Business-Plan Check List

By Steven D. Peterson, Peter E. Jaret, and Barbara Findlay Schenck from Business Plans Kit For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Putting together your written business plan is a bit like preparing for a final exam: You want to make sure that you're well prepared and that you have all the resources you need at your fingertips.

Ask successful entrepreneurs how they made it, and they'll usually list two reasons. No. 1: They had rock-solid business plans in place. No. 2: They stuck to them. Okay, well maybe there'a third reason: They had a process in place to recognize when their plan wasn't working and the flexibility to quickly and effectively revise it.

With that goal in mind, use the checklist shown here as you organize your plan. It lists all the items you may want to include in each of the major components of your business plan. Check off the items that you already have in hand, at least in a rough form. (Don't worry about a table of contents or executive summary at this point. You put those in last.)

Not every business plan will contain every item on this list. Still, take a good look at the items you haven't checked. Make sure that the omission is intentional and that you're not leaving out important information.

Anatomy of a Business Plan
Component	What it includes
Table of Contents	Self-described
Executive Summary	Self-described
Company overview	Mission statement Vision statement Values statement Listing of key products and/or services Business model summary Major business goals
Business environment	Industry overview Barriers to entry Market segmentation Ideal customer profile Competitor analysis
Company strategy	SWOT analysis Business model Business goals Marketing plan Plans for growth Exit strategy
Company description	Introductory highlights Products and/or services offered Research and development Operations Sales and marketing Distribution and delivery Customer service Management Organization
Marketing plan	Self-described
Financial review	Income statement Balance sheet Cash-flow statement Financial forecasts Master Budget
Action plan	Short-term goals Immediate objectives Next steps
Appendixes	Self-described