HI There.. you could look up bplans.net/ com.. and about.com, they are quite comprehensive...
The essentials your planould include would be:
History
What do you do?
Your unique Selling point
How your business adds value..
Now you could work around expanding all four points to how you want to pitch your company.
Please find the write up below:
Lesson 2: The Business Description
WHAT MAKES A BUSINESS DESCRIPTION?
In the first lesson we took a big-picture look at what goes into a business plan. You learned (over and over) why a good business plan is essential to starting or growing your business. In this lesson, we'll take a closer look at the business description. You'll learn about its component parts and how they work together to sell your business or idea.
First, make sure you've finished your first assignment and visited the Message Board. You'll no doubt find other students in very similar circumstances with similar concerns. It's a great way to gain some support from your fellow travelers.
The Essential Elements
Each business plan is as unique as the business it represents. But at its core, the description should encompass the following elements:
History
When did the business start? What important events have happened along the way? Has the business grown/changed since you started? Who are the principal players and what is their background?
What You Do
Simply put: What is your business all about? This is not a detailed operations plan, although they share common elements. How consistent are sales? Are there seasonal factors or trends you have to contend with? What sort of inventory and inventory control do you use day to day?
Your Unique Selling Point
What sets you apart from current or future competition? What factor or factors will give you an edge in securing customers and market? This should be an honest but optimistic examination of your hook -- in other words, what makes you different.
How Your Business Adds Value
What's your strategy for getting more from less? How will you use technology or other innovations to save time money and resources? This is a chance to prove you not only know your business, but know it well enough to capitalize on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.
So that's the plan (for this part of your plan). The rest of this lesson covers each of the above topics in more detail. Remember that breaking the description into smaller, "bite-size" pieces makes the work easier to swallow. Arkebauer's book is excellent in that regard. His systematic step-by-step approach makes assembling the required information a matter of process, not luck. It won't be easy or quick, but the final product will be well worth your efforts. And when it's all over and done with, you'll be surprised how much you learned, and how that knowledge translates into a distinct competitive advantage.
YOUR COMPANY HISTORY Page 2 of 4
Obviously, this is an easier exercise for businesses that are already up and running. But regardless of the business type, the basic approach should be the same. You want to stress how past experiences and any lessons you've learned will help feed future growth and success.
What to Include
The history should include the following elements:
Current Status
The status should reflect where the business (or proposed business) is right now. If you're looking for funding for a new idea, that's your status. If you're planning on expanding or changing the direction of an existing operation, that's your status.
This isn't intended to be a detailed examination of a company's current health or income. It's a simple declaration of where you're at as the business plan is being written. If you think in terms of a resume, the status is really your objective. A more complex operation might require a little more explanation, but keep it simple.
Current Timeframe
If you're seeking funding, this should indicate when you'd like to have the money negotiated and secured. If that date is for a specific reason (for example, to open by Christmas) that should be noted. It can be combined with the status information.
Company Structure
This is where you want to get fairly explicit, in legal terms. Indicate where and how you're incorporated, and any relation to parent or subsidiary operations. If your business started in one form (sole proprietorship, for example) and then underwent changes in its corporate status, related dates need to be given.
Founding Principals
Similar to your company structure, this is an overview of the key players in your organization. Even if it's a sole proprietorship, you'll want to give a bit of background.
Don't worry about providing too much biographical information here. You'll have opportunities later in the plan to detail your management team and the individual talents they bring to the table.
If the business is a start-up, you'll still want to list key corporate personnel, even if that's just yourself.
Significant Changes
For existing businesses, this is an opportunity to outline key events in the company's history. Depending on the amount of information you're presenting, it can be combined with the discussion of your structure.
Again, detailed explanations are seldom required. You're really providing some basic legal background as to the company's origins.
Successes and Setbacks
You're a product of all of your successes and failures. Your business plan shouldn't shy away from honestly discussing the highs and lows of the business to date. If you've achieved significant success with a particular product or service, this is the first place to bring it up. Keep the high-impact approach in mind. Keep the information focused and clear. Every sentence in the plan should be well thought out and targeted to meet a particular need or answer a particular question.
This is more than just a show and tell. It's a chance to prove you understand that every move has consequences, and they're not always good. It's not about dwelling on your missteps -- it's about showing how you've learned and adapted since then.
So that's a brief overview of your company history. As you read sample business plans, you'll start to get a feel for what needs to be said. Keep the four parts we discussed in mind, and you'll have more than enough information for the job.
WHAT YOU DO: TELLING YOUR IMPORTANT STORY
Describing your business is probably something you're already pretty good at. No doubt you've explained your business (or idea for a new business) to somebody before, probably quite often. Depending on what you do, sometimes it's exceedingly easy.
For other products and services, it might take a little more explaining. As with your business history, there are some basics that apply regardless of what business you're seeking to start or expand.
Keep It Simple...
Arkebauer suggests following the Keep It Simple, Stupid rule, as follows:
"Keep It Simple Stupid" or KISS must be an underlying theme to the High-Impact business plan writer. Think about it every time you start writing a section, every time you work on a subsection, and every time you compose a paragraph. The simpler you write, the easier you'll catch the reader's attention. This leaves them the opportunity to grasp the meat of your project without having to stop and figure out what you're saying. (Guide to Writing a High-Impact Business Plan, page 34)
In other words: As proud as you are of your new venture, resist the urge to ramble.
In a high impact business plan, every word needs a purpose. At the same time, make sure you're understood. If your work is of a highly technical nature, feel free to explain how everything works. Assume your reader is intelligent, but remember that what's second nature to you might not be to everyone else.
So Where's the Easy-to-Follow Bullet List?
A lot of what goes into a business description is based on the specific operation being described, so there's really no one-size-fits-all answer. No matter what you're discussing, seek to highlight your advantages.
This doesn't mean making boastful predictions or exaggerations. You are not allowed to predict you're going to be the Chicken King of Toledo in six months. But try to assess things with the goal of connecting these facts to an overall theme: your eventual success. Much like a resume, a business plan is a document that demands honesty but permits you to format that truth in a way that helps you look good.
While no list applies to everyone, make sure your reader understands the following about your business:
Where and When You'll Operate
Make sure you describe your location, both where it is and what it is.
If you're a service, how far are you willing to go to visit a customer? What sort of facilities do you have? Is your store located in a high-traffic area, the business district, a popular mall? If there are seasonal or weather considerations, they belong here.
Why You'll Succeed
As we learned earlier, this isn't about wishful thinking. But you've obviously already done some serious thinking about why you think you will succeed or continue to succeed. You need to share that with your reader in a professional and compelling manner.
The results should land somewhere between best- and worse-case scenario, leaning slightly toward happier possibilities. If you're poised to "make a killing," don't be bashful. If you're purchasing an existing business, discuss the terms of sale and any discounts or incentives you've secured. Just make sure your predictions are based on concrete facts and reasonable conclusions.
Who the Important People Are
This is a good opportunity to highlight the relevant experience of key staff and management. Save the long biographies for later, and concentrate on highlighting important talent and where it comes from. Discuss your relationship with important suppliers, prospective customers, vendors, and anyone else who figures significantly into the picture. Larger corporate structures require more discussion. Just remember, you'll have an opportunity later to provide detailed biographies. Keep it efficient.
So that's a very quick look at what goes into the business description. Be prepared to adapt it to suit your own needs.
HONING YOUR EDGE
We've already learned how to accentuate the positive when writing your business description. Now's your chance to take a closer look at what sets you apart from your competition. This tale is told with our two last business description components:
• Your unique selling point
• The value added to the business
You're not mistaken -- they're almost the same thing. But not quite. Let's take a quick look at what they mean.
Unique Selling Point
This is really something targeted to benefit your customers. It might be the right combination of price and service, or the right suite of products or technologies. Your unique selling point is what keeps customers coming back.
Your unique selling point is not always something that can be measured or outlined. Sometimes it comes down to something as simple as attitude or ambience. You might be able to charge more, treat people better, and watch your sales skyrocket. In that case, your unique selling point is your service, and that's what you want to emphasize.
Carefully outlining how the customer benefits from doing business with you is essential. These benefits are what drive sales, which drives profits (in most cases). You need to be able to demonstrate that you know exactly why you're doing as well as you are. There can be no hit or miss about it.
The Value Added to the Business
As opposed to what benefits your customers, added value is something that generally benefits your bottom line. Efficiencies in production, service, or supply chains qualify as value adds for your business. Adding value is achieved by getting more from less. Customers do benefit from this value (from lower prices or better services), but it's generally something unseen that occurs behind the scenes.
For manufacturers, a lot of value is derived from how the plant and facilities are used. For retailers, it might entail careful planning for use of floor space. It might be sharing a bookkeeper with another small business. As a business owner, you seek to add value everyday in nearly every decision you make. Now all you have to do is explain how you do it in your business plan.
You may have already touched upon both of these elements in your business description, which means you've lost the element of surprise. But don't worry. This is a chance to take a closer look at what sets you apart from the pack. The earlier in the process this happens, the more time you'll have to consider how to pitch your "edge." And you'll be able to highlight it again and again as you move through the plan.
What's Next?
So that's the business description. It seems like a lot of information to convey, but once you've completed it, you'll be amazed how comprehensive and accurate it is. It might even open your eyes to some aspects of your business you haven't considered in a long time, if at all.
The next lesson is about assessing the landscape around you. You'll take a closer look at your customers, the industry, and your competition. You'll learn to build a profile that incorporates your new wisdom into your growing business plan