How to write a business plan for a cured meat delicatessen?

Creating a business plan for a cured meat delicatessen is an essential process for any entrepreneur. It serves as a roadmap that outlines the necessary steps to be taken to start or grow the business, the resources required, and the anticipated financial outcomes. It should be crafted with method and confidence.

This guide is designed to provide you with the tools and knowledge necessary for creating a cured meat delicatessen business plan, covering why it is so important both when starting up and running an established business, what should be included in your plan, how it should be structured, what tools should be used to save time and avoid errors, and other helpful tips.

We have a lot to cover, so let's get to it!

Why write a business plan for a cured meat delicatessen?

Understanding the document's scope and goals will help you easily grasp its structure and content. Before diving into the specifics of the plan, let's take a moment to explore the key reasons why having a cured meat delicatessen business plan is so crucial.

To have a clear roadmap to grow the business

Small businesses rarely experience a constant and predictable environment. Economic cycles go up and down, while the business landscape is mutating constantly with new regulations, technologies, competitors, and consumer behaviours emerging when we least expect it.

In this dynamic context, it's essential to have a clear roadmap for your cured meat delicatessen. Otherwise, you are navigating in the dark which is dangerous given that - as a business owner - your capital is at risk.

That's why crafting a well-thought-out business plan is crucial to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of your venture.

To create an effective business plan, you'll need to take a step-by-step approach. First, you'll have to assess your current position (if you're already in business), and then identify where you'd like your cured meat delicatessen to be in the next three to five years.

Once you have a clear destination for your cured meat delicatessen, you'll focus on three key areas:

• Resources: you'll determine the human, equipment, and capital resources needed to reach your goals successfully.
• Speed: you'll establish the optimal pace at which your business needs to grow if it is to meet its objectives within the desired timeframe.
• Risks: you'll identify and address potential risks you might encounter along the way.

By going through this process regularly, you'll be able to make informed decisions about resource allocation, paving the way for the long-term success of your business.

To maintain visibility on future cash flows

Businesses can go for years without making a profit, but they go bust as soon as they run out of cash. That's why "cash is king", and maintaining visibility on your cured meat delicatessen's future cash flows is critical.

How do I do that? That's simple: you need an up-to-date financial forecast.

The good news is that your cured meat delicatessen business plan already contains a financial forecast (more on that later in this guide), so all you have to do is to keep it up-to-date.

To do this, you need to regularly compare the actual financial performance of your business to what was planned in your financial forecast, and adjust the forecast based on the current trajectory of your business.

Monitoring your cured meat delicatessen's financial health will enable you to identify potential financial problems (such as an unexpected cash shortfall) early and to put in place corrective measures. It will also allow you to detect and capitalize on potential growth opportunities (higher demand from a given segment of customers for example).

To secure financing

Whether you are a startup or an existing business, writing a detailed cured meat delicatessen business plan is essential when seeking financing from banks or investors.

This makes sense given what we've just seen: financiers want to ensure you have a clear roadmap and visibility on your future cash flows.

Banks will use the information included in the plan to assess your borrowing capacity (how much debt your business can support) and your ability to repay the loan before deciding whether they will extend credit to your business and on what terms.

Similarly, investors will review your plan carefully to assess if their investment can generate an attractive return on investment.

To do so, they will be looking for evidence that your cured meat delicatessen has the potential for healthy growth, profitability, and cash flow generation over time.

Now that you understand why it is important to create a business plan for a cured meat delicatessen, let's take a look at what information is needed to create one.

Information needed to create a business plan for a cured meat delicatessen

You need the right data in order to project sales, investments and costs accurately in the financial forecast of your cured meat delicatessen business plan.

Below, we'll cover three key pieces of information you should gather before drafting your business plan.

Carrying out market research for a cured meat delicatessen

Carrying out market research before writing a business plan for a cured meat delicatessen is essential to ensure that the financial projections are accurate and realistic.

Market research helps you gain insight into your target customer base, competitors, pricing strategies and other key factors which can have an impact on the commercial success of your business.

In particular, it is useful in forecasting revenue as it provides valuable data regarding potential customers’ spending habits and preferences.

Your market research might reveal that customers may be looking for more organic or natural options, as well as a greater variety of flavors and spices. Additionally, customers could be interested in purchasing more convenient products, such as pre-packaged or ready-to-eat items.

This information can then be used to create more accurate financial projections which will help investors make informed decisions about investing in your cured meat delicatessen.

Developing the sales and marketing plan for a cured meat delicatessen

As you embark on creating your cured meat delicatessen business plan, it is crucial to budget sales and marketing expenses beforehand.

A well-defined sales and marketing plan should include precise projections of the actions required to acquire and retain customers. It will also outline the necessary workforce to execute these initiatives and the budget required for promotions, advertising, and other marketing efforts.

This approach ensures that the appropriate amount of resources is allocated to these activities, aligning with the sales and growth objectives outlined in your business plan.

The staffing and equipment needs of a cured meat delicatessen

Whether you are at the beginning stages of your cured meat delicatessen or expanding its horizons, having a clear plan for recruitment and capital expenditures (investment in equipment and real estate) is vital to ensure your business's success.

To achieve this, both the recruitment and investment plans must align coherently with the projected timing and level of growth in your forecast. It is essential to secure appropriate funding for these plans.

A cured meat delicatessen might incur staffing costs such as salaries for deli counter staff and a manager, as well as costs for employee benefits. Equipment costs could include the purchase of a refrigerated display case for the deli meats, slicers and scales, and various cooking and preparation items such as pots, pans, and utensils.

To create a financial forecast that accurately represents your business's outlook, remember to factor in other day-to-day operating expenses.

Now that you have all the necessary information, it's time to dive in and start creating your business plan and developing the financial forecast for your cured meat delicatessen.

What goes into your cured meat delicatessen's financial forecast?

The objective of the financial forecast of your cured meat delicatessen's business plan is to show the growth, profitability, funding requirements, and cash generation potential of your business over the next 3 to 5 years.

The four key outputs of a financial forecast for a cured meat delicatessen are:

• The profit and loss (P&L) statement,
• The projected balance sheet,
• The cash flow forecast,
• And the sources and uses table.

Let's look at each of these in a bit more detail.

The projected P&L statement

The projected P&L statement for a cured meat delicatessen shows how much revenue and profits your business is expected to generate in the future.

Ideally, your cured meat delicatessen's P&L statement should show:

• Healthy growth - above inflation level
• Improving or stable profit margins
• Positive net profit

Expectations will vary based on the stage of your business. A startup will be expected to grow faster than an established cured meat delicatessen. And similarly, an established company should showcase a higher level of profitability than a new venture.

The forecasted balance sheet of your cured meat delicatessen

The projected balance sheet of your cured meat delicatessen will enable the reader of your business plan to assess the overall financial health of your business.

It shows three elements: assets, liabilities and equity:

• Assets: are productive resources owned by the business, such as equipment, cash, and accounts receivable (money owed by clients).
• Liabilities: are debts owed to creditors, lenders, and other entities, such as accounts payable (money owed to suppliers).
• Equity: includes the sums invested by the shareholders or business owners and the profits and losses accumulated by the business to date (which are called retained earnings). It is a proxy for the value of the owner's stake in the business.

Analysing your cured meat delicatessen projected balance sheet provides an understanding of your cured meat delicatessen's working capital structure, investment and financing policies.

In particular, the readers of your plan can compare the level of financial debt on the balance sheet to the equity value to measure the level of financial risk (equity doesn't need to be reimbursed, while financial debt must be repaid, making it riskier).

They can also use your balance sheet to assess your cured meat delicatessen's liquidity and solvency:

• A liquidity analysis: focuses on whether or not your business has sufficient cash and short-term assets to cover its liabilities due in the next 12 months.
• A solvency analysis: takes and longer view to assess whether or not your business has the capacity to repay its debts over the medium-term.

The cash flow forecast

As we've seen earlier in this guide, monitoring future cash flows is the key to success and the only way of ensuring that your cured meat delicatessen has enough cash to operate.

As you can expect showing future cash flows is the main role of the cash flow forecast in your cured meat delicatessen business plan.

It is best practice to organise the cash flow statement by nature in order to show the cash impact of the following areas:

• Cash flow generated from operations: the operating cash flow shows how much cash is generated or consumed by the business's commercial activities
• Cash flow from investing activities: the investing cash flow shows how much cash is being invested in capital expenditure (equipment, real estate, etc.) either to maintain the business's equipment or to expand its capabilities
• Cash flow from financing activities: the financing cash flow shows how much cash is raised or distributed to financiers

Looking at the cash flow forecast helps you to make sure that your business has enough cash to keep running, and can help you anticipate potential cash shortfalls.

Your cured meat delicatessen business plan will normally include both yearly and monthly cash flow forecasts so that the readers can view the impact of seasonality on your business cash position and generation.

The initial financing plan

The sources and uses table or initial financing plan is a key component of your business plan when starting a cured meat delicatessen.

It shows where the capital needed to set up the business will come from (sources) and how it will be spent (uses).

This table helps size the investment required to set up the cured meat delicatessen, and understand how risks will be distributed between the business owners, and the financiers.

The sources and uses table also highlights what the starting cash position will be. This is key for startups as the business needs to have sufficient funding to sustain operations until the break-even point is reached.

Now that you have a clear understanding of what will go into the financial forecast of your cured meat delicatessen business plan, let's have a look at the written part of the plan.

The written part of a cured meat delicatessen business plan

The written part of a cured meat delicatessen business plan plays a key role: it lays out the plan of action you intend to execute to seize the commercial opportunity you've identified on the market and provides the context needed for the reader to decide if they believe your plan to be achievable and your financial forecast to be realistic.

The written part of a cured meat delicatessen business plan is composed of 7 main sections:

1. The executive summary
2. The presentation of the company
3. The products and services
4. The market analysis
5. The strategy
6. The operations
7. The financial plan

Let's go through the content of each section in more detail!

1. The executive summary

In your cured meat delicatessen's business plan, the first section is the executive summary — a captivating overview of your plan that aims to pique the reader's interest and leave them eager to learn more about your business.

When crafting the executive summary, start with an introduction to your business, including its name, concept, location, how long it has been running, and what sets it apart. Briefly mention the products and services you plan to offer and your target customer profile.

Following that, provide an overview of the addressable market for your cured meat delicatessen, current trends, and potential growth opportunities.

Next, include a summary of key financial figures like projected revenues, profits, and cash flows.

Finally, in the "ask" section, detail any funding requirements you may have.

2. The presentation of the company

As you build your cured meat delicatessen business plan, the second section deserves attention as it delves into the structure and ownership, location, and management team of your company.

In the structure and ownership part, you'll provide valuable insights into the legal structure of the business, the identities of the owners, and their respective investments and ownership stakes. This level of transparency is vital, particularly if you're seeking financing, as it clarifies which legal entity will receive the funds and who holds the reins of the business.

Moving to the location part, you'll offer a comprehensive view of the company's premises and articulate why this specific location is strategic for the business, emphasizing factors like catchment area, accessibility, and nearby amenities.

When describing the location of your cured meat delicatessen, you could emphasize its proximity to a major city and the potential customer base it could draw from. You could describe the local culture as being conducive to the concept of a delicatessen, and emphasize the potential for growth in the area. You might also point to the area's existing infrastructure and its potential to support a business such as yours. Finally, you could emphasize the potential for tourism, given the area's attractions and its potential to attract customers from outside the region.

Lastly, you should introduce your esteemed management team. Provide a thorough explanation of each member's role, background, and extensive experience.

It's equally important to highlight any past successes the management team has achieved and underscore the duration they've been working together. This information will instil trust in potential lenders or investors, showcasing the strength and expertise of your leadership team and their ability to deliver the business plan.

3. The products and services section

The products and services section of your cured meat delicatessen business plan should include a detailed description of what your company sells to its customers. 

For example, your cured meat delicatessen could offer its customers a variety of products such as bacon, hams, salamis, and sausages. It could also provide services such as custom curing and smoking, as well as a range of sandwich and salad options prepared with freshly-sliced, high-quality deli meats. Lastly, it could offer catering services for events, allowing customers to enjoy freshly-cooked, artisanal cured meats in the comfort of their own homes.

The reader will want to understand what makes your cured meat delicatessen unique from other businesses in this competitive market.

When drafting this section, you should be precise about the categories of products or services you sell, the clients you are targeting and the channels that you are targeting them through. 

4. The market analysis

When outlining your market analysis in the cured meat delicatessen business plan, it's essential to include comprehensive details about customers' demographics and segmentation, target market, competition, barriers to entry, and relevant regulations.

The primary aim of this section is to give the reader an understanding of the market size and appeal while demonstrating your expertise in the industry.

To begin, delve into the demographics and segmentation subsection, providing an overview of the addressable market for your cured meat delicatessen, key marketplace trends, and introducing various customer segments and their preferences in terms of purchasing habits and budgets.

Next, shift your focus to the target market subsection, where you can zoom in on the specific customer segments your cured meat delicatessen targets. Explain how your products and services are tailored to meet the unique needs of these customers.

For example, your target market might include carnivores who are interested in trying new flavor combinations. They may be willing to pay a bit more for higher quality, artisanal products. These customers may be health-conscious and looking for items that are made with fewer preservatives.

In the competition subsection, introduce your main competitors and explain what sets your cured meat delicatessen apart from them.

Finally, round off your market analysis by providing an overview of the main regulations that apply to your cured meat delicatessen.

5. The strategy section

When writing the strategy section of a business plan for your cured meat delicatessen, it is essential to include information about your competitive edge, pricing strategy, sales & marketing plan, milestones, and risks and mitigants.

The competitive edge subsection should explain what sets your company apart from its competitors. This part is especially key if you are writing the business plan of a startup, as you have to make a name for yourself in the marketplace against established players.

The pricing strategy subsection should demonstrate how you intend to remain profitable while still offering competitive prices to your customers.

The sales & marketing plan should outline how you intend to reach out and acquire new customers, as well as retain existing ones with loyalty programs or special offers. 

The milestones subsection should outline what your company has achieved to date, and its main objectives for the years to come - along with dates so that everyone involved has clear expectations of when progress can be expected.

The risks and mitigants subsection should list the main risks that jeopardize the execution of your plan and explain what measures you have taken to minimize these. This is essential in order for investors or lenders to feel secure in investing in your venture.

Your cured meat delicatessen may face a risk of food contamination or spoilage. This could occur if your meat isn't stored or handled properly, or if it is exposed to unsanitary conditions. Additionally, your business might be at risk of financial losses due to an increase in the cost of meat or other ingredients. This could occur if the prices of those items increase beyond what you can afford to pay.

6. The operations section

The operations of your cured meat delicatessen must be presented in detail in your business plan.

The first thing you should cover in this section is your staffing team, the main roles, and the overall recruitment plan to support the growth expected in your business plan. You should also outline the qualifications and experience necessary to fulfil each role, and how you intend to recruit (using job boards, referrals, or headhunters).

You should then state the operating hours of your cured meat delicatessen - so that the reader can check the adequacy of your staffing levels - and any plans for varying opening times during peak season. Additionally, the plan should include details on how you will handle customer queries outside of normal operating hours.

The next part of this section should focus on the key assets and IP required to operate your business. If you depend on any licenses or trademarks, physical structures (equipment or property) or lease agreements, these should all go in there.

You may have key assets such as the recipes and techniques used to create the cured meats, as well as the equipment and machinery used to produce the products. You could also have intellectual property such as the deli's logo, branding, and overall atmosphere. This intellectual property may be unique and memorable, making it a distinguishing feature of the delicatessen.

Finally, you should include a list of suppliers that you plan to work with and a breakdown of their services and main commercial terms (price, payment terms, contract duration, etc.). Investors are always keen to know if there is a particular reason why you have chosen to work with a specific supplier (higher-quality products or past relationships for example).

7. The presentation of the financial plan

The financial plan section is where we will include the financial forecast we discussed earlier in this guide.

Now that you have a clear idea of what goes into a cured meat delicatessen business plan, let's look at some of the tools you can use to create yours efficiently.

What tool should I use to write my cured meat delicatessen's business plan?

There are two main ways of creating your cured meat delicatessen business plan:

• Using specialized business planning software,
• Hiring a business plan writer.

Using an online business plan software for your cured meat delicatessen's business plan

The modern and most efficient way to write a cured meat delicatessen business plan is to use business plan software.

There are several advantages to using specialized software:

• You can easily create your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you without errors
• You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan
• You can access a library of dozens of complete business plan samples and templates for inspiration
• You get a professional business plan, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank or investors
• You can easily track your actual financial performance against your financial forecast
• You can create scenarios to stress test your forecast's main assumptions
• You can easily update your forecast as time goes by to maintain visibility on future cash flows
• You have a friendly support team on standby to assist you when you are stuck

If you're interested in using this type of solution, you can try The Business Plan Shop for free by signing up here.

Hiring a business plan writer to write your cured meat delicatessen's business plan

Outsourcing your cured meat delicatessen business plan to a business plan writer can also be a viable option.

Business plan writers are skilled in creating error-free business plans and accurate financial forecasts. Moreover, hiring a consultant can save you valuable time, allowing you to focus on day-to-day business operations.

However, it's essential to be aware that hiring business plan writers will be expensive, as you're not only paying for their time but also the software they use and their profit margin.

Based on experience, you should budget at least £1.5k ($2.0k) excluding tax for a comprehensive business plan, and more if you require changes after initial discussions with lenders or investors.

Also, exercise caution when seeking investment. Investors prefer their funds to be directed towards business growth rather than spent on consulting fees. Therefore, the amount you spend on business plan writing services and other consulting services should be insignificant compared to the amount raised.

Keep in mind that one drawback is that you usually don't own the business plan itself; you only receive the output, while the actual document is saved in the consultant's business planning software. This can make it challenging to update the document without retaining the consultant's services.

For these reasons, carefully consider outsourcing your cured meat delicatessen business plan to a business plan writer, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of seeking outside assistance.

Why not create your cured meat delicatessen's business plan using Word or Excel?

Using Microsoft Excel and Word (or their Google, Apple, or open-source equivalents) to write a cured meat delicatessen business plan is a terrible idea.

Why?

For starters, creating an accurate and error-free financial forecast on Excel (or any spreadsheet) is very technical and requires both a strong grasp of accounting principles and solid skills in financial modelling.

As a result, it is unlikely anyone will trust your numbers unless - like us at The Business Plan Shop - you hold a degree in finance and accounting and have significant financial modelling experience in your past.

The second reason is that it is inefficient. Building forecasts on spreadsheets was the only option in the 1990s and early 2000s, nowadays technology has advanced and software can do it much faster and much more accurately.

And with the rise of AI, software is also becoming smarter at helping us detect mistakes in our forecasts and helping us analyse the numbers to make better decisions.

Also, using software makes it easy to compare actuals vs. forecasts and maintain our forecasts up to date to maintain visibility on future cash flows - as we discussed earlier in this guide - whereas this is a pain to do with a spreadsheet.

That's for the forecast, but what about the written part of my cured meat delicatessen business plan?

This part is less error-prone, but here also software brings tremendous gains in productivity:

• Word processors don't include instructions and examples for each part of your business plan
• Word processors don't update your numbers automatically when they change in your forecast
• Word processors don't handle the formatting for you
• ...

Overall, while Word or Excel may be viable options for creating a cured meat delicatessen business plan for some entrepreneurs, it is by far not the best or most efficient solution.

Takeaways

1. Using business plan software is a modern and cost-effective way of writing and maintaining business plans.
2. A business plan is not a one-shot exercise as maintaining it current is the only way to keep visibility on your future cash flows.
3. A business plan has 2 main parts: a financial forecast outlining the funding requirements of your cured meat delicatessen and the expected growth, profits and cash flows for the next 3 to 5 years; and a written part which gives the reader the information needed to decide if they believe the forecast is achievable.

We hope that this in-depth guide met your expectations and that you now have a clear understanding of how to write your cured meat delicatessen business plan. Do not hesitate to contact our friendly team if you have questions additional questions we haven't addressed here.

Also on The Business Plan Shop

• How to write a business plan to secure a bank loan?
• Example of pricing strategy in a business plan
• Market analysis in a business plan: example and tips
• How investors analyse business plan
• Key steps to write a business plan?
• Top mistakes to avoid in your business plan

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