A business plan is a formal document that sets forth the objectives, strategies and implementation plan of a business. These plans are frequently shown to bankers and financial institutions, investors, proposed partners and many others deemed important to the success of the business. This plan provides an excellent method of tightening up existing business objectives and is often revisited on a regular basis to keep key executives and managers focused on the original goals and methods of the company.

The business plan template found in Business-in-a-Box is a comprehensively designed sample business plan that you are free to modify for your own purposes. This winning plan is an excellent basis for investor presentations. Highly detailed and comprehensive, the sample business plan included in Business-in-a-Box is one of our most popular templates. You will be able to build, grow and manage your business with a plan like this serving to formalize your business objectives, markets and strategies.

What do investors, financers and partners want to see in a business plan?

In short, your small business plan - or large - should include the following important areas. This Business-in-a-Box template has 48 pages of material that cover the important elements of any comprehensive plan for your business:

• Executive Summary listing the key executives in your company and gives biographical details and experience levels
• Business Description to clearly define what your business is all about and how it came to be
• Products and Services to illustrate what you have to offer your clients and markets
• The Market to identify the entire scope of your existing and potential market, analyze the competition and put everything in perspective to within the industry
• Marketing Strategies and Sales to outline your marketing efforts and plans and to help supplement a more comprehensively written Marketing Plan - together, a Business Plan and a Marketing Plan are two of the most important documents your business needs for success
• Development to outline your comprehensive strategy for developing and growing your business
• Management to illustrate your company organization, management team, ownership, board of directors and more
• Operations to clearly show how your business conducts its day-to-day operations in all areas
• Financials to call attention to your business financial structure and health
• Funding Request to explain your reasons for seeking additional funding (if any) and to promote your ability to generate an acceptable ROI