This section varies in importance depending on whether your business is service-based or product-based. If it’s a product-based business, then this is one of the most important sections of the entire business plan; describe all of your equipment and how it works, as well as the manufacturing processes that you use. For product-based or service-based businesses, you should include information about what departments exist within your business, how the business is run as a whole, and any plans that you have for possible expansion.
Organization
This is the area where you describe the people who’ll be running the show with the investors’ money. Write a brief paragraph about all of your managers and owners, giving the readers an idea of their expertise and background. You should also make organizational charts to show how your labor force is divided, and include plans and policies for the addition and subtraction of employees.
Funding Needs
This is likely the section that lenders and investors will be most interested in. This is where you detail the total amount of money needed (as well as any lesser amounts that can be used while still getting the job done), how that money will be used (be it for buildings, equipment, hiring, capital, marketing, etc.), and a description of why the plan that you have for the money is the right way that it should be used. While much of the rest of the plan is used to supply information, this section is where you really have to convince the reader that they should trust you with their money.
Financial Statements
For established businesses, include any past financial statements (such as income statements and balance sheets) as well as income projections for the next five years. Start-ups should simply create the five-year projections for this section; you should do balance sheets, income statements, and five years of cash flow with monthly projections for the first three years and then quarterly projections for the remaining two.