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Index
How to Write a Business Plan
Creating Success Series
Taking Minutes of Meetings
Contents
Introduction
Why this book?
What is the plan for and who is the audience?
You are telling a story
Presentation
Facts and evidence
Gathering data
Repetition
Review your document
01 The structure of the plan
Using appendices
02 Summary
03 The business background
What your business is about and how you got here
The business
What is the product or service?
The markets
Supply
How did you get here?
04 The market
Overview
Market structure
Competitors
Customers
Distribution
Trends
Competitive advantage
Market segmentation
Differentiation
Pricing
Barriers to entry
Big changes and new technologies
Examples of market change
Mixed strategies
05 Operations
Differences
Processes
Control
Experience
Supply
Systems
Location and environment
Regulatory control
07 Management
The essential difference
What skills are required?
Organization structure
Demonstrating control
Management
07 The proposal
Explain
The proposition
Why will you succeed?
Ask for what you want!
What have you invested?
Second round finance
Closing the deal
The exit
09 The forecast
The sales forecast
Costs
The five-year forecast
Reviewing the plan
Sensitivity
Key assumptions
Explain important points
09 Financial information
Profit and loss account
Cash forecast
Sensitivity
Break-even
Funding
Reconciling and checking
Timing
Balance sheet
Trends
Some important terms
10 Risks
What did we get wrong?
Long term versus short term
Focus on the big stuff
Don’t forget the everyday stuff
11 Legal issues and confidentiality
Confidentiality
12 Selling your business
Explain why you are selling
Emphasize the great opportunities for the business
Don’t waste time illustrating that sudden upturn in business expected imminently
Do you include a forecast?
Who is the buyer?
Holding back information
Due diligence
Do you own what you are selling?
13 Improve performance with a business plan
Planning is not budgeting
Strategic vision and action
Creating strategy
Planning for people
Practicalities
14 Using business plans for bidding
Appendix
Appendix 1 The confidentiality letter
Appendix 2 Reconciling profit and cash flow
Appendix 3 The cash forecast
Copyright
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