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- Dec 2023
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biz.libretexts.org biz.libretexts.org
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Writing the Draft Business Plan
To summarize, when writing a draft business plan, it is suggested to follow these steps:
- Use the headings feature in Word to create an outline for your business plan and generate a table of contents automatically.
- Incorporate relevant parts of your initial research into your business plan template either by copying and pasting or by inserting the results into the appropriate sections.
- Include societal-level and industry-level analyses in the Operating Environment section, market-level analysis in the Marketing Plan, and firm-level analysis across all sections of the business plan.
- Incorporate your business model elements into the relevant sections of your plan as there is no specific section for describing the business model.
- Fill in as much relevant information as possible under the headings on your business plan template, using information from specific sources or assumptions you made.
- Clearly indicate the sources of information, such as supplier catalogs or industry experts, to establish credibility and improve professionalism.
- Highlight assumptions in a distinct font color and ensure to replace them with sourced information later.
- Use spreadsheet templates to record estimated sales revenue each month, based on well-reasoned criteria and set up with formulas for easy changes.
- Flag numbers based on assumptions in a distinct font and clearly indicate the sources of actual numbers.
- Use the spreadsheet templates to develop the financial component of your business plan.
By following these practices, you can effectively write a draft business plan that is well-supported, credible, and includes the necessary financial projections.
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