Starting a business in the beverage industry is exciting. You’ve found your niche, you have a great service, and you have a qualified team. The only thing holding you back is money. But no worries! Connecting with a beverage investment group can take that final consideration off of your back. But how do you convince an investment group to fund your project? In one word: Planning. Being able to provide a detailed plan shows potential investors what you have to offer, why you are the one to offer it, what you need, and what they stand to gain.
This is called a business plan. And this plan can set your company down the path to success. So here’s the essential aspects of a successful business plan for when you are ready to approach a beverage investment group.
Elements of a Successful Business Plan
A business plan provides a roadmap for how your business will be run. It covers each stage of setting up and managing your business. Not only is it useful to you as your business progresses, but it gives investors an idea of how prepared you are for the job. There is no singular way to write a business plan, but the Small Business Administration recommends it includes the following sections:
1. Executive Summary
Tell the story of your company. Who you are, how you fit into the market, and what you hope to accomplish. This is where you will include your company mission statement. This defines your company and tells why you will be successful. You will also include which products or services you will offer and basic information regarding employees, location, and all the day-to-day operations that will make the company function. Potential investors will also want to see financial information, including your plans for growth.
2. Company Description
If the executive summary is a broad view of your company, this is your opportunity to go into detail. Specifics are key in this section—describe your customers and what you plan to do for them. Are they individuals? Companies? Organizations? Also, explain how you will set yourself apart from your competition. Why are you better to serve your customers than anybody else? What hole in the market will you fill? Don’t be modest about your strengths.
3. Market Analysis
Your competition and your potential customer base can give you important information about trends and themes. This information should factor into your decisions moving forward. You can also use this to show investors why your industry will grow, what your competitors are doing, and how you will set yourself apart from them.
4. Organization and Management
Lay out the structure of your company. From management to entry-level employees, describe how the entire company will be structured. Who is going to run the whole thing? Will it be an LLC, corporation, or partnership? Lay out who each person in your company is and why they are capable of performing their jobs. Include the CVs of any employees you already have onboard.
The Brindiamo Group is here to help startups in the adult beverage industry. Visit us today to see how we can help connect you with a beverage investment group.
5. Service of Product Line
What do you do? Your investors want to know what your service is, how it helps consumers, and how likely they will be to return for your service in the future. Have you done any research and development for your service? This is the place to share it. You want to convince your investors that along with being a knowledgeable business owner, you have a product that people will actually want. These are the bare essentials of a successful business, after all. Dig deep into your service and show your investors why it will resonate with potential customers.
6. Marketing and Sales
How are you going to attract customers? Marketing is as important as it is ever-evolving. A specific marketing campaign won’t be necessary, but you should outline the general methods you will use to spread the word about your services. You also want to describe how these leads will be turned into sales. What is the process a person takes between learning about your company and performing a transfer of funds? This process will be important later when you lay out your financial projections, so be as detailed as possible.
7. Funding Request
It’s time to lay all your cards on the table. You’ve explained why your service is needed and why you are the company to provide it. Now you have to provide a detailed explanation of how much money you need and why. Explain how the money will be used in great detail—equipment, salaries, rent, bills—and how long it will be until you expect to turn a profit. Include any future plans like selling the business or repaying debt.
8. Financial Projections
Give your potential investors a look into what you expect the next five years to entail. You want to show projected income versus cost for this time period. Go into even more detail for the first year, because this is the time period when businesses are most vulnerable. You want to show your investors that your business will be stable and an eventual success.
9. Appendix
This is where you attach any extra requested documents. This could include permits, patents, credit histories, licenses, resumes, pictures of your products, etc.
Need help connecting with a beverage investment group? Visit the Brindiamo Group to see how we can help.