Outline business strategy

The marketing program represents the heart of a company's business strategy. The financial section of business strategy presents information about the company’s fiscal status and also specifies the amount of money is being spent to activate the company and how much money is being brought in as a result of product/service sales. You can also record the company's assets and liabilities. The suggested page lengths for a comprehensive plan are given in parenthesis after each section's heading within the outline. A small, straightforward business should work within the minimum page lengths whereas a large, complex business seeking a substantial external investment might hit the maximum page lengths. Work on the assumption that whoever reads your plan will be completely unknown with your business or project and will be seeking answers to relatively basic questions and key issues. You can also refer to other papers in this series which cover insights into business planning, financial planning, cashflow forecasting, strategic planning, devising business strategies and managing working capital for further information on business planning issues. Finally, you should review the contents of the Business Plan Guide.