How to Write a Business Plan

ChApter 9 | EDITING AND FINALIzING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN | 159

Sales Revenue Forecast: Chapter 3

Profit and Loss Forecast: Chapter   6

Capital Spending Plan: Chapter 7

Cash Flow Forecast: Chapter 7

Future Trends: Chapter 3

Risks Facing Your Business: Chapter     8

Personnel Plan: Chapter     8

•   Business Personality: Chapter   8

•   Staffing Schedule: Chapter  8

•   Job Descriptions: Chapter   8

Specific Business Goals: Chapter 2

Personal Financial Statement: Chapter 5

Personal Background: (Your Strong and

Weak Points, General and Specific Skills,

Your Business Needs, Your Likes and

Dislikes): Chapter 2

Appendix: Table of Contents: Section:

“Create the Appendix” of this chapter

Length of Your Plan

Some of you probably wonder how long a

business plan should be. Should it be five

pages or 500 pages? The best answer is that

your plan should completely and concisely

cover all the issues that we raise in this

book. You may be able to place all that

information on 15 to 20 pages or you may

need more, especially if you provide several

appendixes.

The key is to include all the information

you need to tell your story and exclude any

information that isn’t needed. Remember,

more isn’t necessarily better. If you have any

doubts about this, have a consultant review

your plan’s length.

Appendix: Supporting Documents: Section:

“Create the Appendix” of this chapter.

Write Final Portions of Your Plan

Now that you have an overview of what

your finished plan will include, it’s time

to begin writing the final sections. Every

business plan needs a summary, which

is covered below. In addition, you may

choose to write several short statements

that will improve your plan and make it

more cohesive. Those optional statements

are also covered below.

Write Your Plan Summary

The plan summary introduces and empha-

sizes the high points of your plan. It

includes a statement of the total amount

of money you seek. Because the summary

is based on the rest of your plan, we’ve

waited until now to cover it. Your job is to

tell your readers who you are, what you

want to do, how much money you need,

and how much money you expect to make,

all on one page.

CAUTiON

Pay attention! Many people will

never read your entire package. They will make

their preliminary decision about lending you

money or investing in your project on the

basis of their first impression of your plan

summary. Others will decide to read the rest of

your materials only if your summary engages