Before asking “how?” we need to know “what?”. What is a business plan? How could a Business plan be beneficial for a business? BizOp has got you covered. A business plan is a document made by the owner before starting off, describing the business, it’s vision and mission, its products or services, how it will generate income, the running costs, its financing, its operation model, and many other details that are necessary to run a successful business. Another reason why it’s important to write a business plan is to assure potential investors about the quality of the business. It could also help you to foresee setbacks, plan the costs, plan the operation etc.
Now it’s time to get writing. Here, BizOp will be providing a traditional template with necessary details to write an effective business plan.
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The executive summary is a brief overview of what your business is about, what it aims to be, what you expect from it, what customers can expect from it etc. This is not a compulsory step if you’re writing this plan just for yourself. But if you are planning to present your plan to other people, like potential investors, then this step is key. The executive summary should give the reader a clear-cut but summarized idea about the business. Make sure this one step captures the true spirit of the business so that it gets the reader hooked and makes them want to keep reading.
2. COMPANY OVERVIEW This step is rather an important one. Company Overview is where you get to express your true dreams and aspirations you have for this venture. Why it’s special for you, why it should be special to the customers, why it’s unique. These questions should be answered in this area. Here you get to speak your mind. Make sure to fully explain (without boring the reader of course) why investing in this business is a great idea. Tell them where the idea came from. Include the history and anecdotes about the making of this idea.
3. MARKET ANALYSIS This is one step you would dread to skip. One mistake in this step could have an impact for quite a while. No amount of research could ever be too much when it comes to the market, and the research can never end. Trends keep changing and staying up to date with the changing trends is one key to success. Know exactly what the customer wants and deliver. This is the only thing that could make you a memorable brand amongst thousand others.
4. SWOT Let’s go back to high school business studies for a moment. This is one thing you wouldn’t want to forget from high school. SWOT analysis gives an idea on what you’re doing well, what you’re not doing well, what you’re doing too much or not doing enough. This is key to running a successful business. To know more about SWOT analysis, click here.
5. ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT This step describes the management and running of the business. It gives the readers an idea on who is going to be in charge of managing the business, whether it’s the sole proprietor or if there are partners. Give an idea on who manages what department of the business. If possible describe the professional background of the members. It also describes the legal structure of the business.
6. PRODUCT AND SERVICE In this step, describe what you are offering through the business. What your product or service is. Why the customer would need it. Describe why you chose this product, the research that went behind it and other necessary details.
7. MARKETING AND SALES There's no single marketing strategy that could take you to success. The marketing strategy depends on what you want your business to be. It also needs to be modified constantly according to the changing trends. The goal in this section is to describe how you will drive customers towards your business and retain them. Describe how a sale will practically take place.
8. FUNDING REQUESTS If you are writing this plan for potential investors then in this area you should be clearly explaining what you need and what they can expect in return. Clearly describe how much funding you would require and for what purposes. This is probably where the reader is most interested in, so pay your most attention to this part.
9. APPENDIX Finally, in the appendix, attach all necessary documents like resumes, product images, patents, licenses etc.
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