While the executive summary is a chance for entrepreneurs to provide potential investors with a snapshot of their money-spinning venture, the second part of the business plan is a chance to flesh out some of the background behind the idea and explain what a product or service is in more detail. We asked the experts for their advice on how to write ‘the business’ part of a plan:

Tom Elgar, founder of the business blogging tool Passle
While detail is important to any business plan, when pitching to prospective investors you also need to put a key emphasis on the bigger picture. Just what are you working towards? How is this going to end? What massive problem is it going to solve?

The bottom line is that you need to create a buzz in order to get would-be investors onside. So be enthusiastic. Make the investors excited about your business and be clear right from the start about exactly why it’s unique and how it’s going to change the sector you’re in – or even, if it’s a biggy, the world.

A combination of enthusiasm, hard numbers and facts, and the potential for scalability should make investors feel as though they have no option but to get onboard. But without the dream-end scenario you put in their mind’s eye, it’s hard to get them to buy in. You need to be emotive in your pitch, as much as pragmatic and focused on the details.

Clearly, if you talk about your big goal, then you need to know exactly how you plan to get there. What are your targets and where do you hope to be in one, five and 10 years? You have to back up the grand plan with microscopic detail.

Lawrence Jones, chief executive at cloud hosting company UKFast
This part of the business plan is really about who you are as a company, what you stand for, how you came to be and where you want to go. Before you put pen to paper, you need to fully understand your core values and carve out a purpose for your business. This makes it easier to map out your business goals and the customer needs you aim to fulfil.

So what do you as a person value? What are your traits? Whether you’re buying or selling, you need to embody these values and build them into everything you do. Decide what your company’s purpose is. A purpose is a goal you can never hit because it always demands more, driving you and preventing you from ever giving up.

Mike Odysseas, founder and managing director of Odyssey Systems
Whether they are a bank or a private interest, investors need to know that they are more than likely going to get a return on their money, or they simply won’t give their backing. This section of the plan is all about your business, and while you obviously do need to clearly set out precisely what your company is, what it does, and why it will work, it’s equally important that you demonstrate to investors that you are a good bet and will deliver a suitable return on their money.

The best way of doing this is to show that you have a financial stake in your business, which is equal or greater to the amount you are looking for. If you can demonstrate to investors that you have put substantial funds into your own business, you will be much more likely to secure their backing. Why should investors hand over their money if the business owner is not willing to do this as well?

Chris Lane, head of entrepreneurial businesses at chartered accountants and business advisers Kingston Smith LLP
The business part of the plan should give the audience absolute confidence in the people within the business. Whatever else is in your business plan, it will be down to you and your management team to deliver it. So, it is vital that you communicate the right balance of the strengths of your team, which are essential to the delivery of your product or service.

Demonstrate your team’s credibility by conveying their experience, their ability to deliver, their passion and, significantly, a realistic financial projection. If you don’t have all of these key skills within the business already, make sure you identify the right specialists and include them in your plan.

So many business plans fall down because they fail to convince the audience that they can achieve what they set out to. While it can be difficult to put these skills down on paper, it is worth investing the time to get this crucial part right at the outset.

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