Writing a Business Plan: A Business Plan Framework

Here’s a question I had from one of the readers of my weekly newsletter.

‘Rob I was wondering how to write a business plan for a downtown sports bar. This is a mock project that I am involved in at my intro to business college class. I am in a group with three other people who want our group project to be a sports bar. I don't have a clue where to start, and no one will let a person see an actual sports bar plan. Thanks for any help, Steve.’

Here are my thoughts in which I have blended Steve’s problem with other ideas which will be of help to others who need to write a Business Plan.


Writing a Business Plan can be a daunting task. You have so many ideas floating around in your head that it can be difficult to capture them all in a logical format. However, committing time to writing a successful Business Plan can help improve your chances of success.

Don’t Go It Alone, Ask For Help

Picture this. You've never written a Business Plan before; you sit down at your table and end up staring at a blank piece of paper for 3 hours! Then, another 3 hours later, all you have is a bin full of scrap paper. However, in order to help you put a plan together there are a variety of sources of help you can tap into:

• Professional advisers
  
• Business colleagues
  
• Advice agencies
  
• Your staff
  
• Books and websites

In Steve’s case he doesn’t wish to start a business so he can approach local bar owners direct and explain what he wants, which is 20 minutes of the owner’s time to pick his brains!

Follow a Framework

Having a framework or outline to follow can make the task of writing a Business Plan so much easier. The 3 parts to your Plan are:

• Where you are now
  
• Where you intend to be
  
• How you are going to get there

This is your framework which will guide both you and the reader through your business and your idea.

Tell the Reader Where You Are Now

In your first section you want to paint a picture of where your business is now. These are the main areas to cover:

• Business history
  
• Location and premises
  
• Your product or service
  
• Your market
  
• Your customers
  
• Your competition
  
• Your staff
  
• Equipment

Provide an insight into each part of your business so that the reader of your Plan knows how the business looks now. Obviously if you are just starting up (as Steve and his colleagues are portraying themselves) provide an idea of how you see these aspects of your business once you get going.

Tell the Reader Where You Intend To Be

Having given an overview of your business, the next step is to tell them where you want to be.

The main points to cover are:

• Your objectives and goals
  
• State what you want from the reader – a loan or overdraft for example
  
• Explain why you need and what it will be used for
• Tell the Reader How You Are Going To Get There

It’s all very well promoting your idea and business but the important point to put over is how you are going to get there. Here are the key points to cover:

• Marketing plan
  
• Additional resources needed to meet your objectives and goals
  
• Your contribution in terms of cash or equipment
  
• Security you can offer to support a request for finance
  
• Profit and loss and cash flow forecast to show that you plan to make money and that you can pay back the loan

Part of Steve’s research should include sitting in the bar and watching how the business works. See how the staff interact with customers, how the marketing is done, and generally assessing what works and what doesn’t.

Provide Some Supporting Information and Evidence

Your Plan will have contained a lot of information, so it is helpful to include supporting documentation to provide more background. Placing these additional items as an appendix ensures that the flow of the Plan has not been affected by additional information.

What sort of items could you include?

• Letter of support from your Accountant
  
• Confirmation of pending orders from customers
  
• If you are purchasing a property, you could include the sales particulars
  
• Independent industry surveys showing that your sector is doing well
  
• If you are buying machinery or equipment include quotations
  
• If you business’ main asset is you, include your CV!

Ask Someone to Review It

When you are totally immersed in a task you can easily miss obvious mistakes. Ask someone to review your Plan to ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors – don’t rely on Spell Check! Does it all make sense? Have you been logical in your arguments?

Get the Presentation Right

After having spent a lot of time and effort on the content you don’t want to spoil it all with poor presentation! Here are some tips:

• Get the Plan typed; it will make it look more professional
  
• Make sure all the papers are clean and that there are no dirt marks or coffee stains! Buy some good quality paper
  
• Purchase a classy folder or binder to put your Plan in (paper clips or staples may not portray the right image!)
  
• Don’t forget to include all your contact details

All that remains for you to do is to turn up at the agreed time and present your case!

You can find more details on how to write a Business Plan in my ebook 'The Secrets of Writing a Killer Business Plan'.