The fundamentals: What makes a good business plan? A business plan is as unique as the company that put it together. Nevertheless there are some basic rules:

• A clear structure. A good business plan has a clear structure and makes it easy for the reader to orient himself quickly.
• Intelligibility. Even complicated technical details should be explained in such a manner that a technical layman can understand them.
• Aim at the addressee. Always keep in mind when you are preparing your plan which points are of interest for the venture capital provider (for more on this see “Investment – factors for success”).
• Consistency. Even if several people have worked on creating a business plan, the result should be consistent and logical.
• Visually attractive. Even though the content is more important than the form – the visuals are not unimportant. Clear typography and well-prepared graphics help the structure of a plan.

Structure: A business plan must contain certain points. Moreover an appendix with explanatory information contained in tables and graphs is helpful.

1. Executive summary. The summary is meant to arouse the interest of the potential investor. It contains all of the important aspects of the business plan and can be read in five to ten minutes.
   
2. Product or service. What use does your product or service offer the customer? Is it unique or how does it differ from what your competitors offer? What is the development status and what other steps are necessary?
   
3. Team of entrepreneurs. The management’s qualifications are very important for potential investors. Describe the qualifications and responsibilities of the individual members of the management. Furthermore you must convincingly show the strength of the team as a whole.
   
4. Market and competition. Describe the size of the market and its potential for growth. How many potential customers are there? How many suppliers are you dependent on with your idea for a product or service? Are there competing companies and what hurdles do potential competitors have to overcome?
   
5. Marketing and distribution. Describe the “four Ps” of marketing: product,
   price, place and promotion. Describe your strategy for entering the market, your sales concept and the planned measures for sales promotion. The policies for price, distribution and communications make up the marketing mix.
   
6. The business system and organisation. How is your business system
   structured? As a rule a business system consists of research & development, production, marketing, distribution and service. How is your company organised? It is advisable to break it down into structural organisation and process organisation. Another point in this chapter is the choice of the location.
   
7. Timetable for implementation. How do you envision the development of
   your company in the next five years? Describe the fundamental milestones for the implementation and plans for human resources, investments and amortisation. You must be realistic about your targets. Otherwise you will not be credible.
   
8. Prospects and risks. Creating a “best case” and a “worst case” scenario would be advantageous here. What effects would these deviations have on the planned targets of your business plan?
   
9. Financial planning and financing. Show convincingly that your business model is profitable and can be financed. Important factors for financial planning are cash flow and the return on investment. The liquidity planning, the profit and loss account and the balance sheet are indispensable components of a business plan.

As we said, this is only an initial introduction. For more information we recommend the websites of NUK and tbg: www.n-u-k.de und www.tbgbonn.de