Zambian Company Formation and Management Consultants

Bank Financing

Banks like stable, consistently growing businesses with proven business models and lots of collateral (equipment, land, buildings).

This allows them to focus on historical performance, hard assets, and cash flow rather than market projections and future potential. This type of business plan usually requires a modest level of detail in the financial projections, market opportunity analysis, and competitor analysis.

Internal Planning

This type of plan applies to any business, independent of growth stage or industry vertical. Since the whole purpose is to guide internal planning, the formatting and packaging is less important than it would be for a plan designed to raise debt or equity capital. In some cases, the financial projections, supplementary materials, and other documents (such as a PowerPoint presentation) are either not needed or are only needed in a simpler form.

Investor Financing

Many businesses are simply not good candidates for bank financing. Generally any early stage business that involves new technology, innovative business services, practices, products or concepts will be unable to obtain bank financing. Most technology business plans (Internet, Information Technology, biotech, cleantech), and green or sustainable business plans fall into this category.

These types of business usually seek to obtain equity financing, typically from angel investors or venture capital firms. Most angel investors are successful entrepreneurs or business executives who have many places to put their money. If they see a flawed business plan (sloppy, inconsistent, or poorly conceived) they will walk away. Angel investors and venture capitalists expect and demand the highest quality. That usually means a proven or innovative business model; detailed, accurate market research; scenario analysis; well-documented financial projections, as well as extensive supplementary materials (charts, graphs, sample materials, letters of intent, sample contracts, patent or trademark documentation, etc.)

Business Plans: DIY

The real value of creating a business plan is not in having the finished product in hand; rather, the value lies in the process of researching and thinking about your business in a systematic way. The act of planning helps you think things through thoroughly, study and research if you are not sure of the facts, and look at your ideas critically. To help Zambian entrepreneurs have a real feel of this process, we have created a business plan template that consists of a narrative and several financial worksheets. The template contains more than 150 questions divided into several sections. These questions have been phrased in such a way that when you are finished answering them, you'll have a collection of small essays on the various topics of your business plan, which you can then edit into a smooth-flowing narrative. Please click here to obtain your own copy of the template.