Business Plans Formulation Practice

Business Plans Formulation Practice

One thing bank managers and investors or venture capitalists have in common is the question “Do you have a Business Plan?”

Did you know that banks, loan officers, investors, venture capitalists and even angel investors have a very specific way they want and expect a business plan to look? If any part of your plan doesn’t match what they want and are used to, that’s it. They’ll never look again, and they certainly won’t invest.

Did you also know that most business plans never receive a single dollar of funding?

And do you know how to avoid the critical flaws that practically guarantee that any potential investor looking at your plan will lose interest within the first few pages and get scared off from your idea, even if they had interest before?

And finally…do you know that even when they raise capital, most businesses fail?

If you’re here because you need a great business plan to get your company off the ground or to the next level, you’ve come to the right place.

Why? Because CTPD Management Consultants’ consulting team has a track record of developing business plans that raise money and transform entrepreneurs’ visions into successful businesses.

In fact, over the past years, CTPD Management Consultants has developed successful business plans for over 500 entrepreneurs and businesses like yours. Our clients have raised over millions in funding and, more importantly, they’ve gone on to build numerous multi-million dollar empires.

Reasons why you need a Business Plan (Purpose of a Business Plan)

A Business Plan is the keystone around which business opportunities are assessed, articulated and resources dedicated. The necessity for a powerful business plan cannot be underestimated. It is the key to securing funding. The Business Plan and management’s ability to communicate it put management and investors on the same page and ready for action. A business plan is a planning tool for management and potential investors. It defines the mission of the company and the goals and the strategies for achieving this mission.

Your reason for having a plan will be different for each situation:

• If you are starting a new business you will require a plan to clearly assess every aspect of the business and show how it will succeed.
• If you are buying an already established business you will need to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the business to decide if you will be able to make it a success.
• If you are already up and running and in need of extra finance you will need a plan to convince those putting capital into your business that you can and will succeed.
• If you are applying for one of the many grants available.

A Business Plan is more than a document

The Plan is the most important communication tool an entrepreneurial team has to secure resources. Whether it’s funding, key personnel or partners, the Business Plan is often the best way to communicate the totality of the opportunity and the reward of participation. It aligns priorities and resources such as new employees, vendors, board members and investors. This is critical in the rapidly evolving environment of a start-up.

A Business Plan moves everyone in the same direction

The Business Plan is more than a document. First and foremost, it is a process; a process that enables an individual, and more importantly a team, to come together and commit to a business adventure of significant personal and professional risk. The Business Plan is a process that evaluates the opportunity, quantifies the resources required and lays out a road map for implementation. The Business Plan integrates all the functional elements such as Marketing and Sales, Operations/Production, IT, Human Resources, Administration, Finance and Accounts etc into a single cohesive force.

Who will read your plan?

When you begin to compile a business plan you must always remember who the plan is for. Just as an author must always remember who will read his books so you must remember who will read your business plan. With this in mind you must present your plan in a clear and logical format. This will enable the recipient to achieve a clear understanding of your business and make a decision based on the information you have supplied.

Your business plan will benefit the various types of people who will all be using your plan as a basis for making decisions:

• Your bank manager
• Alternative providers of finance
• Business advisory organisations
• Friends and colleagues who will invest in your business
• Yourself and your work colleagues who will be running the business and using the plan on a daily basis.

Our Reputation for formulating Quality Business Plans

The CTPD Management Consultants Division has a reputation for producing quality Business Plans that gain significant investment.  We have a team that works diligently to document your business vision in a manner that puts you in an advantageous position when dealing with potential investors.  

The value added benefit of using the services of a business planning professional is that they should bring an extensive background in a variety of business disciplines. The CTPD Management Consultants Division has prepared over 500 fund raising documents in many industry sectors. This real world and hands on experience adds depth, credibility and reality to the business plan.

We can save you both time and money with our proven business development methodology. The CTPD Management Consultants Division focuses on your business plan while you focus on your business.

• We will formulate a profile for your business concept and quantify the results.
• The resulting publication will give your investors a comprehensive, positive impression of your funding proposal.
• The quality of Due Diligence and Market Analysis that we do increases investor confidence and shortens the financing cycle.
• You will be pleased with the quality of documents prepared by The CTPD Management Consultants Division. We have raised the bar in terms of quality. The results are sophisticated business plans that impress your investors and help them to see the value of placing capital in your project. We write your strategic plans, with your input, while you concentrate on doing what you do best, building your business.

Writing a Business Plan

With business failing at an alarming rate the need has never been greater to start off on the right foot with a clear understanding of exactly what you hope to achieve and how you will do it. A well thought out and carefully structured business plan is the key to the long-term success of any business. Whether you are running an existing business, just starting a new business, buying one already established or perhaps in need of extra finance for expansion, you will need a business plan

Our Business Plan Methodology

The CTPD Management Consultants Division’s services are based on a partnership relationship with our clients, combining your business vision and experience with our planning expertise and insight to produce a truly outstanding and successful document.

Over the past years, CTPD Management Consultants has developed more than 1,500 business plans for clients in a wide variety of industries. From this vast experience, we have developed a proprietary engagement methodology that ensures high-quality, fully customized business plans for every client.

Our process consists of seven distinct phases, designed to maximize quality and client satisfaction.

1. Management Interviews: Here, we collect and document your “verbal” growth plan, including your vision, key accomplishments to date, mission-critical challenges and opportunities, key objectives and goals, and growth strategies. In this phase, we also identify and refine key research questions, and work to define and communicate an effective “story” for the business plan.

2. Strategic Market Research: In this phase, we size the relevant market place, analyze competitors, profile existing and prospective customer groups, and assess the business opportunity. CTPD Management Consultants also conducts “benchmarking research” during this phase of its engagement process. This involves identifying other companies that have succeeded and/or failed with similar businesses and/or initiatives.
3. Checkpoint Document: At this stage, we deliver a “checkpoint” document to confirm that we are in agreement with you regarding the strategic direction of the plan, the business plan’s focus, and the tone and language of the plan. (The checkpoint document is delivered either as a business plan outline or a draft of an executive summary).
4. Additional Research and Strategy Work: After incorporating your feedback from the “checkpoint” document, we begin additional research regarding your business strategy (roll-out, financials, marketing, operations, etc.) and communication strategy (how best to articulate your unique opportunity to existing and potential stakeholders and investors).
5. Draft Plan: Next, we provide a draft of the deliverables, which typically include an Executive Summary, Integrated Financials (historical and projected), and a complete business plan (company analysis; customer and market analyses; industry and competitive analyses; marketing, operations, and development plans; management team; appendices).
6. Review and Revise: In this phase, we review the draft plan with you and and discuss the focus, wording, and flow of the document. We incorporate any necessary revisions and refinements, and prepare the revised plan.
7. Package and Finalize: The final stage involves creating a clean, professional document, with graphical enhancements, that is copy-edited, formatted, and ready to be presented to stakeholders and investors.

We organize our team by two distinct functions as follows:

Consultants – The CTPD Management Consultants Division’s team of consultants will conduct an extensive interview session in order to understand your history, current position and objectives for the future. This communication can be done in our offices or facilitated by phone, email or fax.

Our consultants will then undertake the research and prepare the text sections of each business plan. We are in communication with the client during the planning process and use advanced resources to undertake a thorough industry analysis that includes conducting extensive research into your industry’s market. We will document the size of the market, current trends, demographics and competition. Our industry analysis will naturally lead to the plan for growing your company. The research, product and corporate information are included in the text along with a marketing plan.

Financial Analysts – Cutting-edge business modeling is our specialty. The CTPD Management Consultants Division’s financial analysts have identified and tracked emerging business models in the traditional and new economy and incorporate this knowledge into the development of projections. As a result of our experience, we may determine additional revenue streams that complement your existing business model.

Our Proforma spreadsheets are exemplary in the industry and clients can quote with confidence from our projections. Your ability to support and defend the information in the business plan is just as important as the plan itself.

Our experienced and professional business planning team can assist your company, regardless of the stage of your company’s development or the amount of capital you may be seeking.

The CTPD Management Consultants Division builds quality business plans that portray your project as an appropriate choice for investment. A good business plan enhances the profile of your company and imparts credibility to your venture. Your business plan will answer investors’ questions, and map out a strong strategy for your venture’s success.

Our Business Plan Consulting includes:

• Development of vision statement
• Complete business plan writing
• Market research and forecasting
• Business model assessment
• Revenue and Financial projection

Our Market Research includes:

• Define target market
• Identify customers
• Market projections and research
• Competitive analysis
• International market research
• Execution strategy

Format of our Business Plans 

The CTPD Management Consultants Division’s business plans are prepared using classical business planning structure. We do not use templates and customize every business plan according to the needs of the individual model. CTPD Management Consultants has an organized approach that employs proven methodologies. Our work has benefited a significant list of clients by developing new strategies and implementation plans that give them a considerable competitive advantage.

Table of Contents of CTPD Management Consultants Division’s Business Plans

• Executive Summary

 1.1 Objectives

 1.2 Mission

 1.3 Keys to Success

2.0   Company Summary

2.1 Start-up Summary

2.2 Company Ownership

2.3 Company Locations and Facilities

3.0 Services

       3.1 Competitive Comparison

       3.2 Sales Literature

       3.3 Fulfillment

       3.4 Technology

       3.5 Future Services

4.0 Market Analysis Summary

     4.1 Market Segmentation

      4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

      4.2.1 Market Trends

      4.2.2 Market Growth

      4.2.3 Market Needs

5.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary

      5.1 Competitive Edge

      5.2 Marketing Strategy

           5.2.1 Distribution Strategy

           5.2.2 Marketing Programs

           5.2.3 Positioning Statement

           5.2.4 Pricing Strategy

           5.2.5 Promotion Strategy

      5.3 Sales Strategy

            5.3.1 Sales Forecast

            5.3.2 Sales Programs

      5.4 Strategic Alliances

      5.5 Milestones

6.0 Management Summary

      6.1 Organizational Structure 

      6.2 Management Team 

      6.3 Management Team Gaps

      6.4 Personnel Plan

7.0 Financial Plan

      7.1 Important Assumptions

      7.2 Key Financial Indicators

      7.3 Break-even Analysis

      7.4 Projected Profit and Loss

      7.5 Projected Cash Flow

      7.6 Projected Balance Sheet

      7.7 Business Ratios