projections.
• Industry structure.
• Nature of participants.
• Key success factors.
• Industry trends.
• Long-term prospects.

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Section 3: Industry Analysis
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Key Insights
• Before a business selects a target
market it should have a good grasp
Industry Analysis of its industry—including where its
promising areas are and where its
points of vulnerability are.
• The industry that a company
participates in largely defines the
playing field that a firm will
participate in.

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Section 4: Market Analysis
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• Market Analysis
• The market analysis breaks the industry into segments and
zeros in on the specific segment (or target market) to
which the firm will try to appeal.
• Items to include in this section:
• Market segmentation and target market selection.
• Buyer behavior.
• Competitor analysis.

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Section 3: Market Analysis
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Key Insights
• Most startups do not service their
entire industry. Instead, they focus
Market Analysis on servicing a specific (target)
market within the industry.
• It’s important to include a section in
the market analysis that deals with
the behavior of the consumers in the
market. The more a startup knows
about the consumers in its target
market, the more it can tailor its
products or service appropriately.
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Section 4: Marketing Plan
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• Marketing Plan
• The marketing plan focuses on how the business will
market and sell its product or service.
• Items to include in this section:
• Overall marketing strategy.
• Product, price, promotions, and distribution.

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Section 4: Marketing Plan
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Key Insights
• The best way to describe a startup’s
marketing plan is to start by
Marketing Plan articulating its marketing strategy,
positioning, and points of
differentiation, and then talk about
how these overall aspects of the
plan will be supported by price,
promotional mix, and distribution
strategy.

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Section 5: Management Team and Company
Structure
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• Management Team and Company Structure

• The management team of a new venture typically consists
of the founder or founders and a handful of key
management personnel.
• Items to include in this section:
• Management team.
• Board of directors.
• Board of advisers.
• Company structure.

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Section 5: Management Team and Company
Structure
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Key Insights
• This is a critical section of a
business plan.
Management Team and • Many investors and others who
Company Structure read the business plan look first at
the executive summary and then go
directly to the management team
section to assess the strength of the
people starting the firm.

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Section 6: Operations Plan
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• Operations Plan
• Outlines how your business will be run and how your
product or service will be produced.
• A useful way to illustrate how your business will be run is
to describe it in terms of “back stage” (unseen to the
customer) and “front stage” (seen by the customer)
activities.
• Items to include in this section:
• General approach to operations.
• Business location.
• Facilities and equipment.

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Section 6: Operations Plan
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Key Insights
• Your have to strike a careful balance
between adequately describing this
Operations Plan topic and providing too much
detail.
• As a result, it is best to keep this
section short and crisp.

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

• If you’re developing a completely new product or service,
you need to include a section that focuses on the status of
your development efforts.
• Items to include in this section:
• Development status and tasks.
• Challenges and risks.
• Intellectual property.

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 Section 7: Product (or Service) Design and
Development Plan
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Key Insights
• Many seemingly promising startups
never get off the ground because
Product (or Service) their product development efforts
Design and Development stall or turn out to be more difficult
than expected.
Plan • Its important to convince the reader
of your plan that this won’t happen
to you.

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Section 8: Financial Projections
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• Financial Projections
• The final section of a business plan presents a firm’s pro
forma (or projected) financial projections.
• 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.

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Section 8: Financial Projections
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Key Insights
• Having completed the earlier
sections of the plan, its easy to see
Financial Projections why the financial projections come
last.
• They take the plans you’ve
developed and express them in
financial terms.

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Presenting the Business Plan to Investors
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• The Oral Presentation

• The first rule in making an oral presentation is to follow
directions. If you’re told you have 15 minutes, don’t talk for
more than the allotted time.
• The presentation should be smooth and well-rehearsed.
• The slides should be sharp and not cluttered.
• Questions and Feedback to Expect from Investors
• The smart entrepreneur has a good idea of the questions that
will be asked, and will be prepared for those queries.

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Presenting the Business Plan to Investors
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Twelve PowerPoint Slides to Include in an Investor Presentation

1. Title Slide 7. Marketing and sales

2. Problem 8. Management team
3. Solution 9. Financial projections
4. Opportunity and target market 10. Current status
5. Technology 11. Financing sought
6. Competition 12. Summary

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