The FT Essential Guide to Writing a Business Plan: How to win backing to start up or grow your business, 2nd Edition

Description

In one engaging, outcome-oriented book, The FT Essential Guide to Writing a Business Plan gives you:

• The essential knowledge you need to write a winning business plan – quickly and without fuss
• Guidance on how to focus throughout on the plan’s purpose – to win backing
• Samples of what a good plan looks like, so you can benchmark your own as you write it
• Checklists, tips, examples and milestones to ensure you’re on target
• Prompts to reflect on, evaluate and learn from your experience

With advice that’s instantly applicable, whether your business is a start-up or a more established company looking to grow, this is the one guide you need to create a credible and persuasive plan.

Sample Content

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Part 1: Preparing your plan

Chapter 1 - Essential preparation

Result

Need

Preparation

Plans for SMEs

Part 2: Writing your plan

Chapter 2 - The business

Background

Business mix by segment

Segmentation in a start-up

Chapter 3 - Market demand

Market size

Market growth

Market demand for a start-up

Market demand risks and opportunities

Chapter 4 - Competition

Your competitors

Competitive intensity

Competition in a start-up

Industry competition risks and opportunities

Chapter 5 - Strategy

Competitive position

Strategy

Strategy in a start-up

Strategic risks and opportunities

Chapter 6 - Resources

Management

Marketing

Operations and capital expenditure

Resource risks and opportunities

Chapter 7 - Financials and forecasts

Historic financials

Market-driven sales forecasts

Competition-driven margin forecasts

Funding the plan

Full financial forecasts

Forecasts in a start-up

Financial risks and opportunities

Chapter 8  - Risk, opportunity and sensitivity

Meet the Suns and Clouds chart

What the suns and clouds tell you

Sensitivity testing

Chapter 9 - Conclusion

Conclusion

Executive summary

Investment highlights

Part 3: Using your plan

Chapter 10 - Pitching your plan

Focusing the content

Using PowerPoint

Delivering the message

Chapter 11 - Setting targets

Choosing key performance indicators

Setting milestones

Chapter 12 - Performing to plan

Monitoring your plan

Appraising managerial performance

Evaluating your plan

Epilogue: Beware these characters!

Appendices

Appendix A: Deriving competitive position

Appendix B: Structured interviewing of customers

Appendix C: An example business plan

Appendix D: Further reading

Index

Updates

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