Monday, September 7, 2009

Capital West Advisors Analyzes the Composition of a Business Plan and reveals its Specific Methodology



Capital West Advisors has developed several hundred business plans on behalf of clients and every business plan is fully customized from beginning to end. Business planning is a collaborative and expertise driven process: Capital West Advisors uses a team of at least one managing director, one associate, and one financial planner for every project. The following presents a specic breakdown of the components of each section within the business plan and the methodology that Capital West Advisors uses to develop each section.



Outline

The first step prior to the development of the business plan is the development of the outline. Capital West Advisors develops a customized outline for each client that serves as a framework for the business plan prior to getting started.



Executive Summary

The Executive Summary is typically either the first section within a business plan or can be used as a separate individual document. Capital West Advisors separates the Executive Summary from the core document if this is what the client requests. The Executive Summary typically range from 3-7 pages (depending upon the sophistication of the business model and layout used). The Executive Summary provides a snapshot of the company and the business plan, and it summarizes each of the core sections of the business plan. The Executive Summary must be very concise, well organized, and must successfully and continuously promote the core strengths of the business model. Capital West Advisors often has 2 Managing Directors review and work on the Executive Summary to ensure that it is developed on a maximal level.


Company Overview

The Company Overview provides investors with a detailed synopsis that includes the company description (and history), industry background, key business strengths, capital requirements, and value proposition of the business. The first sub-section within the Company Overview is typically the mission statement, which must be a highly impactful and very descriptive sentence that capitulates the mission of the company and its goals. The next-sub section is the Company Description will typically discuss the location of the business, its legal structure and for an existing business it is typically appropriate to include the Company History in this section. Capital West Advisors typically will detail the Value Proposition of the Business, which indicates every value that the company will offer its customer. The Capital Requirements should list the amount of capital that the company is seeking and a breakdown of use of proceeds. Capital West Advisors will typically present this in a chart format. The next section in Capital West Advisors’ business plans is typically the Industry Background, which provides a brief history that will typically span that last five to 20 years of the industry and discuss how the industry has evolved over time. The last section in Capital West Advisors’ Company Overview is typically the Business & Growth strategy which details in a sequential or phase format that presents the growth strategy of the company and growth of the business model.



The Market

The Market Section provides a forum to assess the fundamental supply and demand factors present in the company’s specific industry. The Market section should contain a very specific market analysis that present current and comprehsnive reports for industry research and a well-developed analysis on the state of the industry and its future. Capital West Advisors utilizes subscription databases to gather market figures, trends, and market segment analyses. Capital West Advisors then organizes this information and performs the market analysis. Often, this information will be specific to a particular geographic region, city, or community. Capital West Advisors will typically develop a target market analysis, which specifically analyses the profile of the targeted B2C and B2B customers. For B2C customers, we will typically gather demographic information (according to the particular geography of the business model’s target market) and we will often present specific prospective B2B customers (for companies with B2B customers).

Another core function of the Market section is to display how your company is positioned within the competitive landscape. Capital West Advisors performs both a macroscopic industry analysis that profiles the basic structure of the industry, market penetration by key industry players, respective strengths and weaknesses of the industry and a microscopic analysis of each of the companies that we perceive to be the direct competitors of the client company. Capital West Advisors provides a detailed description of every relevant direct competitor, including capabilities, target market, and overall business model. This data is then synthesized to develop a unique and comprehensive competitive strategy.



Products and services

The Products and Services Section is a meticulous description of every product and service that the business will offer that generates revenue or otherwise supports the business model. Each product and service that your company offers will be effectively promoted within the context of your company’s overall mission and competitive strategy. Additionally, Capital West Advisors will develop product and service rollout strategies with strategic goals and milestones to maximize sales efforts. In this section, we also discuss the pricing strategy, which can be a general description of the strategy or a specific pricing matrix. In this sub-section, we can also mention package pricing plans.



Marketing Plan

The Marketing Plan is an essential component of the Business Plan that describes the company’s overall marketing and sales strategy. Capital West Advisor will develop a comprehensive marketing strategy for your company to maximize the number of customers and obtain the highest possible returns on advertising. Typical marketing methods that Capital West Advisors implements include branding strategy, print advertising, radio advertising, television advertising, direct mail, public relations, promotional strategy, affiliate marketing, and Internet marketing. Capital West Advisors carefully develops the marketing and sales campaign in accordance with the overall branding & pricing strategies.



Operations Plan

The Operations Plan develops and organizes each of the key elements that comprise the company’s daily operations. Although every business is different to varying degrees, these elements typically include facility layout, inventory control, maintenance, distribution, manufacturing, sales & billing, accounting, marketing, legal, insurance, and equipment requirements.



Management and Staff

Often overlooked, the Management and Staff section is frequently an integral part of the business plan in terms of gaining investor interest and confidence in the opportunity. Capital West Advisors reviews each key member’s expertise to develop well-written personal biographies. For all management and staff positions that have not yet been filled, we will develop a detailed summary of responsibilities to maintain overall continuity.



Financial Plan

The Financial Plan and Corresponding Pro-Forma Financial Statements are crucial elements when negotiating with investors or applying for a commercial/SBA loan. CWA develops defensible financial assumptions to project the five-year Pro-forma Income Statement, Statement of Cash Flows, and the Balance Sheet.

It is very important that the financial statements have properly developed revenue, expense, and growth assumptions. Capital West Advisors develops these financial assumptions during the preliminary business plan along with preliminary revenue and expense projections. Once the client reviews the business plan, then we proceed to further develop the financial statements.

Capital West Advisors uses a monthly breakdown I Year 1, Quarterly in Year 3 and 4 and annually for year 5. Capital West Advisors has ultimate flexibility and will also, at times, develop both Year 1 and 2 on a monthly basis. Once the financial statements are complete, Capital West Advisors develops a comprehensive financial strategy that proposes capital requirements, stages of funding, and exit strategy.





Capital West Advisors’ methodology has been developed over years of experience. Also, the Managing Directors represent over 75 Years of collective business planning, consulting, and capital introduction experience. Please visit our website at www.capitalwestadvisors.com for more information.

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