A ten-year time frame for business planning is longer than most forecasting periods, and it makes the plan more susceptible to changes in business environment and other considerations. Many businesses, including your competitors, are unlikely to have thought that far ahead; therefore, a ten-year business plan can help you stay a step ahead in the marketplace.
Business Model
This section outlines the 10-year goals, objectives, strategies and the expertise of the company in achieving the results you project. By explaining your business idea and how it will make money during the next 10 years the business plan will become more appealing to potential investors and lenders.
Business Summary
Market Positioning
The first part of the business plan will cover how the company will position itself in its target market in those 10 years. Positioning is how to present the company to your customers. This part of the plan considers the potential changes the market might experience during those next ten years and how the company plans to respond to them. Some market areas will change very slowly, while others may seemingly change from month to month.
Operations Plan
This 10-year business plan will help you manage the company and seek loans or equity. The operations plan outlines the way the business carries on with its main processes and how it intends to manufacture and deliver its products or services. This section describes the business components and constitutes a blueprint for success.
Marketing Plan
In the marketing plan section of the business plan you will find how the company plans to reach its target market, how it plans to sell and deliver the products to them, what the pricing plan is, and what types of activities and partnerships it will engage in order to remain competitive for the next 10 years.
Market Segmentation
The most essential part of the marketing plan is the segmentation. In this section of the plan the target market is well-defined and customer’s profiles are carefully described. Without truly understanding who you are marketing to, a marketing plan will have little value. The market is likely to change over a decade's time, therefore market segments might radically change during those years, but by planning ahead to these changes the company can adapt to serve its customers well.
Promotional Strategies
With pricing and positioning taken care of, it’s time to look at the promotional strategies in the ten-year business plan. This section details how to communicate with the prospects and customers. You will also find a measure on how much promotions will cost and how many sales they will deliver. Remember, promotional programs that aren’t profitable are hard to maintain in the long term. Therefore, each item in this section should prove reliable to be maintained during a 10-year period.
Financial Projections
Assets, liabilities along with the expenses as well as income projections are included in this section. The financial plan will have monthly projections for the first 12 months and then annual projections for the remaining years. A balance sheet will be forecasted to portrait changes in the capital structure during those 10 years. In this chapter you will also find the cash flow statement and a projection of it.
Revenue Assumptions
This section gives outlines the main sources of revenues for the business and a complete explanation of the important assumptions the business plan is taking for the 10-year projection.
Projecting Expenses
This portion of the business plan lists all the expenses associated with running the business, excluding the COGS that will be already detailed beforehand. This section of the ten-year business plan includes salaries, research and development expenses, marketing expenses, rent and utility expenses, among others.
