B101 Entrepreneurship

B101 ENTREPRENEURSHIP MODULE

BUSINESS PLAN WRITING
OVERVIEW

1. The business plan template document contains details and the roadmap to your
business success as well as to convince potential investors that your business is
feasible and a worthwhile investment.

2. This template is meant to serve as a guide. Students may choose to include other
essential information regarding their business which is not covered in this template.

3. The real value of creating a business plan is not in having the finished product in
hand; rather, the value lies in the process of researching and thinking about your
business in a systematic way. The act of planning helps you to think things through
thoroughly, study and research if you are not sure of the facts, and look at your ideas
critically. Your business plan should have sufficient information to convince potential
investors that your business is feasible and a worthwhile investment.

4. Submission of the concept proposal is in Week 09, 9 December 10 (Thursday).

5. Submission of the final business plan is in Week 12, 13 January 11 (Thursday).

© 2010 RP/CIE/MMT Page 1

 B101 Entrepreneurship

B101 ENTREPRENEURSHIP MODULE

BUSINESS PLAN WRITING

Concept Proposal Template

(not more than 3 pages)

1. Company/Team name

2. Product or Service name

3. Concept Overview

• Describe your business concept giving a clear functional definition. Ideally, you
should be able to describe your concept in a few clear sentences:
• What is it called?
• What does it do?
• How will it benefit my customers?

4. Target Market

• Describe your target market.

• To whom are you trying to sell?
• Why those customers?
• What do you know about your potential customers?

5. Value Proposition

• Explain how the customer benefits from your product or service?

• What exists in the market space now?
• Why/How is your product different?
• What compelling reasons exist for why customers need your product or service?

6. Revenue Model

• Explain your revenue model.

• How will your concept make money?
• Does the market have potential for growth?
• Can you produce your product/service at a low enough cost to allow a margin?

© 2010 RP/CIE/MMT Page 2

 B101 Entrepreneurship

B101 ENTREPRENEURSHIP MODULE

BUSINESS PLAN WRITING

Business Plan Template

(Insert Business Name)

This template will serve as a guide for you to write your business plan.

Executive Summary

This page should include a summary of information about your business. A good executive
summary should:

• Give a clear and concise overview of your business plan;

• Be an existing, compelling story;
• Indicate the purpose of the business plan;
• Be effective as a standalone overview of your business plan.

The Executive Summary should address the following areas listed below.

 A brief description of the business concept, product, social impact and proposed
business model,
 An overview of the market potential,
 A summary of managerial skills,
 An overview of financial forecasts and expected returns for the business,
 The purpose of the plan (e.g. attract investment capital, management tool).

© 2010 RP/CIE/MMT Page 3

 B101 Entrepreneurship

1. COMPANY OVERVIEW

Please provide a brief overview of your current or anticipated organisation. The

overview could include information relating to:

(a) The purpose of the business,

(b) The history of your organisation,

(c) The genesis of the business concept, and

(d) The current status of the business concept.

The overview should also provide an outline of your organisation’s overall strategy and
objectives over the next few years.

2. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Please provide a description of the new or improved product(s) and/or service(s) that
are the subject of this business plan. In your description you could include information
relating to:

(a) Product features, functionality and benefits,

(b) Pricing strategy,

(c) Proprietary position and/or unique selling point, if any (e.g. patents, trade secrets,
or other proprietary features. Discuss any head start that you might have that would
enable you to achieve a favourable position in your industry.), and

(d) Current status of product/service development.

Your description should clearly indicate why the product/service will be innovative or
superior from both a technical and market perspective.

3. MARKET AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Please provide an overview of the market the business will operate in, and the
proposed marketing strategy which will enable the business to enter and prosper in
this market. Your overview could:

(a) Identify your target market and describe its characteristics (including market
segments, estimated size, potential growth and barriers to market), You can do a

© 2010 RP/CIE/MMT Page 4

 B101 Entrepreneurship

PEST analysis of the external macro-environment and Porter 5 Forces of the

industry in which the firm operates.

(b) Give the estimated market share the business expects to achieve and the basis for
this estimate,

(c) Identify the main competitors, their competing products or services, relative prices,
and explain what differentiates your product from that of your competitors. You can
use the table below as a guide.

Product/Service A Product/Service B Product/Service C

Price

Functions of the
product
Target Customer

Distribution

Innovativeness

(d) Detail how the product/service will be commercially exploited (including information
on the proposed selling and distribution arrangements, pricing and promotion
strategies),

(e) Explain how barriers to entry (if any) will be overcome,

(f) Conduct a SWOT analysis and explain how the company can leverage on the
strength, overcome the weakness, exploit the opportunities and manage the threats.

4. OPERATIONS

Please provide an overview of the proposed operations of the organisation. Your

overview could:

(a) Detail the proposed production/delivery of product(s) and/or service(s),

(b) Identify the likely product/service cost and associated margins,

(c) Describe any necessary research and development activities necessary to achieve
project outcomes, and

(d) Identify the resources required to achieve the objectives of the business, and
describe ownership or access to the requisite plant, equipment and facilities.

© 2010 RP/CIE/MMT Page 5

 B101 Entrepreneurship

5. MANAGEMENT

Please provide an overview of the proposed management structure and style of the
organisation. Your overview could:

(a) Detail the proposed organisational structure (using a schematic diagram),

(b) Detail the key management personnel involved in the organisation and their
relevant skills – particularly in the areas of marketing, promotion, innovation, human
resources and finances,

(c) Briefly describe any relevant commercialization experience within the management
team,

(d) Describe how the management team have the ability to execute the strategy of the
organisation,

Identify any skills gaps that exist and how these gaps will be managed.

(e) Identify the personnel requirements and the proposed strategies to ensure
recruitment and development of these human resources, and (f) identify any
external contractors essential to the business.

6. SOCIAL IMPACT AND DELIVERABLES

Provide an overview of the social impact your business hope to achieve.

(a) Describe your beneficiary profile, why they need help and how your social
enterprise will benefit them.
(b) How is your product / service different from exiting service providers.
(c) What are the expected social deliverables for the next 3 to 5 years?
(E.g. quantifiable social benefits such as number of beneficiaries employed,
average income of the beneficiaries, number of beneficiaries that have undergone
training, number of beneficiaries moved to open employment, etc.)

7. FUTURE PLANS

What are your future plans for this company? Are you planning to launch new
products or enter new markets? Please provide a 3 to 5-year outlook for your
company.

© 2010 RP/CIE/MMT Page 6

 B101 Entrepreneurship

8. FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS

Please provide an overview of the organisation’s financial plan. Your overview could
also:

(a) Identify any research and development, commercialisation, establishment and

other recurring costs (eg production, distribution, marketing cost) associated with
the business and describe how these costs will be met,

(b) Describe the forecast for both domestic and export sales (if any),

(c) Describe any other sources of income (eg licensing royalties, upfront contributions)
and the timing of such additional income, and

(d) Provide a summary of financial forecasts for the business and details of financial
assumptions used to prepare the financial model. A full set of forecast financial
statements (Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow) for the first three
years of operation (with monthly breakdowns for the first year) should be included in
the appendices to the Business Plan.

9. THE INVESTMENT PROPOSITION

Summarise the capital or investment required to successfully commercialise, and the

benefits for the investor. Your plan could state:

How much finance is required by your business and from what sources (i.e.
management, venture capital, banks and others),

What the will the fund be used for and when it is required?

Outline the capital structure and ownership before and after financing (i.e. what is the
equity share proposed for investors?).

What is the expected return on investment? (i.e. Payback period, Breakeven, rate of
return),

What are the possible exit strategies for investors? (i.e. How do they make money
from this?) Which is the most likely exit strategy? When? Why?

This section should be tied back to the financial plan. You will need to quantify the
return on investment for the investor. You could also consider:

(a) Sensitivity Analysis - Scenario plans in relation to this (eg consider the impact on
returns if sales are 20% higher or lower than expected).

(b) What do you want from your investors aside from money? Can they add value to
provide “smart money”?

© 2010 RP/CIE/MMT Page 7

 B101 Entrepreneurship

(c) What are the benefits for the investor and the company from this deal?

(d) Will you require further rounds of funding? Why? How much? When? How will it be
raised?

10. Appendices

All necessary supporting documents to substantiate the different projections or

assumptions in the overall business plan should be attached for references.

The four key areas are:

Finance
• Projected Profit & Loss Statement
• Projected Balance Sheet
• Projected Cashflow Statement
• Other calculations such as payback period, breakeven analysis, rate of return.

Management Team Profile

It is also recommended to include a profile of the individual business owners as the
investors are not just investing in a business idea but also the people that will be making
the idea a reality.

Timeline
It would also be good to include a timeline for your business which addresses issues such
as :
• When do you expect capital injection?
• When do you plan to start your business operations?

You can also list all major forecasted milestones or targets for your business.

~End~

© 2010 RP/CIE/MMT Page 8