Writing a business plan shouldn’t be a headache, especially when you know exactly which is the vision of your start-up and the goals you are aiming at. So that, to help you to get the results that you want, we are going to show you an easy and quick guide that will allow you to write the business plan that you need, without any frustration or obstacle.
But wait…Do you know which are the components of a professional business plan?… So far, whether you want to grow your business, raise your money or improve your start up, every business plan needs to cover six essential components.
Executive summary of your company
The first one would be making a brief summary just to have an overview of your business and your plans. It usually comes at the beginning of your business plan and it has at least two pages, no more. There you are going to introduce yourself and your company. Remember that, at this point, you will have to call the interest of your investors so it will be good if you cover the highlights of your company.
Market description
In this second step you will make a short description of your company’s industry, so you will discuss its present outlook and its future possibilities. Moreover, you will also provide information about all the markets within the industry, including all those new products or services that could benefit or affect your business.
SWOT analysis.
Once you get there, you will need to analyze not only the Opportunities and the Strengths but also the Weaknesses and the Threats of your business. In other words, you will need to do a SWOT analysis for assessing which aspects of your company are working well and which aren’t.
Furthermore, you will have to define which is the solution of your product or service, how your target market is (describe it the best you can; age, gender, profession, etc) and who or which companies are your competition.
Market strategies
Defining the market strategies in a business plan is one of the most important steps and you will always be able to do it once you have the SWOT analysis. Its aim will be that you become familiar with all the aspects of the market so that the target market can be well defined and the company can reach a high position.
Product’s or service’s design
At this moment you will have to provide investors with an attractive and original description of your product’s or service’s design and then, create a development budget that will enable the company to follow its strategies and reach its goals.
Execution of your business plan
The sixth step is the execution of your business plan which involves your operations, milestones that you intend to hit , marketing and sales plan and your metrics for success.
Management summary
Once the execution is done you will have to develop a management summary. There you will need to do a description of different aspects of your company such as, the company’s current team, who you’ll need to hire, its legal structure, location.
Financial plan of your company
You’re almost done! Now you will have to make a financial plan where you will include the company’s sales forecast, cash flow and income statement, and also the balance sheet of your business which lists the assets in your company, the liabilities and owner’s equity.
Furthermore, you will also have to define an exit strategy; a business plan in case you sell your company to another investor.
Important tips to take into account…
One of the rules you have to remember at the moment of making a business plan is that it has to be short and precise. Moreover, it has to be easy to read and written with the appropriate jargon familiar to the employees, so they could understand it better and remember it for a longer time.
