When it comes to business, I’ve found that you can over think things and not actually focus on the business. The same theory can apply to writing a business plan. There are so many websites, books on the market that suggest that your business plan should a huge document covering every aspect of the business.
This is true in part, however for the vast majority of SME’s, a business plan should be a working organic document that evolves and changes as the business does. The business plan I used for Hoxton.North was a 16 page document that covered the following points:
1.0 Summary
2.0 Financial Information
3.0 Funding Required
3.1 The Deal
3.2 Exit
4.0 Market Opportunity
4.1 Location
5.0 The Product
5.1 Product Description
6.0 Sales and Marketing
6.1 Sales Strategy
6.2 Target Market Segment Strategy
6.3 Market Needs
6.4 Industry Analysis
7.0 Competition
7.1 Competitive Edge
8.0 The Business Model
8.1 Buying Patterns
9.0 Management Summary
9.1 Management Team
9.2 Management Team Gaps
I would suggest keeping it short [About 20 pages max] and keeping to the main points.
Life Lesson #3 Keep things simple
