Free Business Plan Sample and Template

Free Business Plan Sample and Template

 

A Business Plan is a written document that describes your core business objectives and how you plan to achieve them over a set period of time. It is designed to help you, and others, understand how you plan to generate money and make your business sustainable. A Business Plan often includes information about your goals, strategies, marketing and sales plans and financial forecasts.

Writing a business plan gives you an opportunity to carefully think through every step of starting your company so you can better prepare and handle any challenges. The sample business plan template included in this article will show you more information about the key sections of a Business Plan. Read on.

Why is a Business Plan important?

Do you want to increase the odds that your business startup will be a success? Then write your business plan following the step-by-step business plan template and guide that I have included below. Use it to lay the groundwork for your new or existing business. There are many great reasons why it is worth your time creating a business plan, even if you are not yet thinking of applying for a startup loan. The following are a few good reasons:

 

A Business Plan:

• Provides a structured way of organizing your thoughts and clarifying your idea.
• Helps you set out your goals and spot any potential problems in achieving these goals.
• Gives you a clear strategy to follow when things get busy.
• Is often essential for securing external finance for your business (and is required if you’re applying for a Start Up Loan).
• Allows you to measure your progress as you go along.
• Ensures all of your team are working towards the same vision.
• Helps you plan for the future.

 

When you are planning to start a business in Nigeria or any part of the world, you need direction, focus, and set goals so you can follow a track that leads to success.  You need to know what your business entails and how you will go about meeting your goals and objectives. You also need funding to grow your business. Any serious investor would want to know the feasibility of your business before putting their money in it, and the only documents that provides such information at a glance is the business plan. This is a key reason why it is important to know how to write a business plan in Nigeria. A business plan also helps you to have a clear picture of what your product and services is (or should be) all about, where you are taking your business and how you will achieve set business goals. Due to the importance of a business plan to business owners, and the researched fact that many people find writing one quite intimidating, we have decided to help by providing you with a simple, easy to follow guide that will help you write your business plan without stress.

 

Attributes of a good business plan

When writing your business plan using the sample business plan template that we have provided, ensure that you the following in mind and make sure that your business plan mirror the following attributes as much as possible. A good business plan must be:

• Simple and clear
• Concise and precise
• Sequential and logical
• Avoid unrealistic promises that are based on unfounded assumptions
• Use figures where necessary
• Be original in your ideas and concept – avoid copycat and plagiarism of someone else’s ideas
• Write it with specific audience(s) in mind – communicate and use words as if you are talking to those set of audience(s)
• A good business plan will depend on the quality of your research about the subject you’re writing on, so do your research well.

 

Write your business plan following this simple format:

A business plan is usually structured to contain the following major topics and subheadings, you can use them as a guide to write your award-winning business plan.

1.0 Executive summary

 

2.0 Background:

• Introduction
• Vision and mission statements
• Ownership
• Legal status
• Location and facilities,
• Production/services
• Production plan
• Business strategy
• Key success factors

 

3.0 Market

• Nature and size
• Target market
• Key competitors and players
• Service delivery
• Quality assurance
• Demand/supply analysis
• Technology
• Competitive edge

 

4.0 Marketing Plan

• Promotion and distribution strategy
• Alliances
• Market positioning

5.0 Organizational structure

• Shareholders and directors
• Management team
• External support
• Personnel plan
• Value and norms of the company.

 

6.0 Legal, regulatory, social and environmental issues

• Legal issues
• Regulatory issues
• Social issues
• Environmental issues

 

7.0 Financial Plan

• Initial
• Forecast of sales
• Estimate of costs
• Working capital projection
• Startup capital required
• Proposed financial structure
• Depreciation
• Loan repayment and interest payment schedule
• Projected profit and loss account
• Cash ow projection
• Projected balance sheet
• Financial analysis

 

8.0 Risk Analysis, Contingency Plan and Exit Strategy

• Risk analysis and mitigants
• Contingency plan

 

Appendix

• Photocopy of certificate of incorporation
• Approvals
• Licenses
• Organogram
• Assumptions behind the figures

The clear all doubts, the appendices include documents that contain supplementary information to what is already included in the body of your business plan.  These might be contracts, leases, purchase orders, intellectual property, key managers’ resumes, market research data or anything that supports assumptions or statements made in the body of your business plan.

 

More often than not, depending on your type of business, some of the elements I have presented above may need to be changed or stated in a slightly different way to suit your purpose and your business type. Some of the included topics and sections may not be applicable to your business and so may have to be removed. This explains why you may need to “Refine Your Plan,” meaning that you may need to modify your plan for specific purposes, such as getting a bank loan, or for specific industries, such as retail or manufacturing. Complete the Business Plan Template for a Startup Business to create a working business plan for your startup.

 

One thing to bear in mind is that, business plan writing is a skill and can be learnt by anyone – and just like any skill that is learned, the more you do it, the better you get at it. So, why not make an attempt to write your first business plan today? That is the exact reason why we have provided you with the sample business plan template. Should you run into any issues you feel is beyond you (which is not likely if you carefully follow the template above), we will always be here to provide you with the needed support at www.dayoadetiloye.com, if you reach out, we will be here to assist.

If you need a service of a Professional Business plan writers in Nigeria, then Dayo Adetiloye Business Hub is the place to go Call or WhatsApp us now on 081 0563 6015, 080 7635 9735, 08113205312 or send an email to dayohub@gmail.com  and we will solve any of your business plan problems.

 

Hope you enjoy this article?

Share your thoughts in the comment session.

Contact us today for your business consultancy and business advisory services. We can help you fine-tune your idea, structure your business, market your business, train your staff, consult on your retirement plan, coach you for financial success. We also write a business plan and help with fundraising strategies and Grant applications. We can help you start, grow, and expand your business.

Call or WhatsApp us now on 081 0563 6015, 080 7635 9735, 08113205312 or send an email to dayohub@gmail.com  and we will solve any of your business problems.