How Can the Right Business Plan Help You Secure Funding?
Ever wonder why some businesses get funded while others never make it past the starting line? Most of the time, it comes down to one thing: creating a business plan that works.
At Benetrends, we’ve been doing this long enough to see the pattern play out over and over. Franchisees and entrepreneurs come to us ready to invest or buy into a concept, but without a strong, credible plan, banks see risk before they see opportunity.
So if you’re an entrepreneur or a franchisor trying to help your franchisees get funded, and you’re wondering, “Do I really need a business plan?” I can tell you with complete confidence: absolutely! And guess what? We write it for you! We take your idea and turn it into a credible, strong, lender-ready plan, one that’s visually appealing and hits every mark lenders are looking for.
What a Business Plan Is and What It Isn’t
So, what is a business plan?
Think of it as your roadmap for funding, proof to lenders that your business is both viable and that you’re committed to bringing your idea to life.
A strong business plan typically covers these components:
- Executive Summary & Company Overview
- Market Analysis & Competitive Landscape
- Products, Services & Marketing Strategy
- Management Team & Operations
- Financial Projections & Use of Funds
- Collateral, Repayment & Risk Management
- Exit Strategy (if applicable)
This helps lenders and banks see that you understand your business and have planned carefully.
But here’s what it isn’t: A business plan is not an operations playbook. Business plans exist for one purpose: to help acquire funding. They contain the core components banks require for your loan application. Lenders use your business plan during the underwriting phase, which directly influences the approval decision.
And the quality and completeness of your plan can make all the difference when you need to stand out to lenders and maximize your potential funding amount. That’s why it matters who writes your plan.
What Is The First Step in Creating a Business Plan?
The reality is many of our clients are preparing a business plan for the first time. And remember from earlier, if a business plan or its projections aren’t up to par, the bank may reject the loan, even if the borrower is well qualified!
At Benetrends, our expert team knows exactly what banks want to see in business plans and financial projections. We guide you through the process, making securing funding smoother so you are never navigating it alone. But before we can build that winning plan for you, we need the right ingredients. Think of it like cooking. We’re the chefs, but we need you to bring the groceries.In terms of what information you need to provide to create a business plan, the process is straightforward. You’ll complete our business plan questionnaire that covers key information about your business, including:
- Background owner information
- Company information
- Management structure
- Location details
- Competitive landscape
- Financial details, including franchise fee (if applicable), cost of goods, unit price, and additional costs
This information is crucial to building an accurate financial model that gets approved. While there are many other funding partners that offer similar solutions, I can vouch that we stand out with decades of experience helping tens of thousands of entrepreneurs just like you.
Quick Tip: The quicker you’re able to get all of the “ingredients” together, the quicker we can help craft your business plan and move through the process of helping you secure funding.
Why Is a Business Plan Important for Franchisors?
When you buy a franchise, you reap the benefits of being attached to a known brand and provided with a proven business model. But even with that proven model in your back pocket, lenders still need to see detailed financial projections for each franchisee to secure funding. And if you’re a franchisor, you know the challenge: you’re limited in what information you can provide. That’s where having a resource like Benetrends becomes essential.
We help create three-year anticipated profit and loss projections for businesses in specific territories and square footage, including best and worst case scenarios that banks highly value. This gives you peace of mind knowing your candidates have a detailed plan that’s realistic, professional, and actually works, ensuring your franchisees have everything they need to secure funding.
Here’s another important note: even if you provide a business plan outline or template to your franchisees, lenders still expect to see personalized, data-driven projections that reflect each specific opportunity. That’s why we also offer projections as a standalone service. If your franchisees already have a plan, we’ll create the custom three-year financial forecast that completes it.
Why Partner with Benetrends?
Because we make the process simple. We’ve done it thousands of times, and we know how to create business plans the right way. We custom build your plan from the ground up. Our team writes, researches, and handles all financial modeling to instill confidence in potential lenders and investors while following SBA published guidelines. The goal? Increase your chances of securing funding and give lenders complete confidence in your business’s success.
If you’re ready to take that next step in creating a business plan that’s tailored for your goals, fill out our contact form to schedule a one-on-one conversation. We’ll go over your objectives, look at the resources and steps you need, and develop a plan that moves your business forward.
You bring the dream, we’ll help it come true!