Overview

Back to: How to Write a Show-Stopping Business Plan Step-by-Step

1. Welcome back! As promised, we are nearly done. This is the final lesson in the 

Planning for Success

1.  section of the Business Plan. This component is: 

Your Financial Plan

1. . The financial plan section of a Business Plan is often very weighty but it doesn’t need to be.

We’ve decided to distill it down to just three core things:

1. 1. What are my start up costs?
   2. How will I fund my business?
   3. What does cash-flow look like in the first year?
These are core questions which will be asked by any financial provider or business partner you may be approaching for support. And, of course, they are questions you should also know the answer to if you are to feel comfortable in your first year of business. A financial provider may actually ask for more than we teach here, such as a projection of cash-flow for 3 or 5 years, instead of just 1; or a breakdown of cash-flow in terms of best and worst scenarios. If that is the case, the skills you learn in this section of the business plan will enable you to put those forecasts together too. If you are an existing business looking to expand, they will also want to see your previous financial statements, too. We will take these questions one-by-one over the next three activities, and just like last time, we have a worksheet for you to download and use if you wish. You’ll find it below.

Downloads

The Your Financial Plan Worksheet

The worksheet will help you organise your notes for this Component. The .pdf version can be printed out and written on, or else the .docx can be downloaded and edited. There is space to answer all the questions and exercises in the upcoming section. Alternatively, if you don’t have the facilities to print, you can just use a notebook.

 or  The Your Financial Plan Tip Sheet

The Tip Sheet will give you a few extra ideas on the best way to approach this section.