Business plans are a must have for any new business. They are useful tools to help organise and predict future outcomes and results. They can also be used to pitch to potential investors. Knowing how useful business plans are; it is now time to start writing one up for your own business. Here are a few things every business plan should consider and include.
– Start With The Executive Summary
Always start with the overall summary of the business plan. Having the executive summary at the start of the business plan allows the reader to know what you want from the very beginning. This will help the reader to understand your points and methods as they read on in the document. Far too often, some business plans include the summary much later on in the document. It is best to clearly state what your business direction and desires are.
– Description of The Business
A business description should always begin with a description of the industry. This should be kept short and precise. The key points to include in the description are the future possibilities and current outlooks of the industry. The key market or consumers should be clearly described and any methods or developments which will benefit the business should also be included.
– Key Market Strategies
Market strategies are created after extensive market research and analysis. The useful thing about writing market strategies is that it forces the business owner to understand the target market and become familiar with all aspects of the market. This also helps to define the target market and will help the business to position itself in order to gain sales.
– Competitive Analysis
The competitive analysis is a great way to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors in the same market. This will allow you to create strategies to give you an advantage. Any potential threats can be recorded which will help to create early strategies to prevent any weaknesses that can be exploited.
– Design and Development
The design and development will allow investors to understand your business product design and the production methods. The development of the marketing and the company itself should be included. It is also useful to include the budget for development.
– Organisation and Management Plan
The organisation and management plan is used to describe how the business is expected to run on a continuous basis. The organisation plan will help to highlight the responsibilities of the management team. The tasks should be assigned to each division within the company and clearly describe how the finances should be split amongst different operations.
– Financial Factors
The finance is always at the end of any business plan. This should include the finances that are expected to go in and out.
