How Important Are Business Plan Templates?
A business plan template is a document that will help to speed up the creation of any business plan. A typical business plan consists of just a single document, usually a letter, divided into many different sections usually involving the company, the industry, the competition, the forecast, financial forecasts, and funding requirements. If equity or debt financing is required for the business, the resulting document is also often provided to investors or financial institutions for repayment.
To prepare a business plan template, first create an overview of the company’s current situation and then go over its financial projections. This includes sales, expenses, assets, liabilities, and net worth. You should also include a review of management’s philosophy and long range plans. This would be a good time to mention the strengths and weaknesses of the company as well as any new initiatives that have been taken on.
The next part of preparing a business plan template is the competitive analysis. This section would review what kind of competition the company will face and what it is doing to stay ahead. It should also discuss how competitors are likely to react and what actions they might take to preempt the business. A market research report should also be included here to help determine the best way to use technology to increase the benefits customers would experience.
The next two sections that comprise most business plan templates are the sales and marketing sections. These two topics are very important, since they allow you to predict how much revenue you are going to make and exactly how much you plan to sell it for. The sales report should discuss both the product and the services you are offering and how you intend to advertise them. A financial projections section should contain the financial statements you used to create the projections, so that your readers can understand what kind of numbers you are trying to reach.
Lastly, business plan templates often include a third section that addresses the issue of securing funding for the business. Investors are not as willing to invest in new businesses that do not have a solid business plan and a good idea of what they are planning to do. As such, you must demonstrate to investors why your business is a good investment. You need to show them that it has a chance of becoming extremely successful. This section should outline several ways to secure funding, such as securing angel investor groups, obtaining a small-business loan, obtaining venture capital or obtaining a small business loan from the Small Business Administration.
Hopefully, this article has helped to shed some light on the importance of properly preparing a small business plan template. If your template only includes the three pages mentioned in the introduction above, then you are really only preparing for the first time. You should consider hiring a consultant to create a full template with additional pages that can help you impress investors and secure funding. There is no reason for you to struggle through the process without having the help of professionals.
