Table
of Contents: Business Plan Basics
A well-designed table of contents ensures
that the readers of your business plan don't waste time searching
through your plan for the information they are most interested
in. Very few investors will read your plan from front to back.
Instead, they will normally jump around looking for the details
they need to make an informed investment decision.Ê Keep this
in mind when you create your table of contents, and organize
it to make it as easy as possible for readers to find their
way around your plan.
BizPlanIt suggests inserting the table of
contents immediately after the executive summary in your business
plan. Most readers will start with your executive summary,
and then want to locate specific information that they want
to address first.
Your table of contents should list all the
major sections within your business plan, and can also be
broken down into important or clarifying sub-sections. Make
sure your table of contents page is organized, clear, neat
and properly numbered.Ê Mistakes, sloppiness, or misspellings
in the table of contents give your reader the impression that
you are unorganized and careless right from the start.
For more advice on preparing the table of contents for your
business plan:
Email us at BizPlanIt
if you have comments or suggestions about our Virtual Business
Plan.
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