How to write a Business Plan

First, why a business plan in the first place? The question asked by most business starters. A business plan is just nothing more than its usual meaning; it’s a Plan for your Business, simple. It helps you outline the best master plan to either expand your business if you are already in one or simply get you started if you are a starter, but I always believe that in business everyone is a starter because it all revolves around the customer who is very dynamic, otherwise you would just set up your business and forget about consumer behavior. That is why we need a business plan, to satisfy the needs of our ever changing consumers. The plan should take us through 3-5 years of business, so a good plan is needed. The following are the Features of our business Plan:

1.Plan Summary

This is a preview or snapshot if you like of the whole plan. It includes your profile, short term and long term goals, your Vision, Mission, strategies. It is a synopsis of the whole plan.

2.Company Description

Here you outline; who is your Company, what does it do or intend to do(for starters), what makes your product and services better than others if any and differentiates you from your competitors. What market segment does your company serve, who are your customers in short. You can choose to be more specific by writing down the exact age bracket you serve, are they families, women or men, children or adults? And so on.

3.Market Research

“In business all are starters”, I said. Yes because you have to always go back to learn the new traits of your customers, because of this, it arises the need to research as often as you can. So before you launch your business you will need to do an intensive Market research and analysis about your consumers, their behavior, what they think about a product like yours, your competitors and so on. This will give you the exact picture of where you lie in your consumers’ shopping list, or at least the new opportunities you can exploit in your market.

4.Your Company Structure

Choose a more efficient structure for your business and one that suits you. Businesses are all different because they serve in different areas. So every business has its own management structure. If you are starting a small business, then your management structure happens to be more direct than a big organization’s structure. For example, if you are a small retailer selling shoes, between you as the retailer, your supplier and your distributor, there will be very direct form of communication and decision making will be quick compared to a big organizational network where information has to be systematically passed from the top level management to the subordinates and vice versa, also decision making takes longer and that is why a small business has always a greater chance to grow compared to a big business firm.

5.Product or Service

This is the most basic question, what do you sell? It can be a service or a product. Services are intangible while products are ones that can be touched and consumed. So how does your product or service benefit your customer? How much does it satisfy his/her needs and wants? What is the lifecycle of your products? How unique and outstanding is your brand to your consumers? These questions will help you strengthen the presence of your product in the market.

6.Marketing Strategy

How do you plan to market your brand? What are the effective tools to use in your marketing, how long will you conduct your marketing campaigns? Which media will you use? Which section of your general market will you target the most? What advertising tools will you use like, Discounts, offers, gifts? That’s it but be as more specific as you can, don’t generalize in business, it’s not just business, it’s a Business War. So prepare your armor.

7.Your Funding Source

In business, when money is available, everything makes sense. So in our case the question is; how do I raise the Capital? How do I finance my plan? Where do I get the money to start? And so on, these are the first itching questions to a business person. Research says that when people get to this stage and ask themselves these questions, the first thing that comes to their mind is to take a loan. Well, not a bad idea but I always encourage people to use first what they have and make sure that a loan is the last thing in their mind. Come on, let’s reason a bit, if you have your money in your savings account or at least you earn an income now and then, if you use that cash no one will knock at your door sometime later and demand it back. But if you take a loan, you will not only pay it later in full, but you will add some interest on it, isn’t that wasting money? So first use what you have from your savings or salary. Unless you are very sure you will make enough money to pay back the loan in time and that you have no choice, avoid it at all cost.

8.Appendix (optional)

Finally, this is the last and optional feature of a business plan where you include resumes, leases and permits. You are now good to go. Here is where your ideas are born into reality. Take the courage, tighten your belt and mind your business. Good luck!