A business plan is an essential tool for any entrepreneur. It outlines your company’s goals, how you will achieve them, and how much money you need to do so. But writing a business plan can be intimidating, especially if it’s your first time doing so. As per the experts at Lantern by SoFi, “While some small business grants are easy to apply for, some can require extremely lengthy applications—a dozen pages or more. For the latter, it may be worth hiring a grant writer to save you time and ensure the requirements are all met.”
Read on if you’re looking for tips on writing a good business plan that will convince investors and officers for SMB loans to give you funding for your new venture!
Executive Summary
The executive summary is the first section of your business plan, and it’s what lenders, investors, and other potential partners will read to decide if they want to invest in your idea.
It should be no longer than one page long and should explain:
- What is the business?
- What problem does this business solve or opportunity does it create (and how)?
- How will you make money?
Company Description
Your Company Description is a short overview of your company, including its history, size, location and website.
The purpose of this section is to provide an overview of the business and to explain why someone should invest in it. It should be clear what the business does and how it makes money so that investors can easily understand what they are investing in.
Products and Services
Next, you’ll need to describe your company’s products and services. This section is a good place to describe the target market, competitive landscape, and marketing strategy. You can also include details about how customer service will work, including what type of support or assistance they can expect if they have questions or concerns.
Market Analysis
Your business plan needs to identify your target market and its size.
- Who is your ideal customer? What are their needs, wants, and desires?
- How many potential customers do you believe there are for your product or service?
Strategy and Implementation
The implementation of your business plan is where you can really shine. It’s important to have a solid strategy for how you will implement your goals to adapt them to changing circumstances. If everything goes according to plan, that’s great! But if not, having a clearly-stated strategy will help ensure things run smoothly.
Management Team
This section is a chance for you to show off your team. You can mention their names, experience and skills. You should also describe the roles they play in terms of what they do daily. Additionally, you should mention their goals and responsibilities and how they fit into the larger picture of the business plan.
Financial Plan
Now that you’ve completed your business plan, it’s time to create a financial plan. In this section of your loan request, include a detailed description of the company’s financial needs and situation, including:
- How much money do you need?
- Where will you put it? (i.e., capital equipment, inventory)
- What is your current financial position? (i.e., net worth)
Using the tips mentioned above, you will be able to create a business plan for you that will increase your chances of getting the loan application approved.
