In a sense, a business plan has many things in common with the science reports you wrote in high school. The plan has a title page, an abstract or executive summary that boils down the gist of the plan into one or two paragraphs, and a table of contents. The plan has pages describing the research you've done about the business climate; there may be charts and graphs; and there are references and other supporting documents at the end.

Like that long ago science report, neatness counts in business plans, but a physically clean plan cannot make up for shoddy research or poorly-reasoned arguments.

The Cover Page

They say that you only get one chance to make a good first impression, and with your business plan, the cover page will be the first thing that is seen. A typical cover page contains your company's name, its address, and other contact information, including telephone numbers (with area code) and website or email address. If you have a logo, it would be appropriate to put it here. The cover page should also have the names and contact information for company officers and the name of the preparers. Investors want to know who prepared the report because there is the expectation that corporate officers should have an integral part in preparing the plan.

Finally, the cover page should indicate the date that the plan was prepared. Those who are reading it need to know how up-to-date some of the material is, especially the area dealing with finances.

The Other Components of the Plan

Behind the cover page, the table of contents must be well-organized so your readers will be able to navigate smoothly through your business plan.

After that comes the executive summary, an abstract of your business plan that summarizes your plans, a "who, what, when, where, why, and how" of the business.

It should be noted that although the table of contents and executive summary come at the beginning of the business plan, it is likely you will create them last, after all your other elements are in place.

The meat of your plan will be a description of your organization, the plans you have for marketing your business, and documents describing your finances. You will also need to include biographical information about the key personnel in your organization.