Need a loan? You will need a solid business plan to help you to secure a loan, so make sure yours is well-written. The size of a business plan will vary according to the nature and scope of your business, but here are some basic requirements.

A well-written, compelling informational section with :

• a one page executive summary citing your objectives, mission, and expertise
• information about your services or products
• market analysis including your perceived target market and marketing plans
• analysis of your competition
• management structure including brief information about significant personnel
• numbers and graphs to back up key statements

A section containing detailed financial information including :

• past financial business history for three or more years
• financial and revenue projections for coming years
• cash flow and break-even analyses
• expenses and personnel costs
• sales projections
• balance sheet
• profit and loss statement with loan repayment factored in
• any other alternatives considered and the reasons for those selected

An appendix for any documents that support your text and financials such as :

• detailed resumes of key personnel
• market study details
• product pictures
• patents
• legal documents
• brochures, press releases, ads

You could spend the time and effort to research the content and formats and build a plan yourself. However, a professional business advisor is experienced with dozens or even hundreds of business plans and knows what lenders want. He or she can work with you to make sure your business plan is top notch. As an added advantage, a business advisor most likely will also be able to help you fully analyze alternatives and plan your actual objective.