When you are crafting a business plan, it is fundamental to optimise every section. By doing so, you can ensure investors are engaged, your ideas are well represented, and your chances of funding success are increased.
We previously discussed crafting an executive summary after you complete your plan. Alongside this, you need to cover off your company structure and management and your objectives. Both of these sections are essential in demonstrating how your business will be run and what you hope to achieve over time.
As with every part of your business plan, you need to write these sections so that they provide all the information an investor might want to know and casts a positive picture of your enterprise. Below, we have outlined everything you need to include under company structure and objectives, as well as our top tips for the writing process.
- What to include in the company structure section
- Top tips for writing your company structure
- What to include in the company objectives section
- Top tips for writing your objectives
What to include in the company structure section
In this section, you need to describe how your business will be structured. This includes the different teams and departments that you will need to function and who will be at the company’s helm.
There are many structures that a company can take, including partnerships and limited liability companies. Here, we are focused on limited companies as this is the typical mechanism through which investment occurs. You also need to clarify how your company aligns with your value proposition and operations.
Next, you will need to detail who will form your executive team. This includes introducing yourself and any other founders, as well as those who will be managing your departments or taking critical roles. Explain what position they will take, their functions, and what experience they have that qualifies them.
You may have roles that you haven’t yet recruited, especially if you are at an early stage of your business. Be sure to mention these roles, especially if they are integral to your operation, and discuss when you expect to fulfil them – ideally you will have names in the frame already.
You will also want to discuss how you expect the structure and workforce to change over time. As you expand, you will likely need to hire more people to allow you to meet demand. Include information about how you expect to expand your team in line with your growth goals and what roles will be required in each area as you move forward.
Top tips for writing your company structure
Investors will have certain expectations about your company structure section. Below, we have detailed how to craft your content to meet these expectations.
Focus on the strength of your team
Investors will want evidence that you have a strong leadership team that can efficiently run your business. You therefore need to highlight the experience and skills that your chosen team has.
When introducing each member, focus on their past achievements and career history and how that makes them a perfect fit for the job. If they have previously run a successful company or exited a business, you will also want to highlight this.
Similarly, if there are any gaps in your executive team, don’t be tempted to hide them. Instead, be honest with the investors and explain how you will seek to fill those gaps later.
Remember to include all relevant people
This section is entirely dedicated to all the people that make up your company. This means anyone who has an impact on the running of your business in any capacity. As such, it is essential to include all relevant parties.
Obvious inclusions will be your management teams and founders. However, you may also have boards of directors, non-exec directors, partners and existing shareholders that form part of the organisation. Aim to include these too to give investors a complete picture of who is involved and how your company is comprised.
Include your support
On top of those directly employed by your business, it may be worth including any additional support resources you have. This could include external accountants, lawyer, consultants or anyone else you rely on to help your operations.
Although these may not be part of your internal team, showing investors that you have this support to rely on when needed can offer peace of mind and highlight that you have covered all bases.
What to include in the company objectives section
After you have completed the company structure section, it’s time to focus on your objectives. Here, you need to outline what you intend to achieve as a business and when.
Many things can fall under objectives. You might incorporate your business values, such as any corporate-sustainability responsibility goals you have or a mission statement explaining your ethos. You will also want to include long-term ambitions, such as growth plans or sales targets.
When setting out your goals, you need to determine how long you expect it to take for you to realise them. You will likely have a mixture of short, medium and long-term goals.
For example, a food business based in Manchester may intend to open a second premise in Newcastle. Next, they might want to open additional premises elsewhere across the North of England to expand their reach. Their ultimate goal might be to have franchises across the entire country. This shows how your objectives should tie together.
Top tips for writing your objectives
As your objectives carve out the trajectory your business will follow, it’s crucial to spend time deciding them. Once you have, you need to present them to investors in a way that convinces them of the longevity of your venture and the success story they could be part of. We’ve put together some tips to help you do that.
Be ambitious but realistic
You might have grand visions for your company. There’s no harm in that, as it suggests you are passionate and believe in the potential of your idea. Investors will also appreciate goals that are ambitious and demonstrate the strength of a business.
However, it’s equally as important to be realistic. If you are promising to become a multi-million company in just a few months, it’s a sign that you’re setting too high a benchmark and making false promises. Investors will see through this immediately, and it’s likely your claims will fall apart when it comes to the supporting evidence. It will also cause unnecessary stress trying to reach unobtainable heights.
Instead, focus on what you believe you can realistically achieve over time. Growth happens steadily, so don’t be afraid to place longer timelines on your end goals, as this will show investors you have considered them carefully and are willing to devote the effort to make it happen in the long term.
Utilise data
Investors will want evidence that you are pursuing the right ambitions and your ability to reach them. While nobody can see into the future, utilising data such as competitor research and market analysis can help you support your claims.
Look at previous success stories within your sector and how they scaled over time. Then, consider how this could translate into your own business. You’ll also want to look at the room in the market, such as how much demand lies out there for your offering.
By tying in data, you can showcase the expected progression of your enterprise and show the reasoning behind your goals rather than making unsubstantiated promises to investors.
Align your goals to your strategies
Finally, you need to ensure your objectives align with your strategies. If you tell investors that you will increase sales by 100% per annum, you need to highlight how you will scale your operations to win and serve these new customers. If you intend to take on more staff or resource, you need to explain how your revenue will allow for that.
Similarly, you will need to make sure all goals fit in with your value proposition. This will keep you focused and ensure you are pursuing ambitions that provide value to your customers. If your goals involve broadening your position in the market and diversifying your audience, you need to demonstrate the demand to do so.
By tying everything together in this way, you can prove to investors you have considered the whole picture and make your business plan consistent by linking sections together.
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Optimising every part of your business plan is essential to maximising your chances of securing finance. By effectively describing the structure of your company and outlining realistic objectives, you will begin to convince investors of the potential of your venture and your ability to run it. As you move onto the following sections of your business plan, you will hammer this point home even more.
If you need support writing your business plan, we will support you. Our consultancy services aim to get you ready for investment with the tools you need to secure funding, including creating business documentation.