How To Make a Green Home Building Business Plan

A business plan is designed for the purpose of either attracting new investors or obtaining loans.  A basic business plan is essentially the same for any enterprise.  What follows is a brief explanation of a business plan form suitable for a green home building business.

Begin with a title page that is pleasing to the eye and not too busy.  Apart from identification it should serve no other purpose.  Start with a concise summary of the plan.  Most lenders or investors use this section to weed out weak plans.  Do not exaggerate.  A brief but complete description of the aims of the plan and the business or principle owners or officers belongs here.

Assuming the banker or investor prospect takes an interest in your summary; the next page is an accurate table of contents.  Any housekeeping error here will doom your plan.  Be accurate and clear with your headings.  The reader should be able to find key parts of the plan from here.

Next there should be a problem statement.  What does this business need?  How can your target reader help with this problem?  Start to address any market issues and competition here.  How can this investment help your green building business grow and progress beyond its competition?

Follow this by a description of this business and the green building industry.  Be detailed as possible.  Beware that too much information will bog down the plan or point to weaknesses or raise questions.  Breakout a subsection containing resumes of the business owners and current key personnel.  Highlight past accomplishments of these key players and this particular business if it is operational. Draw attention to all unique assets or resources available to the business.

The critical numbers section is next.  Here there are previous sales, profit and loss statements and or projections of future conditions.  The writer should glean data from public statements of competitors.  Using this data will provide support for future projections.  Be realistic as well as optimistic.  Use hard data.

These data points are used to create profit and loss forecasts.  Bankers and investors want a capital spending plan to justify the plan requests.  Use numbers from competing green builders to support the plan’s conclusions.  A key component needs to be a cash flow statement that supports eventual profit for the investor or repayment of the banker’s financing.

Finally, create an appendix with supporting documentation.  Support your request.  A clear, concise plan engenders investor confidence; leading to success.