Business Plans, Investment and Strategic Reviews.

Business plans and strategic planning are necessary if you wish to raise funding from a bank loan or other source of finance. However all businesses should review their strategies for business development from time to time, whether or not they need to raise finance.

A business plan is one of the best strategic review formats for sustained business development. Situations where development plans are imperative include starting a new business, acquisition of a business, or preparing for a business recovery. Whenever major capital investments in premises or equipment, a change in marketing policy or external factors are likely to affect the future of the business, a thorough review of the business plans is required. Realism is very important if your organisation is to navigate its way forward successfully.

A business development plan will contain comprehensive details about the enterprise, its products or services, its key managers, the market and the major competitors, its strengths and weaknesses, historical financial information, its objectives, alternative means to achieve the objectives, the costs of carrying out the change or project, potential upsides and downsides, projected trading results, balance sheets and cash flow statements.

Much thought and analysis is required to prepare a business plan which will give you (and the banker) greater confidence in the future success of the organisation.

Commercial Angles has much experience of business development plans for a wide variety of small businesses and other organisations. We bring an objectivity which may be unavailable in your organisation. Assumptions are therefore questioned and verified and alternative courses of action may be proposed. It is better to have these points raised before the business plan is submitted to the bank because the bank will almost certainly raise them too.