The most important benefit of writing a business plan is all of the learning that accompanies the process. You basically learn to Identify your concept, research the concept and glean a perfect understanding of the industry to which you belong, your competitors and your customers.
It helps you relate with the deep understanding of your Business Model and its drivers
Having grasped all of the information from the process, it helps entrepreneurs to communicate the business opportunity to potential investors / various stakeholders in the most articulate manner. This is a proper guide for understanding business planning.
2. The Planning process
The most important benefit of writing a
business plan is all of the learning that
accompanies the process
1
You basically learn to Identify your concept,
rese a r c h t h e c o n c e p t a n d g le a n p e r f e c t
understanding of the industry to which you belong,
your competitors and your customers
2
It helps you relate with the deep understanding of your
Business Model and its drivers
3
Having grapsed all of the information from the process,
it helps entrepreneurs to communicate the business
opportunity to potential investors / various
stakeholders in the most articulate manner
4
It is a LEARNING PROCESS not the FINISHED PRODUCT!
5
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3. The Story Model
You must set a THEME for your business plan - a unifying
idea or thread or statement or mantra that every section of
the document adheres to
1
It is that message you want to embody in the minds of your
customers - something you want to stand for
2
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4. The Business Plan I
It should include the following information:
Company name, Tagline, Contact person, Address,
Phone, Fax, E-mail, Date, Disclaimer, and Copy
number.
A DISCLAIMER that discourages unauthorized
reproduction and distribution.
The copy number of the document
I
The
COVER
Industry: Define the market space, Illustrate the
opportunity and your plans to capture it
Customer: Define you customer by demographic and
psychographic information
Competitor: Use a competitive profile matrix to describe
how your competitors are meeting the customers needs
as well as explaining the strengths and weaknesses of
your concept
IV
Industry, Customer &
Competitor Analysis
The section where you “hook your readers” .
You are expected to highlight the potential of
the opportunity
II
Executive
Summary
It is basically a map that guides your readers
on “WHERE TO FIND WHAT”
III
Table Of
Contents
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5. The Business Plan II
Identify your company name and location,
overview of the company's concept and
achievements after which you communicate
the idea of your product and it's selling point.
V
Company &
Product Description
Highlights the development Strategy and
provides a detailed development timeline.
Discuss Patents, Trademark or copyright efforts
you will undertake.
VIII
Development
Plan
Depict your strategy to grow your business to reach its full
potential. The primal components of this section are
descriptions of the target market strategy, product/service
strategy, pricing strategy, distribution strategy, marketing
communications strategy, sales strategy, and sales and
marketing forecasts
VI
Marketing
Plan
Describe how your operations will add value
t o y o u r c u s t o m e r s . E m p h a s i z e y o u r
production cycle and gauge its impact on
working capital. You need to details your
Operation Strategy, Scope of Operations and
Ongoing operations
VII
Operations
Plan
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6. The Business Plan III
The essence of this section is to portray the
Quality of the team. It highlights the Team
Bios and Roles, Advisory Boards, Board of
Directors, Strategic Partners, External
Members, Compensation and Ownership
breakdown.
IX
The
TEAM
Textual and Visual representation of your Pro-
forma financials
XII
Financial
Plan
Acknowledge the potential risks associated with
running your business as well as your contigency plan to
avert them. Highlight the following: The Market Interest
and Growth potential, Competitor Actions & Retaliation,
Time and Cost of development, Operating Expenses as
well as Availability & Timing of Financing
X
Critical
Risks
Estimate the capital your business requires.
Sources section: details the nature of the
capital needed
Uses section: describes how the capital will
be disbursed
XI
The
OFFERING
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7. This copy usually does not exceed 80 pages and it holds the
information meant for you and your team to guide the
development, launch and initial growth of the venture.
1 OPERATIONAL PLAN
Types of Plans
This plan is about 10 pages and it's purpose is to provide an
initial conception of the business in order to test initial
reaction to the idea. It allows you to share your idea with
confidantes and receive feedback before investing
significant time and effort on a longer business plan.
3 EXPANDED EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This plan is usually about 25 - 40 pages and is geared toward
equity investors or debt providers when you are seeking
outside capital. It presents a concise version of all the
material you have produced in your planning process
2 BUSINESS PLAN
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8. Style Pointers for the Written Plan and Oral Presentation
Any business must make enough profit to
recompense its investors (in most cases that
is the entrepreneur) for their investment.
1
Defined by the profit realised after all normal
business expenses have been accounted for,
including a fair salary for the entrepreneur and
every human labour in the business.
2
Cash flow is needed to sustain a company's every
growing needs for working capital and the purchase of
long-term assets such as plants and equipments
3
Understand what it means for your company to have
Positive cash flow and Negative cash flow (or burn rate),
free cash.
3
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9. Style Pointers for the Written Plan and Oral Presentation
Be VISUAL over TEXTUAL with your Presentations
as you want to make your presentation easy to read
as well as interesting
1
CREATE VISUAL
CATCH POINTS
You should be able to project your business opportunity based on:
Cover page showing product picture, company name, and contact
information
Opportunity description emphasizing customer problem or need that you
hope to solve
Illustration of how your product or service solves the customer’s problem
Some details (as needed) to better describe your product
Competition overview
Entry and growth strategy showing how you get into the market and then
grow
Overview of your business model—How you will make money and how much it
will cost to support those sales?
Team description
Current status with time line
Summary including how much money you need and how it will be used
Use graphics to articulate your Key Points as this
engages your audience and positions them towards
viewing your opportunity favourably
2
CREATE A STRONG PERSONAL
CONNECTION WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
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10. Conclusion
Your business plan is beyond a document - It is YOUR STORY. It places you in the
position to ANTICIPATE events rather than REACT to them.
It is ITERATIVE - It never ends, it is an ongoing cycle of learning, adjusting and refining
your plan and process toward your business growth
1
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