Company takeover: building a business plan

Your business plan should start with the executive summary or operational summary. It briefly summarizes (2 pages maximum) what your recovery project is.

The goal of this hook is to make your interlocutors want to know more. It should be written carefully to encourage them to read your entire business plan.

The executive summary presents the following:

• Target company Overview : the activity, the products or services offered, the commercial and communication strategy, the values disseminated by the company (ethics, solidarity, ecology).
• Typology of the market market size, target audience, state of competition, opportunities.
• Profiles of your team members : the idea is to highlight your complementarity and the skills that each will bring to the company.
• Key figures : the company's historic and forecasted outcomes. You need to show your reader that your recovery project is profitable.

Finally, it is essential to remind the potential investor why they are studying your case. You need to detail your financing need and how you're going to use the funds.

The business plan is an opportunity to present the project team members :

• You, the project leader : you had the initiative of the take-back project.
• Your associates : They contribute to the project in one way or another (financially, technically, etc.).
• Your advisors : private actors (lawyers, accountants) or public actors (consular chambers, associations) who accompany you in your project.

This section presents the background, motivations and professional experiences of each, in line with the recovery plan. Your interlocutor needs to see the cohesion between team members, their degree of involvement and the synergy their respective competences.

Market research consists of define your market and demonstrate that your product or service responds to an actual request.

Your market research needs to analyze 3 main elements :

• The target market : does the market already exist? If so, for how long? How big is the target market? What is the geographical area? What is the applicable regulation? Are they professional or personal customers? How is the market evolving?
• The demand : it's a matter of studying the target clientele, i.e. consumption patterns, geographical location, mobility, purchasing incentives, average budget and unmet expectations.
• The offer : it's a matter of studying competitive intensity on the target market. Are there competitors? How many are they? What prices do they offer? What is their market share? How do they communicate?

It is at the end of this analysis that you will have to define your positioning in the target market :

• What market failures will you exploit?
• What competitive advantages will allow you to stand out: the superior quality of your product, a very low price, a patent or technical know-how, partnerships with recognized brands?

The business model or business model consists of showcase your product or service and explain how your company will exploit this product to generate revenue.

You can define your business strategy using the Next 4 items :

• Price : what is your pricing policy (pricing grid, formulas, degressive prices)? Do you make a margin on the sale of the main product, or its accessories? Is the product sold on an ad hoc basis or through a subscription system?
• Product : what are the characteristics of your product or service? What are its advantages over the competition? By whom is it made and how will it be stored?
• Distribution : Does the company distribute the product in a physical store or on the internet? With or without intermediate distributors?
• Communication : what is your marketing strategy? What channels will you use to promote the company (website creation, social networks, TV, flyers, etc.)? What image of the company do you want to broadcast?

The financial part of the business plan allows your potential investors d'to assess cost-effectiveness of your recovery plan. This part gathers multiple indicators.