How to make a great Business Plan

How to make  a great  Business Plan

A Plan to Keep You on Track

Every company, whether a massive global giant, a national chain or a tiny independent start up needs a business plan. It doesn’t have to be complicated and it doesn’t have to be 5,000 pages long - all it needs to do is set out some basic guidelines that keep the business on track and keep the employees headed towards common goals. Of course, a business plan can be as complex as you care to make it, but here are a few fundamentals every good plan should include.

1. Who Are You?

An easy section to start off with -  as initially you want to let anyone reading the plan know who you are.
What is the aim of the business?
What has the company grown from?
Why was the business established?
What is it you hope to achieve?
Who are the founders/directors/partners?
A little bit of company history is not only valuable for new recruits, business partners and potential lenders to get a feel of the company as a whole, it also acts as a good method for reminding yourself and your team how it all began and of the original company goals if directions begin to wander.

2. What Do You Do?

Here is your chance to go into a bit more detail about what your company does.
Do you offer products or services, and if so, what sort of products and services do you currently offer or hope to offer in the future?
Do you manufacture hardware or create software?
Why have you chosen to create or offer the products and services that you do?
What can a customer or consumer gain from these?
Describe how you think what you do will influence and benefit either the general public or a niche group. This is vital if you need to get lenders on board.

3. What Are Your Views?

This very general section should be full of confidence and self-promotion.
In a nutshell, where do you see your company going?
Do you want to become the best in your field?
Are you striving for world dominance?
Do you simply want to be able to say you run a successful business?
Whatever future you dream of for your business, let it be known. Investors and business partners do not want to associate with a company which expects to be bankrupt six months down the line –it’s a waste of their time! They want to read your business plan and see that you have aspirations and know how you’re going to achieve them. Sell yourself.

4. Who Are Your Target Audience?

Again, an opportunity to delve deeper into the previous section.
Why will customers and consumers be interested in what you do?
What do you have to offer that others do not?
Who do you hope to reach and why?
Most importantly, how do you plan to reach them?
This is a good chance to jot down a basic marketing strategy. Are you going to advertise? Are you going to connect to others via social media or the Internet? Perhaps think about the measures you will take to ensure your company has the credibility and following needed to make it big.

5. Who Do You Need?

Of course, founders, directors, partners are all a given, but who do you need to help your company grow in the direction you have got mapped out? Look back to your target audience and how you plan to reach out to them, and consider the type of people you need to make that happen. If you are hoping to be a modern digital company, an SEO and SMO expert may be a valuable resource, and account managers can prove vital in establishing and maintaining client relationships. Try to envision your future company as you write this section.

6. Which Roles Are Clearly Defined?

For some members of staff, especially directors who generally get involved in all aspects of the business, this section is not so important, but for others, particularly managers and other in charge of teams, it is important to have those roles clearly defined in writing to avoid confusion and possible conflict.
Do managers have any HR rights? Are they responsible for finding new business? Are they responsible for the workload of others? Boundaries are an important aspect of many roles, and adding them to your business plan is beneficial for new employees to know what is expected of them in their new position.

7. What Are Your Resources?

It is great that you know what you want, but how are you going to get it? Are you 100% self-funded or do you have borrowings? Do you expect to take borrowings? How much do you anticipate your business earning in one month, six months, two years and how much of this will be profit? How will the profit be divided between loan repayments, new recruitment and labour? Try to be frugal here as creating a use for resources you do not have access to does not make sense when creating a business plan. If things take a turn, you need to be able to look back at this plan and plainly see how and where finances went wrong.

8. What’s It All About?

Although this is the final part of your business plan that you will complete, it should be placed right at the beginning. This should be a summary of everything you have included in your plan, whittled down into a manageable one page piece. It’s the equivalent of a book synopsis and acts as a way of giving the reader the important highlights before seeking out the more explicit details. If you are including a business plan with any tenders for work, this is a hugely important part of the plan and can be a make or break moment for future business partnerships. Make it good!
About The Author:

About Author:

Amy Harris is a writer for Expert Market –which offers a free service to businesses, providing a sourcing tool for finding office equipment and business service. She enjoys helping assist businesses in sourcing products and services at an affordable rate.
Follow him @Google Plus | Facebookfor more detail visit Expert Marke

If you find this article useful, please feel free to link to this page from your website or blog.

URL:

HTML Link:

Forum Link:

Widget by BloggerTipAndTrick