Business Plan Executive Summary & Financial Requirements.
You are required to write a 2,000 word report comprising three parts:
1. Executive Summary of your Business Plan – approximately 1,300 words; accompanied by
2. Financial Requirements of your enterprise – approximately 350 words; and
3. Growth funding strategy – approximately 350 words.
The report you write should relate to the business you have chosen to set up identified earlier in this module.
Part 1: Executive Summary (approximately. 1,300 words)
An executive summary is a document that could be presented to a potential investor. It should summarise the purpose and uniqueness of the business, the details of the products or services the business will offer, the market opportunity and the strategies for pricing and distribution. It should also include the marketing and sales strategy and any role played by the brand to enable the business to attract and keep customers and compete effectively in its sector. It should also include competitor analysis and an explanation of the competitive advantage of your business as well as an explanation for why your chosen management team is the right one to ensure the success of this new venture.
Part 2: Financial Requirements (approximately 350 words)
Finance is the life-blood of any business; it flows through the various operating areas of an enterprise and provides them with the sustenance to keep going. It is also the most common way of measuring the health of an enterprise. Financial measurements such as cash flow and profits tell us whether the enterprise is actually increasing in value. Please provide answers to the following question:
Your plan should display and explain, in summary, the financial requirements of the businessfor setup (showing key setup and running costs) together with sales forecasts/projections for the first three years of operation.
You should also provide an explanation of these figures – expenditure and revenues – so the reader has a clear understanding of where sales are coming from and how costs are being incurred.
Part 3: Growth funding strategy (approximately 350 words)
Your business should be scalable in order for it to attract investors seeking to make a good return on their investment. In addition to profits that your business may be making, you are required to seek external funding to enable the business to grow to a higher level. As such, you are required to:
a) Identify the specific commercial banks/schemes, venture capital funds, business angels, grant institutions, etc. you intend to approach for financing thesetup and growth phase of your venture.
b) Explain your rationale for the funding choices you have made and how the investment capital will be used, e.g. opening new branches, developing new products, adding new services, etc.
If you choose debt funding you must detail the specific terms of borrowing/investment and explain why these are the right choice for the business using the correct professional/entrepreneurship terminology.
If you choose equity funding you must state the amount of equity you are prepared to offer investors in return for their investment,as well asyour rationale for this amount.