GUIDE TO PREPARING A RETAIL BUSINESS PLAN - Introduction & Sample Format

Sep 13, 2026

Uploaded by Ophelia

A retail business plan guide explains why written planning matters: it forces an objective, unemotional review of the business, creates an operating tool for managing toward success, and supports communication with others such as landlords. The guide emphasizes identifying strengths and weaknesses, flagging problems early, and improving survival odds by planning and using the plan. It then outlines the plan’s statement of purpose, table of contents structure, and a sample section format spanning the business, financial data, and supporting documents.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages36

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

INTRODUCTION

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A SAMPLE FORMAT

I. THE BUSINESS

II. FINANCIAL DATA

III. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

GUIDELINES FOR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SECTION

Description of Business

The Market

Competition

Location of Business

GUIDE TO PREPARING A RETAIL BUSINESS PLAN GUIDE TO PREPARING A RETAIL BUSINESS PLAN INTRODUCTION Why should you go to the trouble of creating a written business plan? There are three major reasons: 1. The process of putting a business plan together, including the thought you put in before beginning to write it, forces you to take an objective, critical, unemotional look at your business project in its entirety. 2. The finished product – your business plan – is an operating tool which, properly used will help you to manage your business and work toward its success. 3. The complete business plan is the means for communicating your ideas to others and provides necessary information to your landlord, among others. The importance of planning cannot be overemphasized. By taking an objective look at your business, you can identify areas of weakness and strength, pinpoint needs you might otherwise overlook, spot problems before they arise, and begin planning how you can best achieve your business goals. As an operating tool, your business plan helps you to establish reasonable objectives and figure out how to best accomplish them. It also helps you to red-flag problems as they arise and aids you in identifying their source, thus suggesting ways to solve them. It may even help you to avoid some problems altogether. No business plan, no matter how carefully constructed and no matter how thoroughly understood will be of any use at all unless you use it. Going into business is rough – over half of all new businesses fail within the first two years of operation; over 90 percent fail within the first 10 years. A major reason for failure is lack of planning. The best way to enhance your chances of success is to plan and follow through on your planning. Use your plan. Don’t put it in the bottom drawer of your desk and forget it. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE The first page of your plan should state the objectives of the plan as simply as possible. The statements should be a brief description of how you intend to support the investment you are making in the business. Keep the statement short and businesslike. It will usually be no longer than half a page, but it may be longer if necessary. Use your own judgment. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Table of Contents should follow your Statement of Purpose. The remainder of the plan is devoted to elaborating and supporting the Statement of Purpose. There are three main sections of your plan: I. The Business II. Financial Data III. Supporting Demographics These sections may be broken down further if it seems necessary to do so. It helps the reader find his or her way through a lengthy proposal if you break the Table of Contents down into subcategories. The Statement of Purpose states what your deal is. Your reader may want to turn immediately to specifics. A SAMPLE FORMAT I. THE BUSINESS……………………………………………………………………...1 A. Executive Summary…..……………………………..……………………..1 B. Description of Business……………………………………………..….….1 C. Market…….….………..………………………………………………….…1 D. Competition….………………………………………………………...……2 E. Management …….………………………………………………………….3 F. Personnel …….……………………………………………………………...3 G. Financing …….……………………………………………………………...4 II. FINANCIAL DATA………………………………………………………………....6 A. Sources and Applications of Funding …..…………………………….….6 B. Capital Equipment List………………..…………………………………...7 C. Pro-Forma Balance Sheet……..…………………………………………....8 D. Breakeven Analysis….……………………………………………………..9 E. Income Projections…….………………………………………………….10 1. Five Year Summary………………………………………………..10 2. Detail by Month, First Year……………………………………….11 3. Detail by Year, Second Through Fifth Years……….………..….12 4. Notes of Explanation…...…………………………………….……13 F. Pro-Forma Cash Flow…..………………………………………………..15 1. Detail by Month, First Year………………………………………15 2. Detail by Year, Second Through Fifth Years…………………...16 3. Notes of Explanation……………………………………………...17 III. SUPPORTING DOCUMEN

FAQs

Why is creating a written business plan important for a retail venture?

It promotes an objective, critical review of the business as a whole, acts as an operating tool to manage toward success, and provides needed information for communication with others, including a landlord. It also helps identify weaknesses and strengths and spot problems early.

What should the first page of the plan (Statement of Purpose) include?

It should state the plan objectives simply, briefly describe how the owner intends to support the investment, and remain short and businesslike (usually no longer than half a page, unless needed).

What are the three main sections of the retail business plan and what does each cover?

The plan is divided into: (I) The Business, which defines what the business is and how it will serve the market; (II) Financial Data, which supports the investment with funding sources, equipment, pro-forma statements, and projections; and (III) Supporting Documents, which includes additional material referenced by the business section.

Sep 13, 2026

Uploaded by Ophelia