Company Overview: How to write Section Two of your business plan
- Mark Day
- Oct 13, 2017
- 3 min read
So, you’re applying for a bank loan or maybe a government grant? Great! More often than not, the next stage is to produce a business plan. And here’s where so many business people and budding entrepreneurs become unstuck. How should a business plan be written? What should it include?
As a starting point, you should check out our SAMPLE TEMPLATE where you’ll see the typical sections and headings. Of course, you also need to populate the sections with more than just headings. Over a series of blogs, we’re going to provide you with a high-level overview of what content you need to include in your business plan. In this first post, we will take a look at Section Two, the Company Overview.
Section 2 – Company Overview
The company overview is generally the shortest section in the business plan. Nonetheless, it contains some very important information. To begin with, set out the facts.
Business Description
Under the “Business Description” sub-heading you should outline the following:
Legal entity: What is the business structure? Is it a sole trader, limited company, partnership etc.?
Principal activities: What will the company do?
Time in business: If an existing business, how long has it been trading?
Company Registration Number: If applicable.
Registered Business Address
Trading Name
Directors: How many directors does/will the company have and who are they?
Business website
How this information is formatted is a question of preference. It can take the form of a paragraph, a bulleted list, or a table.
Promoters and Stakeholders
Details of the business owner(s) also need to be provided. These include the owner’s full name, status within the company, shareholding, address, telephone, email and nationality. Depending on the nature of the company or the funding being sought, you may also wish to include the details of other stakeholders such as directors or individuals in key roles. Once again, formatting comes down to preference, although a tabular format often looks best visually.
Advisors and Agents
Who provides/will provide professional services to the business? List the name and address of the firm’s solicitors, accountants and bankers.
Location / Premises / Platform
Where will the business operate from? What size is the premises? Does it boast any features which will be particularly advantageous to the company? What about the actual location? Is it of strategic importance? You should answer all these questions. If the company is an e-business, give details of the platform it will operate from.
Mission Statement
A mission statement is a formal summary of the goals and values of a company. While it is only a few lines long, the statement can require quite some thought as it effectively defines your business.
To find out more, read our “HOW TO WRITE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN MISSION STATEMENT” blog.
Short-Term Objectives
Companies use short-term objectives in order to assist them in moving gradually toward their longer-term goals. Usually, these can be listed below a few category headings. Keep the objectives brief, as most of them will be dealt with in greater detail in other sections of the business plan. Sample objectives could be:
Revenue and Margins
Achieve minimum sales of €XXX,000 in forthcoming year
Attain – x number of clients or unit sales – within the calendar year x.
Achieve gross margins of no less than X%
Achieve net margins of no less than X%
Funding
Secure funding of €XX,000 to finance start-up / expansion costs.
Operational
Recruit, train and manage, a team of highly qualified employees and partners
Premises – find, secure, deposit and lease – if appropriate
Building - design, refurbish, expand, fit out – as appropriate
Marketing
Create a marketable brand
Implement a comprehensive and effective marketing communications programme
Build a professional website
Developing relationships
Conducting a range of promotional activities to build a strong sales pipeline.
How Irish Business Plans can help
Writing a business plan can be an onerous task. You may not be used to business writing or you may might just not have the time. Drawing up financial forecasts can often be even more daunting.
This is where we can help. Irish Business plans has several years’ experience working with individuals and companies seeking funding. We have written plans and drawn up financial projections for people in a wide range of industries, including retail, security, health and beauty, and procurement.
Check out our business plan writing service or get in touch to find out more.
Featured Image: Freepik.com (Created by Katemangostar and Jannoon028)
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