…we are…
The first section of the business plan is simply a statement of the business name, tagline, logo. This is the start of the story, it tells the investor who you are and gives the investor a tagline and logo to get their attention, remember you by, and to help them distinguish your business from the competition.
Business Name
The business name is the first thing a investor will see, and reinforces and communicates the key components of your business, it gives the investor an impression of your business, the more it does this, the easier it will be for the business plan that follows to explain what the business stands for and what it does.
Tagline or Strapline
The tagline sometimes referred to as the strapline is a short, easily remembered phrase so that people will remember your business. Think Apple, “Lets do it”, BMW “The ultimate driving machine” or McDonalds “I’m lovin it”.
Again the tagline encapsulates everything about the business, it communicates to the investor what kind of business you are, what values the business has, what the product is, how the product provides a solution to a customers problem, and what differentiates the business from the competition. This all hints and helps to reinforce whats to come in the rest of the business plan.
Logo
Finally the logo is a visual representation of what the business stands for. The logo helps investors develop a first and lasting impression of the business, to understand what makes your product different from the competition, your competitive advantage, and who your target audience is.
Although this is the opening section of the simple business plan, the business name, tagline, logo all add together to help the investor gain a good first impression and understanding of your business and they should lead on and link into the remaining sections of the business plan.
This is part of the Contents of a Business Plan Guide a series of posts on what each section of a simple business plan should include. The next post in this series is the Elevator Pitch.
About the Author
Chartered accountant Michael Brown is the founder and CEO of Plan Projections. He has worked as an accountant and consultant for more than 25 years and has built financial models for all types of industries. He has been the CFO or controller of both small and medium sized companies and has run small businesses of his own. He has been a manager and an auditor with Deloitte, a big 4 accountancy firm, and holds a degree from Loughborough University.