What you need to know

Business plan basics

The business plan is the guideline for building up your business. It lives with your company and is always adapted to the latest developments.

This allows you to proceed systematically, identify potential problems early on, and take countermeasures.

Business plan advice

TAKE-OFF concept

Businessplan Basics

The most important Factors of a Business Plan

Focal points of a business plan

A business plan does not always have to be 40 pages long. We recommend that you make your business plan as concise as possible and as detailed as necessary. Among other things, focal points depend on the following factors:

Your project

If you are becoming self-employed as a freelancer, a simple business plan is often sufficient. If you are commercially self-employed, you will often need more detailed planning for investments, stocks, etc.

For industrial projects or business ideas in high-growth sectors (e.g., Internet, mobile, high-tech), a detailed planning is essential due to the complexity and/or size of the sectors in question.

The development stage

Is the company a classic start-up, a young business, or a well-established firm?

When creating plans for well-established companies, it is possible to rely on empirical values. In the case of completely new business ideas or models, one can rely on analyses and experience in related fields to get a realistic forecast.

Target audience

Does the business plan aim at finding investors, convincing potential partners, or review your own project?

If you are creating the business plan only for yourself, you may regard the individual chapters as a "toolbox", which you can use as needed. Investors, on the other hand, expect a complete, well-founded, and formally flawless business plan.

Planning process of a business plan

The diagram shows the business planning process as recommended by STARTUPS.CH. Start-ups should begin with a basic plan and continuously improve it.

Do not plan your business in an isolated way and then try to implement this plan strictly - planning and operational activities belong together. Your valuable experience and gained information must flow into a realistic plan.

The structure of a business plan

Not all business plans are the same: the scope, the elaboration, and the weighting of the individual chapters depend on your industry as well as your ambitions.

With our innovative TAKE-OFF model, we present a standardised model for the preparation of business plans.

TAKE-OFF Model

Our advice

Preparing your own business plan can seem difficult at first. Therefore, we have compiled the most important advice as well as what you should keep in mind and what you should avoid.

Advice for your business plan

Financial planning

Financial planning shows you how the financial situation of the business will develop if all goals are achieved as planned. To do this, go through the 6 following steps:

Income statement

First, draw up the profit and loss account. Start with the sales planning and estimate your expected income from products sold or services provided.

Then look at your expenses and try to record them with values as well - individual expenses (e.g. depreciation or interest expenses) cannot be quantified at this point.

Capital requirements

The capital requirements show which costs, investments (incl. depreciation), and cash as well as cash equivalents are needed to achieve the planned turnover.

Financing

Once you know how many resources you need, their financing must be secured through equity or debt capital. These result, among other things, in interest expenses and dividend payments, which in turn complete the income statement.

Liquidity

Liquidity planning is one of the most important planning calculations, especially when considering numerous insolvencies of many companies in the first few years. It can be derived from the income statement.

Balance sheet and key figures

An opening and closing balance sheet and diverse key performance indicators round off the financial planning.

Start a business now!

Start a business

Advice business plan

Create a business plan:
what to keep in mind and what to avoid

We explain you everything you need to know to create your business plan. Here you will find the best advice and learn what you should pay attention to and what you should avoid.

You can also download our advice as a PDF-document free of charge! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Advice business plan

Business plan basics

Businessplan Basics

The most important Factors of a Business Plan

Focal points of a business plan

Planning process of a business plan

The structure of a business plan

Our advice

Financial planning

Advice business plan

Create a business plan:what to keep in mind and what to avoid

Create a business plan:
what to keep in mind and what to avoid