Making a pitch to get funding for your business can be a frightening situation. What happens if your lender doesn’t believe that your business can be successful, or perhaps they don’t think you can execute on the plan? Having a top-notch business plan presentation can make the difference between getting the capital that you need and being turned away from your dreams.

Crafting your business plan isn’t an overnight task, and it requires a great deal of firsthand knowledge of the business you’re attempting to start as well as the overall business environment and competitors. Aside from a firm grasp of the model, you’ll also need a significant number of statistics to support your business analysis, such as population information and details from your franchisor, if you’re ready to start a franchise business. Our overview of the critical pieces of a business plan will get you off to a good start and should help you get the funding you need to make your business dreams come true.

Key Elements of a Successful Plan

Think of your business plan as a road map for the first year (or more!) of your business. What are the decisions that you’ll need to make, who needs to make them and what success looks like. Many franchise opportunities provide you with a business plan shell so you don’t have to start from scratch, but it’s always good to have a trusted franchise attorney review the overall plan before you present it to potential lenders. A typical business plan will include:

• Business Overview. Think of this like an executive overview of your business plan. Touch on the details that are most likely to sell a financier on providing you with the cash to make it happen.
• Operations. Detailing your team members, or at least the key management roles, and their backgrounds can provide a level of trust that your lender will appreciate.
• Marketing and Branding. When you’re working with an established franchise, this part of your business plan becomes much simpler. Be prepared to explain how and why customers will use and value your new business.
• Financial Projections. This is arguably the most important part of your project as lenders will want intimate details into your thoughts around how they’re going to be repaid. Be conservative and think of all potential risks to the project and detail how you’ll overcome them.
• Requested Funding. At the end of the day, you have to ask for funding. This is the opportunity to detail any additional sources of financing and explanation of exactly what the request means and the timing on when you’ll need working capital.

Ready to get started on your franchise business plan? Give Shelton Law & Associates a call today. Our professional strategists will help you determine the ideal business structure for your new venture and get you the financing that you need to fulfill your dreams.