Written by: Bethany Funkhouser
Edited by: Charley Maxwell
In the first blog of this series, we covered what a business plan is. Now that we understand its importance and what it consists of, we can start looking at the details of what goes into one. The very first section of your business plan is your cover sheet. You might be questioning why I included something so simple. While the cover sheet is very simple, it is also the very first page someone will see, so you want to make sure it looks professional. Include your agribusiness’ name, your contact information (address, phone number, email, and website), and your logo. Also, make sure to add the date the business plan was created/ finalized. Remember to create a new version and save it with the revision date on the cover sheet. This helps with record-keeping and keeping each version of your business plan.
Then, we want to add a table of contents. This is created after you finish the document, so you can add page numbers and create a clean, professional business plan that is easy to reference specific sections. The next section of your business plan is your executive summary. This section is crucial as it is the first bit of information someone will read about your agribusiness. In this section, you will want to include a brief description of your agribusiness. Include your goals, mission statement, vision statement, purpose, and core values. Remember to keep this information as brief as possible. This section should provide a broad overview of your entire business plan. Many find it helpful to write the executive summary after crafting their business plan. This allows you to compile all the information and determine which key elements to include in your executive summary. As I have said, the word ‘brief’ is used one too many times; your executive summary should be only one page.
Now it’s time to add a section on your organization and management. In this section, you want to highlight the structure of your agribusiness. If you have a partnership and/ or multiple owners, make sure to include that as well. Then you want to add all the roles each person has. You can go into much more detail in this section. Show how each of these roles helps keep your agribusiness running smoothly. This will include any contracted roles off the farm, such as a financial advisor or accountant. Make sure to add the roles your agribusiness will need in the future and how they will aid you. In the Business Plan Development Guide, you can find examples in this section. They have an example of an organization chart to visualize your structure, and then you can go into more detail easily. Lastly, include any patents, trademarks, or contracts in this section. Within the section, you can share more about the history of your business.
In the next blog in this series, we are going to cover your product/service. This will include the market/ industry analysis, marketing, and the product or service areas of your business plan.
Agribusiness Center for Research & Entrepreneurship (ACRE), et al. Business Plan Development Guide, 2025, acre-sc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ACREBusinessPlanGuide2025_digital.pdf.
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