A business plan  can be seen as a collection of sub-plans including a marketing plan, financial plan, production plan, and human resource plan.
The business plan has many forms. There is however a format that is typical:
?   Executive summary
o   Explains the basic business model
o   Gives rationale for the strategy
?   Background
o   Gives short history of company (unless it is a new company)
o   Provides background details such as:
?   age of company
?   number of employees
?   annual sales figures
?   location of facilities
?   form of ownership including
?   sole proprietor
?   partnership
?   entrepreneurial startup
?   private corporate startup
?   publicly traded corporation
?   limited liability company
?   public utility
?   non-profit organization
o   Background of key personnel including
?   owners
?   senior managers
?   managing partners
?   head scientists and researchers
 
?   Marketing
o   The macroenvironment
o   The competitive environment
o   The industry
o   The customer priorities
o   Product strategy
o   Pricing strategy
o   Promotion strategy
o   Distribution strategy
?   Production and manufacturing
o   Describe all processes
o   Production facility requirements - size, layout, capacity, location
o   Inventory requirements - raw materials inventory, finished goods inventory, warehouse space requirements
o   Equipment requirements
o   Supply chain requirements
o   Fixed cost allocation
 
?   Finance
o   Source of funds
o   Existing loans and liabilities
o   Projected sales and costs
o   Break even analysis
o   Expected return
o   Monthly pro-forma cash flow statement
?   Human resources
o   Assign responsibilities
o   Training required
o   Skills required
o   Union issues
o   Compensation
o   Skills availability
o   New hiring
 

Specialized sections such as product research and development, legal strategies, marketing research, or inter-company collaborations, are added to deal with unique features or characteristics of the business or its markets.

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