How to Write a Business Plan (Creating Success, 107) - Softcover

Finch, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 074944553X ISBN 13: 9780749445539

Publisher: Kogan Page, 2006

Synopsis

Anyone involved in business will, at some point, have to prepare a business plan, whether it is to raise finance, sell a business or develop a specific project. While people are unlikely to invest solely in a beautiful document, they are very unlikely to support something that is scrappy, untidy and badly written.

Starting with the premise that there's only ever one chance to make a good impression, How to Write a Business Plan covers all the issues involved in producing a plan - from profiling competitors and forecasting market development, to the importance of providing clear and concise financial information.

Presented in a highly accessible format, How to Write a Business Plan also includes a full glossary, case histories and a detailed section on the related issue of how a company can best use internal business plans.

About this title

About the Author

Brian Finch is an independent consultant, with considerable experience of preparing and delivering effective business plans, as well as advising others on their preparation of winning material. He is the author of Effective Financial Management, also published by Kogan Page.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction 1

1. The structure of the plan 15

Using appendices 18

2. Summary 20

3. The business background 24

The business 24; What is the product or

service? 25; The markets 25; Supply 26;

How did you get here? 27

4. The market 29

Overview 29; Market structure 30; Competitors 31;

Customers 32; Distribution 32; Trends 35;

Competitive advantage 36; Market segmentation 37;

Differentiation 38; Pricing 39; Barriers to entry 39;

New technologies 40; Mixed strategies 41

5. Operations 42

Differences 43; Processes 43; Control 44;

Experience 45; Supply 46; Systems 46; Location

and environment 47; Regulatory control 48

6. Management 49

The essential difference 53; What skills are

required? 54; Organisation structure 55;

Demonstrating control 56

7. The proposal 61

Explain 61; The proposition 61; Why will you

succeed? 63; Ask for what you want! 64;

What have you invested? 65; Closing the deal 66;

The exit 67

8. The forecast 68

The sales forecast 68; Costs 70; The five-year

forecast 70; Reviewing the plan 72; Sensitivity 73;

Key assumptions 75; Explain important points 78

9. Financial information 80

Profit and loss account 81; Cash forecast 84;

Sensitivity 85; Funding 86; Reconciling and

checking 87; Timing 87; Balance sheet 89;

Some important terms 91

10. Risks 93

11. Legal issues and confidentiality 96

Confidentiality 96

12. Selling your business 100

Explain why are selling 101; Emphasise the great

opportunities for the business 101; Don't waste

time illustrating that sudden upturn in business

expected imminently 101; Do you include a

forecast 102; Who is the buyer? 103; Holding

back information 103

13. The internal business plan 105

How to use plans to help run organisations 105;

Planning is not budgeting!! 110; Non-traditional

plans 112; The corporate vision: soft data and

hard data 113; Creating strategy 116; Conduct

action-oriented planning 118; Where are you

starting from? 121; Involving staff - building

the team 125; Tips for producing and using the

internal plan 126; The dead hand of corporate

politics 130; Using business plans for bidding 134

Appendices 138

1. The confidentiality letter 138

2. Reconciling profit and cash flow 140

Glossary 143

Edition details

• Publisher: Kogan Page
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 074944553X
• ISBN 13: 9780749445539
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 160