Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Here's a start:

Business Plan Outline
1) Executive Summary
2) High level overview/summary of the business;
a) Outline of what the company produces, the estimated market size, names and size of the competitors, (if it is a start-up, a summary of how the need that was identified, how big is the market for the needed product and why this product solves that need).
b) Who the people are behind the deal, summary of their experience, qualifications;
c) High level financial summary, sales, forecasts, EBIT forecasts for 3-5 years, major assumptions in the financial table summarized
d) An outline of what the deal is.
e) What is the investor being asked to do and what does he get in return for his investment. This must be very clear. They have to know what is in it for them, you must be able to answer the question; “What do I get for investing in this business?” just to get him to read the rest of it.
f) NB: All of the above must be in the executive summary as professional investors will not bother to read the rest of the document if they aren’t excited by the opportunity, if they don’t understand what the deal is or what they are being asked to consider. The ES should be no longer than 3 pages.
3) Business Overview – What is the business about?
a) Vision for the business
b) Company Background – where we came from
c) Business Description – what is the business doing?
d) Product (Range, inc. accessories/packages) Offering
– what it is, how it works, how it will be packaged and sold.
4) Business Strategy
a) Industry Analysis
b) Market Entry Analysis
c) Route to Market
d) Strategic Alliances
e) Exit Opportunity
5) Marketing Plan
a) Environmental Analysis – SWOT, PEST
b) Competitive Analysis - Porter
c) Target Market Segments
d) Consumer Research
e) Channel Strategy
f) Pricing (across range/packages)
g) Value Proposition
h) Promotional Plan
6) Operational Strategy
a) Critical Success Factors
b) Major Risks and Mitigation Strategies
c) Major Milestones
7) People
a) Current Management Team
b) Key Hires, Recruitment, and Retention Strategy
8) Financials
a) Revenue Model
b) 3 Year Revenue and P/L Forecasts inc B/E analysis, DCF, IRR and ROI for investors
c) 12 Months Detailed Operating Budgets
d) Key Assumptions and Sensitivities (ref. risks per 4.b)
e) Capital Raising Requirements and Strategy inc. Investor Exit


Hope this helps. Sorry the document format indentation doesn't work well via the web...

ChrisB

I am going to chip in also about the business plan being business focused, not product focused. That is why it is called a 'business' plan not a 'product' plan...

I am making an assumption here - that you are getting in a trap hit by many startups. You are really focused on your product, where you need to keep in mind the business. When it comes to the marketing, the symptoms of being product focused will be that you promote features of your product, where a business focused person would be promoting what the product does for the customers.