A well-thought-out business plan is an essential part of running any successful venture, whether you are looking to attract potential investors or not. A business plan allows you to understand the objectives of your business, set achievable goals, and keep all professional efforts on the right track.
To make sure your plan is created appropriately and objectively, make sure to include your colleagues and business partners in the process of making this draft. Here are 9 essential aspects of a well-proposed business plan that you should consider.
1. Business description
Both your business and your brand need to tell the right, impressionable story of themselves. This is why one of the first things you will need to do is create a description for your business, including your mission statement. This part of your business plan must cover legal information, location, business model, distinctive and potentially productive business relationships, and financial projections.
2. Market analysis
Investigating the market and the place your business holds within it is another important step you must make. Include testimonials, target customer profiles, and your target market. This part of the business plan includes monitoring competition as well. After the market test is done, make sure to include its results into your business plan.
3. Organization and management
Resumes Planet content strategist Ellen Miller emphasizes the importance of management team efforts, suggesting that when it comes to organization part of your business plan, it’s time to put your prominent team leaders in the spotlight. Education, experience, and qualifications they provide should be included in your draft, as well as information about ownership of the company.
4. Marketing and sales
The main question is: How to raise money and increase profit? Therefore, this part of your business plan should focus on:
- Your current promotional strategies, as well as the ones you plan to include in the future;
- SEO-related plans and appropriate web development endeavors;
- A pricing strategy that fits your business goals and opportunities.
This part of your business plan should most definitely include communication, distribution, growth, and market penetration strategies as well.
5. Product or service line
Products and services part of your business plan is very important. Explain how your product or service benefits and solves problems of your (potential) customers. Include information about costs and suppliers. UK Careers Booster experts accentuate that this part of your business plan must also include information about legal aspects and intellectual property (if applicable), a comparison to what competition offers, and plans for products or services you want to provide in the future.
6. Funding requests
If one of the goals of your business plan is to attract investment capital, make sure to include the following information:
- The financial range you are looking to receive;
- The thorough explanations of how the funds are going to be used;
- Expected outcomes, including the best and worst case scenarios;
- Any other aspects that may affect the company’s capacity to repay the loan, if that’s the financial request you apply for.
7. Financial predictions
A well-drafted business plan must include a section that covers financial projections for your company. Ideally, this section should include financial statements for the past 3-5 years, including information about cash flow and balance and income statements. Essay on time financial writer Gary Wilson suggests making sure to also include financial predictions for the following 5 years, to round up the section appropriately.
8. Appendix
The appendix is a section that is added as an independent one, after all the previously mentioned ones are listed. As it commonly includes confidential information that should not be accessible by anyone who handles the business plan, it should be separated from the rest of it. Depending on the situation and potential creditors’ requests, it may contain credit history information, permits, contracts, reference letters, and other documentation.
9. Executive summary
An executive summary is a part of a business plan that comes before all other sections. However, it’s on the very end of this list as it’s advised to write this part only after all the other business plan aspects are already covered. This way, you can summarize all findings from the rest of the sections, and make a conclusive, accurate, and brief executive summary.
Essay writing services professionals suggest that, when it comes to this part of your business plan, you should keep it short and concise. In a relatively limited frame, make sure to include important value propositions, findings, and plans – in short, what your business is all about.
Conclusion
Writing a business plan is a time-consuming, demanding task, but once it is prepared with care and expertise, your dedication and focus will pay off in the best possible way. Laying it all out on paper can help you evaluate your business, understand what works well and which aspects need to be revised, and make achievable plans for the future. A well-written business plan can also make a significant difference between you and your competitors. Consult the specialists, include your management team, and prepare an overview and a strategy that will take your business to the top.
Author Bio
Mark Delarika is a seasoned Canadian EssayOnTime Content Writer and an EssayWritingLand remote Content Consultant. Receiving formal education in more than 5 different countries has offered him a lot of insight into various industries, ranging from IT technologies to education matters. After a short traveling and exploring break, Mark is back, refreshed and more experienced, ready to share his newly acquired skills and expertise once again.
