By Our Special Reports Team

When starting a new venture the intrepid entrepreneur needs to put together a business plan. A business plan acts as a blueprint for your project. It will be used as a way of securing funding, selling the idea, gaining employees or partners and predicting the future. You are planning on paper how your enterprise will operate in the real world. The plan should be well researched and accurate. If the business plan fulfils these criteria then it can be used as a guide for the company's future years.

ake the plan practical and understandable. Layout the concept, its development and future. Encourage the reader to visualise your business strategy. This is where you sell your start-up. It has to capture all the enthusiasm and innovation of your concept. If you can't get this down on paper it won't be an effective plan.

From the beginning of the outline you need to draw people in. There's a lot of competition out there so you need to make your plan stand out in the fight for funding, business and employees. Ask yourself what you are offering that no one else is. Even if you have the best idea in the world you also need to find the best way to sell it. Be innovative but make sure that you don't get too carried away. What you propose needs to be viable in reality.

The length of the business plan is always a point of discussion. There is no 'right' length for the plan. It used to be common practice to submit over 50 pages but people are no longer interested in trawling through reams of paper. Recommended lengths seem to range between anything from five to 45 pages. Our advice is to keep it clear and concise.

The business plan should be made up of the following elements:

Executive summary
The executive summary is an outline of your business plan. In the US it was dubbed the 'elevator pitch' on the basis that you have 45 seconds (between floors) in which to sell your idea to an executive. It should include: all the key points about what your concept is, who the competition are and how you will beat them. The executive summary makes or breaks the deal. If this doesn't capture the readers' interest your business plan will get tossed in the bin. It needs to be snappy, informative and concise.

Business description
Detail your company's industry, and more importantly its niche. What is your product or service and where will it sit in the marketplace? What does the future hold for the company and its products?

The Market
Expand the outline you gave in the executive summary by outlining projected performance. Also state future plans, growth and assess your competitors. In this section you need to demonstrate that you understand your market, your position within it and that you have thoroughly researched it. Profile the history of the market, its ups and downs, as well as your potential customers. Look at all eventualities for the future progression of the business, customer base and sales.

Research and development
Outline the development of your business from concept to product. How did it change and why? Detail the cost of development, labour requirements, expenses and capital requirements.

Sales, marketing and business development and partners
Strategy is your key word. There needs to be a marketing, sales and pricing strategy with implementation plans. Also forecast sales and back it up with strategic partnerships.

Management
Introduce your management team and staff. Don't worry if it's only a small group of people - their experience and achievements still count. If you have a board of directors or advisors include profiles - investors will be interested to see who is backing you. If a big name is on board it will be reassuring to potential investors. Look to the future as well: will you require more staff and, if so, will they need training?

Financials
ake realistic projections on revenue and funding. Don't underestimate in the hope that a smaller figure will secure an investor. You need to outline risks, revenue projections, cash flow statement, balance sheet, income statement and return balance sheet.