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Mini Business Plans

Business Planning

A condensed, or mini version of the business plan can prove beneficial. Such a plan can be used to introduce the company to prospective investors in a concise manner, which can then be followed by sending the detailed plan to those parties who are most interested.

Such a mini plan should contain two or three paragraphs on most of the sections that would be found in a larger business plan. This would include:

  • A short description of the business
  • An overview of the market or industry analysis
  • A review of the products or services the company offers
  • An overview of the marketing plan
  • A chart outlining financial projections over one, two and three years
  • A short biography of each of the key members of the management team

    • If this shortened version of the business plan is intended to raise funding, you should add how much money will be needed to start the company and where existing capital has come from to date.

    The key to making such a mini-plan effective is to strip down the details into the TV Guide version, highlighting the most important elements of each section and presenting them clearly. Just as with a longer, detailed business plan, you will need to review the mini business plan carefully to make sure that what you have stated is accurate and that you are not over-estimating your financial projections. Proofreading is also a must.

    Often, condensing the market or industry analysis and the marketing plan into a few short paragraphs are the most difficult tasks. If you include some broad numbers to illustrate the state of the industry and then follow that up with a paragraph that highlights the three or four leading players, you can provide a general overview of the market in which you will be doing business. Conclude the section with a third paragraph highlighting how you foresee the business fitting into the market and capturing a share of the existing market. Condensing the marketing plan means you will have to outline, on a broad level, which methods you will use to attract attention to the product or service. Mention packaging, promotional materials and, or, advertising that will be key to your overall marketing plan.