Tips for Writing Your Own Winning Business Plan

2022-10-12T17:19:59+00:00

By TRWCBlogger

The idea of starting a business or running an enterprise looks pretty tough to many.This is understandable. But like any other vocation, starting a business just requires some basic skill set, discipline and instinct that will help you succeed – if you use them adequately.Below are easy steps and an outline to follow in designing a business plan, especially to source funding.

Name of Business

Whether a business has been registered or not, it should be given a name in a business plan. If you have a logo already for the business, you may include it on the cover page as well. Major promoters or founders should be indicated on the cover page.

Executive Summary

Write a less-than-a-page summary that captures the core objectives of your business and gives a concise overview of the business plan.The executive summary is usually placed at the beginning after the business name and logo (if any) and table of content, but it is written when the rest of the business plan content is concluded.

Introduction

Describe the business.

Mention the present stage of the business (ideation, research and development, market entry, or expansion).
Explain progress made so far if it is an existing business.
State what you need a business plan for at that point.

Business Aim or Mission

This is the gap that your business will fill, or in other words, the solution your products/services will present.

State the reason the business is being set up.

Vision

Your vision is what you are trying to achieve with the business after a while.

If your business is a start-up, it is better to start on a small scale with a short-term plan/vision but have a growth plan.
If you are a small-scale or medium-scale enterprise, it is better for you to have a short-term or medium-term plan/vision.
A short-term plan/vision of where you want the enterprise to be can last between two and five years.
A medium-term plan/vision of where you want the enterprise to be can last between ten years and fifteen years.
A long-term plan can last between fifteen years and thirty years.
There is also a generational plan/vision, which is usually reflected in the generational statement of the business. It entails how you will like to see your large-scale business thrive in succeeding generations

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Business Goals or Objectives

This is your target for the business from the outset. This could be production volume, product visibility, brand preference, product positioning, market size and so on. The enterprise goals or objectives will answer your question of what problem your business will solve from your mission statement.

Value/Brand Proposition

This is the basis of your business motto. It is the unique selling point your business is offering to its clients/customers. The values could be more than one, listed. And it could be phrased.

Business Address

The physical site or proposed location of the business for mail reference should be indicated. Postal mail, e-mail and telephone may also be included in the business plan.

Industry/Market and Product/Services Report

Here is the technical part of the business plan. You will talk about your products or services and market/industry feasibility study.While drafting this segment, use SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) to analyze the performance indicators of your products/services and industry/market.Six major factors (PESTLE) may contribute to your opportunities and threats. They are:Political: Business opportunities, bottleneck, research, scholarship and sponsorship of initiative.Economic: Government intervention, subvention, funding and ease of doing business.Social: Demography, culture and tradition, religious belief.Technological: Accessibility or otherwise.Legal/regulatory: Professional institutions, patent rights, copyright laws, franchise, extant laws, import/export policy, protection of intellectual property, levies, license, certification, tax.Environment: Raw material, topography, security and conducive environment for businesses.Answers to the following questions will guide you in drafting this segment. (You can create a sub-heading for each question):

What sector of the economy is your business most active in?
What makes the sector promising and viable?
Are there extant laws and interventions that support or lay barrier to the growth of the sector?
What market segment do you intend to serve?
Who are your clients/customers?
What is the size of the market, in terms of value or volume?
Who are the major players in that sector? Mention a few.
What is the potential for growth in the market?
Who are the direct and indirect major competitors in your line of business?
What do they offer?
What are you offering differently?
What are your comparative and competitive advantages and disadvantages with your competitors?
How do you intend to retain your customers and make them prefer your products/services?

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Operations Plan

The following will serve as an effective guide for writing your operational plans:

State whether you require a permit or license to operate.
Do you require specific certifications or new knowledge? (This is within your strengths and weakness.)
What material resources like raw materials, human resources and physical assets do you need to start and how do you plan to source them?
How do you plan to deliver your products/services to your clients/customers?

Marketing Plan

Use the following questions to develop a marketing plan:

How will you create awareness and promote your products/services?
What is the pricing strategy for your products/services and the assumptions you have made?
What payment options will you offer your clients/customers?
How will you strike a balance on how credit facility to loyal customers not affect rounds of service delivery and production?

Management

State what functions you or your employees would need to perform for the effective running of the business.
If it is a family business, state the succession plan clearly and state the number of signatories to the business accounts in banks.
Sketch an organizational structure showing how the workflow will run.

Financial Estimates

Do not overestimate revenue and underestimate cost. Use the following guides for your financial plan:

How do you intend to finance the business, mention if you also have other sources.
State the facilities you require to kick-start production/service and the corresponding cost of each.
Give cost breakdown for producing the product or service – both direct and indirect – the cost of raw materials and other inputs, capital assets, recurrent, repairs and maintenance, quality assurance, levies and so on.
Estimate the cost of running the business for at least 3 years (wages and salaries, capacity building, branding and advertising, packaging, administrative costs, logistics, professional services, licenses and so on.)
State your projected sales volume for at least 3 years.
State your projected revenue for at least 3 years.
State your streams of revenue.

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Break-Even/Milestone

Mention those things you would require to do to break even in the enterprise within a stipulated time. It is better you state how you plan to keep track of the progress on a quarterly basis in order to ensure stability, profitability, scalability and possible expansion.
Ensure to affix a spreadsheet cash flow chart, sketches, implements and equipment images where necessary or as an appendix at the end of the business plan.
You may use your business name and logo as a watermark for security features on each page template of the business plan.

Remember it is not a business plan yet if it has not been written down. Stop procrastinating. Pick a pen today and write down the business ideas you have been carrying in your head around for years. It is doable.PANIC OVER! Temidayo Babatunde is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Information and Strategy Management (CIISM). He can be reached via his LinkedIn ([email protected])