1. Sections in a Venture Plan

2. Venture Plan Sections
Whether a venture is large or small, it needs to begin with a Venture Plan
They aren’t just for new businesses, but are needed anytime a business is trying to start something new
Often smaller businesses have simpler venture plans and larger businesses have more complex plans

3. Venture Plan Sections
All Venture Plans should include the following sections:
Executive Summary
Market Analysis
Resource Analysis
Operating Strategy
Financial Strategy

4. Executive Summary
1 or 2 page summary of the most important points in the plan
Intended to introduce the venture and capture the attention of the reader – first impression
Should open with the MISSION STATEMENT followed be a description of the business
Should be accurate but not detailed, as this will come further on in the plan
Although it is at the beginning of the plan, it cannot be written until all other sections are complete

5. Executive Summary The Executive Summary should include:
Names of the contact person and management team members and how these people can be reached
The name of the venture and a description of its nature and objectives
Information about goods or services offered, what makes the business unique, the location of the business, and proposed timelines for its development
Information about any security that can be offered to investors in exchange for their investment
Information about any business loans that are required
Key highlights of the business plan

6. Market Analysis
Before you develop you venture, it is important to determine if customers will actually want your product or service
Market Analysis can help you identify potential customers, analyze your competition, set your prices, and plan ways to advertise your venture
The market analysis section describes the marketing research you conducted and the conclusions you drew from your research

7. Market Analysis This section should include:
The demographics of potential customers (age, gender, location, buying habits, etc.)
The types of products or services you think your customers will buy and how you know
A description of trends that suggest this is the right time to introduce your product or service
Who your competitors are, where they are, and how successful they are
How you plan to make your product or service better than or different from your competitors’
How much you will charge for your product or service
How you plan to advertise your product or service to your target market

8. Resource Analysis All good ideas need resources to make them work
In this section, the entrepreneur needs to consider the material resources, human resources, and financial resources that will be needed for the venture
Some of these resources will be consumable resources (meaning they are used up) and some will be fixed resources (can be used over and over)

9. Resource Analysis The Resource Section should include:
What tools and equipment you will need, and where you will get them
What human resources you will need
Where your venture will be located and how much space you will require
Whether you plan to buy or rent your facility, or whether your business can be operated without a “brick-and- mortar” site
Whether you will manufacture your products yourself or hire a contract organization to do it for you
Which sources of raw materials you intend to use and how much these materials cost and how often they will be delivered
The total cost of all the resources you will need to start and operate your business

10. Operating Strategy
The operating strategy explains how you will manage the resources required in the day-to-day operation of the business
The first part usually deals with human resource management, detailing people’s responsibilities, channels of communication, the different departments that will exist, how groups will operate, and how the work will be supervised
Organizational charts are often a good way to present this information in a simple, visual way

11. Operating Strategy
This section also deals with the production process and how the necessary supplies will be obtained
It describes how the facility will be set up (size, location(s), special needs, ownership or lease terms, present and potential capacity, minimum levels of production and overhead operating costs
It also deals with inventory and record keeping, contingency plans in case of problems with suppliers
Oftentimes companies now have environmental policies or a “green plan” which would be included here

12. Operating Strategy This section should explain:
Who will do each job, how people will work together, and how the work will be supervised
What the operating facility will be like
How the production process will be organized
Where the suppliers will come from and who will be in charge of ordering them
What records must be kept and who will keep them
How the venture can keep its costs to a minimum
What rules and regulations, including environmental ones, apply to the venture

13. Financial Strategy
The final section describes the financial strategy to capitalize the venture (pay for it)
Unlike most financial statements that are recording what happened in the past, a financial strategy is based on projected results (an educated guess on what will happen)
There are a number of possible sources of capital including bankers, government agencies, credit unions, venture capitalists, or friends and family
This section requires a large amount of research and preparation

14. Financial Strategy
The financial strategy must provide specific details about how much money is needed
You should show both a high and low estimate in your forecasts so that potential investors can see a best and worst-case scenario
You need to break down your ask into where the money will be used, as this level of detail is appealing to investors as it can help relieve concerns about recovering their investment
You need to include when the loans will be repaid, how large the payments will be, and what interest rate you expect to pay.

15. Financial Strategy
The financial strategy should include the following documents / calculations
Detailed cash-flow projections
Sales forecasts
Anticipated selling costs
Expected gross profit
Administrative costs
Collateral
Expected pretax profit
Balance sheet and income statement
Rate of return on investment
Working capital
Repayment proposal