Business Plan Framwork

Business Plan Framework
1. The Title Page

This part should include:
 your farm/business name
 address
 telephone/FAX number
 the period the plan covers
 the person to contact
 the date your plan was prepared
2. The Table of Contents
This part outlines the topics covered by the plan. It allows readers to
jump immediately to those sections which are of most interest.
3. The Business Profile and Summary
This part should attract the reader’s interest, outlining the basics of your
plan and encouraging him or her to read the remainder of the plan.
Items that you might include in the Business Profile and Summary:
 purpose of the plan
 business goals
 business activities and targets
 financing needs or other input required from outsiders
 financial and physical resources available
This section is usually easiest to prepare after the plan is completed.
4. Business Organization
Under Business Organization, you want to present some basic
information about your business and, for an existing business, how you
got to this point.
The business organization includes:
 the basic structure
 ownership
 advisors
 special permits or licenses you have or need or legislation you
must comply with
4.1 Business Operating History
Business Operating History describes the of the business to this point,
 how long it has been operating,
 the size,
 the resources employed.
 Strengths and weaknesses in the current operation.
Supporting detailed information describing the history of the business
can be added as appendices to the business plan, for example:
 Market and price history
 Production records for the past five years
 Management/labor expertise & training
 Financial statements
5. Goal
Your Goals will tell the reader what you are trying to achieve with this
plan.
A goal is the object or end that one strives to attain. A well-defined goal:
 is a statement of action
 specifies the time
 is measurable
 is realistic given the resources and time you have
This section should contain at least:
 a statement of mission or purpose that indicates the overriding
philosophy of the business
 the goals that you wish to achieve with this plan
Additionally, you might include:
 overall long term goals of the owner for the business
 other goals not directly related to the business but that will have an
impact on achieving business goals
6. Marketing plan
To prepare the Marketing Plan, you will consider issues like:
 what the market looks like
 potential customers
 competitors
 what products are selling
 is there more demand than supply
 is your product different in any way
 price trends
 your strategy to put your products into the marketplace
 your competitive advantages
The Market
Describe the industry you operate within. Highlight the market

conditions that influence your business. Define the opportunities that
exist within the industry as well as the industry-wide constraints that
hamper your business.
Identify your potential customers and your competitors.
Identity major trends affecting the industry and your business. This
could include information on:
 consumer preferences
 per capita consumption
 pricing and delivery options
 new technology
Where and how do you get this information? The more you know
about your potential market, the easier it will be to find your niche.
Important sources of information include:
 produce buyers
 salespeople and suppliers
 industry associations, conferences, seminars
 industry periodicals
 other growers
 government and business services
 newspapers and magazines
The more sources you use, the more reliable the information you gather
will be. You may want to name your sources of information to increase
the credibility of your plan. Additional detail would be included in the
Appendices.
Product
The main objective of the marketing plan is to determine the products
that you can sell. Your plan should discuss these products in terms of:
 consumer preferences (containers, sizes, ..)
 legal and political controls and regulations (labelling,..)
Pricing
The price that you think you can get for the products provides a tool to
decide whether a new product would be profitable and in what format.
Your plan should indicate:
 how you set your price
 what you anticipate prices will be into the future
 how your prices differ from competitors pricing
Place
Where and how you will be selling your products is the final leg of the
marketing plan. What are your alternatives for getting the product to the
customer - direct sales, retail outlets, bulk sales?
Promotion
In your plan, what is your strategy to make consumers aware of your
product? Your plan should outline the methods you will use to increase
acceptance of the product and create interest in it.
What about creating demand for new products? If you are

introducing a new product or producing a different product, who will
you be selling to? How will you assess what your customers want? Your
packaging and promotion will then key in on the desires the customer
has expressed.
7. Production Plan
The Production Plan is concerned with how to efficiently produce the
volumes and grades of the product(s) you want to sell. You will need to
research the production methods that will work with your operation. In
this section, you will want to consider:
 do you have the facilities?
 do you need additional equipment?
 how will your current production be affected?
 what are common production problems and how will you tackle
them?
 where can you get more information?
Production Strategy
What do you plan to produce and how? Your strategies should describe
your plans to achieve targeted yields and quality.
Production Facilities
Include a description of the facilities and equipment that you have in use
or available. This may be easiest to show in a scale drawing of your
facilities. You may also want to include a map of hive yard sites,
particularly if your plans include changes to sites.
Under Capital Purchase Requirements, list any new equipment and

facilities you will need and what you expect them to cost. This list
should include planned repair and replacement of facilities and
equipment.
Production History
The production plan should include a brief description of historical

production including products, strategies and volumes/grades achieved.
Production Schedules
In your production plan, you will want to schedule the changes in timing
and use of facilities you foresee because of new strategies and new
products.
Production Volume
What are the production targets you plan to achieve? Do you anticipate
any changes in operating inputs and costs to achieve these?
Other Production Information
You may want to include other production information in your

production plan or in the Appendix such as:
 Historical Yields
 Comparison to industry averages
 Competitive advantages
 Constraints
 Capacities
8. Management and labour plan

The Management & Labour Plan describes how you expect to get the
job done. Will you need additional help? Will you need additional
training? How can you allocate your hours most effectively?
Management and Labour Strategy

What is the overall strategy for operating and managing the business?
Your strategy statements will clarify the direction and priorities.
Job Functions
A distribution of the many jobs that have to be done will show where
there are gaps and where more help is needed. Hiring can then be based
on the needs defined.
When making any changes in the operations, the allocation of jobs has to
be defined and analyzed. This can be done in many ways. A time
planner such as the one shown in the example can work very well for an
operation with few people involved. Tasks are listed in the time periods
they must be done. Overlaps can be quickly seen.
Job Allocations
Your plan should allocate the jobs to specific individuals as is done in
the chart in the example.
Training
Once jobs are defined, training needs can be assessed for each individual
- both informal (on the job) and formal.
Government Regulations
Government regulations and requirements regarding work environment,

safety and training should be noted.
9. Financial Plan
The Financial Plan is the acid test of your plans and ideas. Putting the
plans into dollars shows up any gaps, discrepancies and unrealistic
assumptions!
Because much of the information that you will need is already pulled
together in your marketing, production and labour plans, the task of
putting your plans into dollars is easier than you might expect. Your
financial forecasting should be based on what you think is the most
likely scenario for your business. It is also valuable to consider what the
numbers would be should you have some poor years, and what some
good luck might bring, i.e. do the forecasts on a pessimistic basis and on
an optimistic basis. This will give you an indication of the risk involved.
Useful tools for the financial analysis are the
 Contribution Margin Analysis
 Projected Income Statement,
 Cash Flow Forecast and
Contribution Margin Analysis

The Contribution Margin Analysis will tell you how much each
product contributes to the profits of the business. The contribution
margin is the amount left after the direct costs are deducted from the
income produced by a given product.
Direct costs are those incurred for production. They are usually
separated from fixed costs which are those expenses that would occur
whether or not anything was produced. The contribution is what is left
after all direct costs are deducted. If you are looking at adding new
products to your operation, you might want to prepare a Contribution
Margin Analysis for each new product. This is also a useful tool for
analyzing the profitability of existing products.
Projected Income Statement

The Projected Income Statement shows the anticipated profits from
the business after all direct costs and fixed costs have been deducted.
From the income statement, you can see if what you are planning to do
will make money, how much and how soon.
The Income Statement provides a better measure of profit when it is
prepared using the Accrual Basis of Accounting.
The accrual basis takes into account the value of the product that has
been produced even if it has not yet been sold (inventory). It also
accounts for amounts that have been earned but not yet received
(Accounts Receivable) and for amounts that have been spent but not yet
paid (Accounts Payable).
Cash Flow Forecast

The Cash Flow Forecast measures the movement of cash in and out of
the business. It differs from the income statement because it shows all of
the sources of cash, not just cash from sales. Because cash is so
important to a business, the cash flow forecast is a popular planning tool.
It will help you to see when cash shortfalls may occur, and will help you
to determine if you will need outside funding, how much and for how
long.
The Cash Flow Forecast does not measure profit. Often, a business will
be profitable, but the cash may be tied up in inventory or in fixed assets
for some time. In such circumstances, using only the cash flow
information could mislead you.
For your business plan, you may also want to prepare a monthly cash
flow projection to anticipate fluctuations in cash during the year.
Projected Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Equity
The Projected Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Equity measure

the cumulative financial progress of the business. This projection is like
a series of photographs of the business taken at certain intervals. In the
photographs you see what assets the business has, who the business
owes money to and how much equity the owner has. By comparison,
you can see how these elements have changed over time.
The equity reflects your investment in the business at a stated time.

Owner’s equity increases because of accumulated income or because of
contributions you make to the business. This calculation is useful as a
target and a measurement tool.
Owner’s Equity is calculated based on the cost of assets for the
Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Owner’s Equity (also called a
Balance Sheet).
When changes in the value of assets occur due to economic influence,
the equity of the owner will also change. When a statement is prepared
reflecting these market values, the owner’s equity is referred to as Net
Worth and the statement is a Net worth Statement.
Historical Information
In addition to the projections, you may need to include the financial

history of your business. If you will require additional financing, you
should also include information such as:
 inventory, accounts receivable and payable

 insurance
 appraisals
 personal net worth
This information could be included in the appendices.
10. Key targets
The business plan gives you a standard against which to compare your
actual results with your planned results. Regular review of your plan,
comparing it to the results shown in your actual records, will allow you
to identify problems and make adjustments quickly.
Some of the targets you set in your plan may warrant a more constant
vigil. For these key targets, you might want to set up a tracking method
that will show your progress on a timely basis.
Your key targets, which might be average price per pound, winter
survival populations or pounds of honey sold per month, are those that
will
 show your progress
 give you early warning signs of future problems
 be important to achieving your goals
Measuring tools that give a graphic reference point are very useful. They
will make tracking progress easier. Consider using
 a thermometer to draw in the progress you are making
 charts and graphs to show growth
 pie charts to measure changing percentages.
Do you want to supply more detail to explain some aspect of your plan?
Is there some additional information that you feel is helpful to
understanding the plan? Do you have a brochure for a new asset?
Organize them into Appendices at the end of the Business Plan.
The Appendices contain those extra items that you want to include in
your plan to support or provide detail for sections of the main document.
These might include some of the following:
 Financial Statements for the past five years
 Personal resumes of key people
 Brochures showing new equipment
 Important articles or news items
 Insurance
 Drawings or plans
 Appraisal reports
 Important contracts
 Detailed forecasts

Business Plan Framwork

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Business Plan Framework

1. The Title Page

Describe the industry you operate within. Highlight the market

What about creating demand for new products? If you are

Under Capital Purchase Requirements, list any new equipment and

The production plan should include a brief description of historical

Other Production Information

You may want to include other production information in your

8. Management and labour plan

Management and Labour Strategy

Government regulations and requirements regarding work environment,

Contribution Margin Analysis

Projected Income Statement

Cash Flow Forecast

Projected Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Equity

The Projected Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Equity measure

The equity reflects your investment in the business at a stated time.

In addition to the projections, you may need to include the financial

 inventory, accounts receivable and payable

This information could be included in the appendices.

10. Key targets

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