Key Items to Include in a Business Plan  

• Executive Summary 

Introduce company, what it does, value proposition, consumers’ identified key pain points, solutions summary table of company’s existing and future products & services that address these problems, target market, competition, team- executives, management and key employees, financial plan, funding requirements, metrics & milestones  

• Company Overview 

Key details about company’s ownership and legal structure, company history, location, mission statement, value proposition  

• Products & Services 

Key details about products & services, problem & solution, competitive matrix. SWOT Analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
Services, prices, features and benefits; sourcing & fulfillment distribution chain relevant supporting technology, costs, intellectual property, registered patents, trademarks, copyrights,  

Future products vision for 3-year short-, 6-year mid-, and 9-year long-term future 

Target Market  

• TAM/Total Available or Addressable Market  
• SAM/Segmented Addressable Market or Served Available Market 
• SOM/Share of Market-3-year short-term future, buyer-user personas, key customers 

• Marketing & Sales Plan 
• Positioning -mass-market, mid-market, up-market, luxury-market brand based on competitive matrix analysis 
• Pricing- cost-based or competition-based 
• Promotion- packaging, advertising, PR, content marketing, social media 
• Distribution – direct, retail, manufacturers’ representatives, original equipment manufacturer 
• Strategic alliances-partnerships 
• Metrics & Milestones 

• Team  

List of key executives, managers, key employees & contractors, with relevant credentials & experience of each, compensation, risks & risk mitigation  

• Financial Plan 
• Profit & Loss Statement-annual:  
• Revenue – EBITDA, earnings before interest-taxes-depreciation-amortization/ interest-taxes-depreciation-amortization expenses, net profit/income for current and projected short-term future  
•  COS: direct cost-of-sale, or COGS, direct cost-of-goods-sold, gross margin, total operating expenses  
• Cash Flow Statement -accrual accounting by month and annual for current and projected short-term future  
• Balance Sheet: Assets -accounts receivable, money in the bank, inventory, Liabilities- accounts payable, credit card balances, loan repayments, Equity – owner’s equity + investors’ shares, retained earnings, stock proceeds, for current and projected short-term future, 
• Sales Forecast: by customer segment, by product & service category, for current and projected short-term future  
• Personnel Plan: by team member -type & compensation for current and projected short-term future 
• Business Ratios: profitability ratios – gross margin, return-on-sales, return-on-assets, return-on-investment, liquidity ratios debt-to-equity, current ratio, working capital, for current and projected short-term future 
• Break-Even Analysis: for current and short-term future 
• Use of Funds: major areas -equipment, inventory, renovation, technology hardware & software, personnel, education & training, marketing, sales, partnerships, research & development, 
• Exit Strategy: acquisition by another business, with names of some potential buyers, initial public offering/IPO, management buyout, family succession, liquidation 

 Support a loan application 

• Basic loans 
• Term loans – collateralized typically 10-year 
• Unsecured loans – borrower’s creditworthiness 
• Acquisition loans- asset-specific 
• Revolving credit loans 
• Credit lines 
• Credit cards 
• Complex loans 
• Self-liquidating loans – short-intermediate term, repaid with money generated by asset purchased 
• Asset-conversion loans- short-term, repaid by converting an asset such as inventory or receivables into cash 
• Cash flow loans -for day-to-day cash flow needs, should be temporary 
• Working capital loans- for day-to-day operations, such as clearing up accounts payable and paying wages & salaries, short-term 
• Non-notification loans- with accounts receivable pledged as collateral 
• Bridge loans – short-term interim financing, gap financing, swing loans to remove existing obligation till permanent financing is secured 

 Application for funding by loan alternatives 

• Factoring lenders – accounts receivables factored down 
• Hedge Fund lenders- quick access money for higher risk businesses such as asset or technology-concept backed companies 
• Peer-to-Peer lenders – family, friends, cause-supporting strangers 
• Customer lenders -from within the community which a business serves 
• Convertible Debt lenders (private placement and corporate bond investors, with unpaid balances of guaranteed interest-generating investments convertible into equity position holdings of the business) 
• Venture Capital lenders (people/companies with access to bank loans not previously available to the borrower business) 

 Application for funding via SEC-regulated sources 

• Public Offerings-registered equity or debt securities public offerings 
• Reg A Offerings – lower-threshold less-stringent registration-exempt equity or debt securities public offerings 
• Reg D Offerings- registration-exempt private placement equity or debt securities offerings 

What’s Next? 

Contact Lions Financial to find a better strategy and holistic plan for your company. Lions Assurance Financial helps executives and businesses, together with their tax and legal advisors, to develop the optimal financial solutions for success. Contact us for in an initial consultation to determine how we can help your current business need.