Business plan
A business plan in eight chapters.
The Swiss standard business plan – kept concise, but complete enough for bank loans, guarantee applications and investor pitches.
Chapter 01
Executive summary
One page. What, for whom, why now, how much capital, what return. Write it last, but put it right at the front.
Chapter 02
Idea & value proposition
Which customer problem, which solution, why you specifically? No marketing talk – concrete evidence.
Chapter 03
Market & competition
Market size in CHF (TAM/SAM/SOM), segmentation, direct and indirect competitors, your own positioning.
Chapter 04
Business model
Revenue streams, pricing model, unit economics, scalability. Investors look here first.
Chapter 05
Marketing & sales
Channels, customer acquisition cost, planned measures for the first 12 months.
Chapter 06
Team & organisation
Who does what, which gaps still exist, advisory board, planned hires.
Chapter 07
Financial plan
3-year planning: income statement, balance sheet, liquidity plan (cash flow!). Best case, realistic case, worst case.
Chapter 08
Risks & outlook
Honesty wins. Regulatory, market, team, financing – and how you address the risks.
Templates
We recommend two officially reviewed templates from Switzerland:
Rule of thumb
A business plan for a bank or guarantee is typically 12–18 pages long – plus an Excel financial section. Longer doesn't mean better.
⚠ Common mistakes
- Overly optimistic revenue plan (3–5x too high).
- Cash flow plan is missing or only annual (instead of monthly).
- Competition section too thin – claiming "no competition".
- No worst-case scenario, no countermeasures.