Referring to the Case Scenario, Christine promised to create a table summarising the information resources needed for different sections in a business plan. Below please find the table.
| Section | Purpose | Information required | Information resource |
| Executive summary | Provide an overview of the business plan that captures the attention of investors and motivates them to read on. | / | |
| The business | Tell investors who you are, what products or services you provide, and describe in detail the goals and objectives of your business. | / | |
| Market demand & industry analysis | Identify your target customers and what drives them to buy the products. | Demographic data, spending patterns and attitudes of the target customer. | Consumer Trend Report |
|
Analyze the market demand and its forecast growth. Present the competitive landscape of the industry |
Current and forecast data of sales volume & value. Profiles Of key players and their market shares. Analysis of industry trends, opportunities and threats. |
Industry and Market Research Report |
|
| Market strategies | Determine the right strategies to penetrate the market based on your competitive position. | Research on strategy, both academic and practitioner. | Journal and Magazine |
| Management & operation plan | Describe how your business will deploy resources in four main areas: management, marketing, operations and capital expenditure. | Recent financial Statements of listed companies in the same industry. | Company Annual Report |
| Financial projection | Project the forecast of key financials: (1) income statement; (2) balance sheet; (3) cash flow of your business for the next three years. |
Forecast of key financials of listed peer companies. Forecast of GDP, interest rate, and exchange rate of the target country. |
Brokerage Research Report |
| Risk analysis | Describe the biggest business risks and Opportunities that may impact your business. | / | / |
| Conclusion | Sum up the reasons your business is worth the investment, based on discussions in previous chapters. | / | / |
Now, in order to better understand the kind of business sources available, browse through the following free online reports.
You don’t need to read the reports in full. Simply spend 1 or 2 minutes skimming through the first few pages to get a sense of the kind of information provided in each source.
| Information Source | What's inside | Sample |
| Country Forecast Report | Political stability and trends -- Fiscal and monetary policy -- Economic growth -- Forecast of key economic indicators such as GDP -- Inflation -- Unemployment rates -- Exchange rates. | Link |
| Industry and Market Research Report | Industry Key trends and developments -- Opportunities and challenges -- Current and forecast of market data -- Company and brand shares -- Profiles of top competitors. | Link |
| Consumer Trend Report | Consumer Demographics -- Expenditure -- Habits -- Attitudes -- Preferences -- Concerns -- Activities -- Savings. | Link |
| Company Annual Report | Company profile -- Biographies of Directors and Senior Management -- Business review -- Financial review -- Corporate information -- Income statement -- Balance sheet -- Cash flows -- Changes in equity -- Independent auditor’s report. | Link |
| Company Brokerage Report | Buy/Sell recommendation and reasons -- Company overview -- Analysis on profitability, liquidity, operating efficiency, business risk, growth potential -- Comparison with industry peers -- Disclosures of conflict of interest. | Link |
| Journal Article | Addressing a research question -- Review of the Literature -- Methodology -- Results -- References. | Link |
The next time you do business research, remember to go beyond your textbooks and course handouts.
Be sure to explore business sources like the ones above to get additional insights.