How to Write a Candle Business Plan

Building Your Business Plan

One of the most important aspects of a new business is the business plan. This plan is essential for preparing you for the various aspects of a business, those that seem obvious in the beginning, and those issues you don’t anticipate from the start. A business plan, in its most basic format, is simply a description of your business and an explanation of the products provided. Because you will use your plan going forward both for self direction and as required to gain funding or build a venue, it is important that it is as complete and reliable as possible.

As a rule, business plans are comprised of ten basic points, and follow a specific format.

Executive Summary

The executive summary is a one to two page summary of the key points of your business plan. This summary must capture the readers’ interest, and must sell the idea you are trying to market. Although it comes at the beginning of the plan, most people find it easier to write the executive summary after they have completed the rest of the plan, once their ideas have been fully fleshed out. At the very least, it is imperative that your summary includes the following:

Company name, address, and phone number
Contact person’s name and phone number
A paragraph about the company and the nature of the business and market area
Securities offered to investors if you are looking for investment opportunities
Types of business loans sought
Highlights of the business plan, including your project, the competitive advantage, and the bottom line

The table of contents should reference these headings and include pages numbers for easy review.

Business Overview

This section describes the business itself and its progress to date. The overview should include:

Type of legal entity
Start date
Location, address, and contact person
State of the industry, with future outlook
Classification of business

Products and Services

This section provides a thorough discussion of the product or service you offer, with information regarding research and development needs and other information you feel is specific to your product.

Key Management, Staff, and Support Services

This is the section where you feature yourself and your employees/helpers, by including a brief bio of each, and providing a list of advisors like your lawyer, accountant, or consultant.

Market Analysis

This section provides a comprehensive review of the market for your product. The market analysis should also include a number of subsections:

Industry Overview This is where you analyze the industry that you hope to be competitive within, with a discussion of the key competitors. This should be specific, not just candle making/selling, but the type of market- gift, seasonal, tourist…

Marketing Strategy The strategy should summarize the target market for your product, including who the customers are, where they are located, how many of them there are, and if there are enough to support the business.

Products/Services This section is where you will really sell your idea, answering such questions as: what is the unique selling feature of your product? Why will your customers come to you instead of your competitors?

Promotion and Marketing This section forces you to consider not just who you are selling to, but how. You must discuss your advertisement strategies for developing a customer base, whether it be online, door-to-door, or word of mouth. You should also discuss how much you foresee spending on this marketing campaign.

Pricing and Position Here you will determine how much you intend to charge for your products, whether you will provide discounts for bulk purchases, and how your prices compare to that of your competitors.

Distribution Strategies You must consider how you will get your product to your customer, and what the price of doing so will be. If you are selling your items online, you should figure the cost of shipping and handling into the equation, likewise if you are renting a store front. This section may have a major impact on your profitability, so don’t overlook it.

Implementation Plan

In this section you consider the key points and milestones discussed previously, and provide estimated dates for completion. You should be asking yourself how your business will grow, and how you would like to see it develop, as well as what milestones going forward you would like to achieve.

Risk and Contingency Plan

This is the time to consider possible problems, issues, and barriers, and state positive plans to combat them or minimize the risks.

Financial Plan

This section should include a balance sheet, a cash flow statement, and an income statement.

Balance Sheet The balance sheet is a snapshot of the businesses financials at a point in time. This sheet should include Assets (what you own), Liability (what you owe), and Equity (what you have invested and reinvested into the business). This snapshot provides a clear view of how the business is being financed, whether through the owner (equity) or a creditor (liability).

Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement is a twelve month forecast of income and outgoing cash for the business. This projection will allow you to foresee issues before they arise, and depicts if, and when, you will run out of cash.

Income Statement The income statement projects the revenues and expenses of a business over a twelve month period. Information needed to complete this section includes: sales projections, cost of goods projections, and overhead cost projections.

Appendices

The appendices are for any additional material referenced throughout your plan, and may not be necessary, depending on the size of your business plan.

Now that you have completed your plan, you are ready to start your business. The information you have provided will force you to narrow your focus, and this should serve as a reminder of where you started, and in the