6+ Business Plan Outline Templates
Whether you’re opening up a business or if you already have one, you have to realize just how important a business plan is. This type of document is what’s going to tell you the goals of your company, as well as how you are going to achieve them.
Sample Business Plan Outline Template
Restaurant Business Plan Outline Template
The problem is that you need to come up with one as well as outline everything that your business plan contains. And that’s why this article is going to focus on how you are going to be able to come up with a business plan outline that will show readers all of the information they need to know about your business.
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How to make a business plan outline
So, let’s say that you’re going to have to provide your business plan to an investor because he or she wants to learn the kind of business that you plan on opening up. This would mean that you’re going to have to learn how to create a clear outline of your business plan so that this investor will have a clear understanding of the entirety of your business.
To help you out, here are the things that you’re going to need for a clear business plan outline:
1. Executive summary
As the name suggests, it’s basically the summary of your entire business plan. This is where you’ll be sharing a ton of information such as the location of where your business is going to be held, the name of your business, the products and services that your business is going to sell, the type of business it’s going to be, the owners of the business, and much more.
Remember that this is an executive summary and that this part of the business plan should only be one page. You don’t want to make this too long because, again, this is a summary. So, make sure that you’re able to get straight to the point as to what your business is and what it does and that it’s brief enough for readers, but contains enough information for them to understand. The reason for this is because this is where investors usually go through first to get the gist of your business, and this document alone can help them make the decision as to whether or not they should invest in your business.
2. Business description
This is where you give a more detailed description of your entire business. Be sure that the following information is contained in this section of the business plan:
- The name of your business. Be sure that you can come up with one that’s memorable and catchy enough to attract customers. You can also point out the origin of the name, but don’t make it too long. You may also see sample business plans.
- The type of business. Are you the ones that are going to be manufacturing the goods? Are you going to be buying goods but selling them at a different price? Be sure that you answer these questions in this part of the description.
- The location of your business. Remember that when it comes to opening up a business, location is always going to be the key factor in its success. If you’re still in the phase where you’re choosing the best location, then you need a place that has high human traffic and easy accessibility for your target audience. Once you’ve come up with a location where you wish to hold your business, all you have to do next is to provide the complete address in the business description. If you’re opening up your business from your own home, then simply place your home address in the description.
- Licenses and permits. You won’t be able to operate your business if you don’t have the right documents. Check with government officials to ask the kind of documents that you are going to need to set up business operations if you have no clue as to what you’re going to need. You may also see sample business plans.
- Owners, managers, and employees. Provide brief information for each. All you have to do is produce the names, their titles, and what they do in the company. This will help readers understand who’s in charge and who’s going to take care of the employees. You may also see simple business plans.
3. Products and services
This is the part where readers of your business plan will be able to see what it is your business has to offer to the general public. Make sure that this section has the following information:
- A general description of the products that your business plans on selling
- A price list which contains all of the different prices for every product that your business is selling. It should also contain a statement that the prices may vary based on different markets or change in economy
- Information as to whether your business will be the one to make and provide the products to the customers or if yours is one that plans on acquiring them from a wholesaler to resell to your customers
- If your business focuses more on services, then provide a description as to how they will be provided as well as a price list for all the services that your business is going to provide. You may also like business plan excel templates.
4. Target audience
This is the part of the business plan where you show the readers of your business’ view of the ideal customer. There are a ton of different factors that could affect this. So, that’s everything from the age, gender, salary figure, etc. Also, you’re going to have to think about the buying behavior of these people. Are they going to be aggressive? Or are you supposed to go up to them? Are they passive in terms of what they want or are they going to be the ones that will be looking for what you’re selling? You may also see small business plans.
While all of these factors are important, the main question that you’re going to have to answer is “Who is going to buy whatever it is my business has to offer?” Once you come up with an answer to that question, the knowing who your target audience is going to be should no longer be a problem. You may also see free business plans.
5. Market analysis
This is where you do a situation analysis of the market and how your business is going to do in it. This is to help the readers determine whether your business will do well in the market that it’s entering, or if it’s bound to fail. Be sure that you provide them with all the necessary details such as how your products and services are in high demand and how the geographic location of your business will factor into it.
6. Competition
This is where you’re going to be placing all of the information that you have gathered with your market research in regards to the competition. This section must include the following:
- The number of competitors that are in your area
- The characteristics of the top three competitors that your business will compete with
- What makes your business unique from that of the rest of the competition
- How you are going to emphasize your products and services over that of your competitors in terms of delivery, customer service, product and service differentiation, and other characteristics.
7. Marketing plan
This is where you’re going to have to provide your marketing strategies that will tell your readers how you plan on promoting your business and the products or services that it has to offer to the public.
- The methods that you will be using to inform your target market about everything that your business has to offer. You should think about the top three things that come to mind that will get these people interested enough to the point that they would want to do business with you. You may also see personal business plans.
- The kind of paid advertising that you are going to use to promote what your business has to offer. This can be anything from radio or television advertisements.
- The type of materials (flyer designs, banners, brochure templates, etc.) that you will be printing out and using in order to promote your business’ products and services.
When writing down your marketing strategy in the business plan outline, be sure that you also include the budget. You won’t be able to get any of these done if you don’t have any money invested in it, so you’re going to have to create a budgeting plan that will outline all of the things you’re going to need to do for your marketing strategy for the next three years of your business.
8. Financial statement
This is the part that your investors will be greatly interested in. This is where they’re going to go to see information such as how much money it’s going to take to start your business, how much it will cost to purchase specific equipment, the amount of revenue and expenses that the business will make, how much it’s going to take to break even, etc. Remember that you’ll need to provide these figures to help potential investors make a decision as to whether or not they should invest in your small business.
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