Having a business plan is of utmost importance especially if you are deciding upon a first-time franchise opportunity or even if you are an experienced franchisee owner. It is the first step towards embarking on a new business and as you progress and grow you will see how important it was to have had one in place. It is also a requirement in order to get capital to fund your new enterprise. Therefore, a business plan is essential for acquiring money to get started and to chart your growth as well.

Knowing that you are not alone after purchasing a franchise takes away a lot of the stress. The franchiser has a financial interest in your success so they will be more than happy to help you along the way. They will begin by assisting you with your business plan and it is important for you to have their input because they will know more than you do at this point. Their many years of experience and knowledge will contribute positively to your franchise and will get you up and running quicker. Whichever way the business plan is created just be sure it is done correctly.

A business plan for any franchise can act as a personal aid in prioritizing what’s important and what isn’t. You can operate your enterprise more successfully. With information provided by the franchiser, you will see that the features of a conventional business plan for a brand new start-up and those for a franchise are distinctly unique. The franchiser may be willing to help with other aspects of the plan in order to make the franchise itself more attractive to you.

There are a number of features consistent with a franchise business plan:

The abstract is the introduction of your business plan, is shorter than an executive summary and provides key concepts of the business plan. The summary is a description of the company and related details about the business comes next. Overview of the franchise is at this point, where you discuss the franchise. This part of the business plan is put in place of the traditional “industry analysis” section of a conventional business plan.

The market and the competitive forces you will be up against including rival franchises or businesses are also discussed in the following section. The marketing plan — how you intend to attract customers (how you will advertise and market the business) is described here as well.

Since a franchise like any other business requires people to run it, the business plan has a management and human resources section. What is discussed in this section is the structure of the business, the different staff and management positions and the qualifications required for these positions.

The financial section is where you need to be clear about financial projections and objectives just as you would with a conventional plan.

Exhibits are like appendices because they are the supporting evidence for your business plan. They may contain results of market research, for example. They are essentially the documents that reinforce your claims throughout the plan.