How to Write a Killer Business Plan

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How to Write a Killer Business Plan
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• Writing a business plan is an essential step in
  starting up a business, but it is often delayed
  or skipped all together by many entrepreneurs.

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• Why should I spend so much time writing a
  business plan when I can be running my business?
  I dont have time to write a business plan.
  Nobody will read it, so why bother? These are
  comments I hear on a daily basis regarding why a
  business does not have a business plan.

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• The statement that I always reply with is so,
  your business has not been planned and youre
  just guessing. A business plan is more than a
  pack of papers that have been packaged, and
  presented professionally.

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Why Write a Business Plan?

• The purpose of a business plan is to set the
  direction of your business.  Your business plan
  objectives should be to provide a document that
  clarifies your ideas, and provides a reference
  point in times of difficulty or change. Your plan
  is your business bible, and can help you avoid
  costly mistakes and ensure long-term success.

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• Tim Berrys blog in Bplans, Why Plan Your
  Business? Look At This Data shows results from a
  survey carried out by Palo Alto Software. They
  asked thousands of Business Plan Pro users
  questions about their business aims, strategy and
  planning. Almost 3,000 people responded.

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• Those who finished their business plans were
  twice as likely to successfully grow their
  business, get investment, or land a loan than
  those who didnt.

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• The process of creating a plan will help you
  understand your business in greater depth. So
  when youre out promoting your business to
  potential customers, financiers and partners, you
  can talk with greater confidence and accuracy.
  You will have a better understanding of the
  purpose of your business, and how it operates in
  its current environment.

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• A business plan should be a live and flexible
  document. Many experts say that it should be
  updated every 8 10 months I dont believe this
  is necessary for small start-ups. Every 12 months
  should be sufficient.

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• But its objectives should be measured and
  discussed at least monthly to ensure your
  business is on track. To enable this I always
  recommend short, sweet and simple business plans
  that support your business vision. Nobody is
  going to read a 50-page business plan, not even
  you.

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• When you start writing your business plan you
  should have already carried out your business
  research, or be in the process of doing so. All
  you need to do now is roll up your sleeve, and
  write all that information on paper.

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How to Write a Great Business Plan

• These are the steps I carry out when researching,
  and gathering information for my business, which
  I then use for my business plan.
•     Market Research? Gather information on
  your future business, and industry, from as many
  independent sources as possible. The resources
  available are endless if you look properly e.g.
  websites, magazines, industry networks, trade
  fairs and library databases.

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•     Executive Summary ?The business plan is a
  summary of the business, and the executive
  summary of a business plan should highlight the
  important features of the business plan. Keep it
  short and sharp, and get the reader excited about
  reading the rest of the plan.
•     Business Description? The business
  description gives interested people an insight
  into your company. Within this section you should
  do the following

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• ?    Describe the industry?    Describe your
  company?    Write a mission statement?    Set
  out your current and future aims
•     Financial projections This is arguably the
  most difficult part of the business plan. It is
  hard to make financial projections when you are
  still trying to secure funding.

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• Looking three years in the future may seem a
  lifetime away. One tip I would give is get
  comfortable with Microsoft excel, as this will
  give you the flexibility to modify and
  re-forecast your projections.

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•     Financing Funding Where is your money
  coming from, and how much money do you have
  readily available? This section can determine
  whether your idea is viable, if it can be
  launched, or if it can be sustained in a period
  of low sales.
•     Competitive Analysis First, you must
  determine who your competitors are. Once they are
  identified you must get to know them. Visit their
  website and store if they have one. Talk to their
  buyers and suppliers. Find out as much as you can
  about them, because once you enter the market
  they will be doing the same to you. You are
  competitors, so you must aim to gain the
  competitive advantage.

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•     Location Analysis Study your potential
  customers, and understand where they live or
  work. If your customer has to come to you, you
  must make their customer experience hassle
  free.   If your business is online, you must
  invest in online analytics and marketing. This
  will help you understand your customers online
  shopping habits. This information should be used
  for targeted marketing campaigns.
•     Data and Record Keeping This is a very
  important point, if in the future you plan to
  apply for financial support from banks and
  investors. These people care more about past
  performance, future orders and projected
  performance than they do your business plan.  So
  you must keep clear records that document this
  information.  Your business plan will also help
  to support this information.

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•     Suppliers Researching and finding suitable
  suppliers that you can agree the right price,
  right quantity and right quality will set you on
  the right path. If you get these elements correct
  you will have increased profits, reduced
  inventory, and increased money reserves.
  Highlight your supply chain strategy in your
  business plan.
•     Operations Management Plan This outlines
  the processes, procedures and functions that will
  keep the business running. This tends to focus on
  production, manufacturing, storage, inbound and
  outbound logistics. The operations plan will
  highlight the key performance measures of the
  organisation, and the various responsibilities of
  the management team to achieve them. This section
  will focus more on the practical, and less on
  theory.

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