So, you want to start a business? Great! But before you get started, you need to create a business plan. Why? Well, there are so many benefits to having a business plan! It helps you to plan and budget, and it also helps you to identify potential risks and opportunities. It’s basically the roadmap to success! So, what should you include in your business plan? And how do you even start putting it together? Read on to find out!
What is a business plan?
A business plan is your roadmap to success!
What do you think is the most important part of a business plan?" We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
It’s a written summary of your entrepreneurial project, outlining your vision and how you’re going to make it a reality. The starting point is an amazing business idea! A business plan presents the incredible characteristics of the business idea in relation to customers and in comparison to the competition. It describes how the business idea can work and how it is to be put into practice. The resources required to set up and operate the business are also outlined.
Have you already started putting together your business plan? "What’s been your biggest challenge so far?
What does a business plan do for you?
There are all sorts of things to think about when you’re developing and marketing new products, entering unknown markets, investing in large facilities or setting up your own company. It’s important for the founder to understand what opportunities they can expect and what risks are involved in all these cases.
It’s also important to know how much you’re investing and whether it’s going to be worthwhile.
What are some of the risks you’ve come across while planning your business?" Let’s talk about it in the comments!
Click HERE to get a copy of a Businessplan Template including Checklists and Tipps.
The business plan as a planning tool
A business plan is a tool for planning out your business idea and showing how you’re going to make it a success. Planning is all about picturing what the future could look like. This comes down to two things:
- What do you think will happen?
- What do you want to achieve in the future?
What are your long-term goals for your business? We’d love to hear your vision!
So, development has two sides to it: passive and active. It’s impossible to know exactly what will happen in the future. It’s all open to chance. This is exactly why it’s crucial for the business plan:
It should paint as realistic a picture of the future as possible, set goals and not ignore risks.
It should show what the future could look like and give people a reason to achieve the goals and put the planned measures into action.
As many people are involved in making a business idea or project happen, the business plan has to get them excited and involved.
Last but not least, the business plan has to show that it will be a success.
Founder describes his business idea in the business plan
The founder puts their business idea down in the business plan.
Business plans are usually written by the founders. They’ve got a business idea and they want to become self-employed and set up a company.
Are you excited to become self-employed? What motivates you to bring your business idea to life?
A business plan helps you to focus your ideas. It turns your business idea into a concept, so you can see what opportunities and risks are involved and how you can make it happen.
Employee proposes a plan or project
Business plans are also developed within existing companies. Any new plans, projects or other special measures should be put together in a way that management and decision-makers can easily assess their potential success.
Examples include:
- Changes to the way the company is structured
- New technology
- New products
- Opening a new branch abroad
- New marketing strategy
- New distribution channels
The management team wants to understand the economic viability, profitability or amortisation period, assess opportunities and risks and know what budget and resources it needs to make available for this.
As the person who came up with the plan or project, you need to describe, justify and give reasons for it in an ‘internal business plan’. The management may therefore ask you to present your project or plan in a business plan. The business plan is a document that helps them make decisions.
Have you ever had to present a business plan to management? How did it go? Share your experience!
Benefits of a business plan
There are lots of benefits to having a business plan.
The first thing you need to do is examine the business idea. One of the best things about a business plan is that it forces you to think about your business idea from different angles when you’re putting it together.
What new insights did you gain about your business idea after drafting your business plan?
This helps to see if the business idea could make it in the market and stand up to competition, or if the project fits with the company’s goals and helps it succeed.
Next, put together a plan of action. The finalised business plan also includes the most important milestones and work steps for getting the business idea and project up and running.
It’s also a plan of action that helps you make things happen. At the same time, you can see if the assumptions have come true and the goals have been reached. The business plan includes target figures that can be compared with actual figures.
Finally, the business plan is a sales tool. It’s important to have the right financial resources to get the business off the ground, especially in the early days.
What strategies are you planning to use to secure financial resources for your business? Let’s share ideas!
A business plan is a tool that helps you make long-term decisions. It’s for any entrepreneurial project that’s not just day-to-day business. There are lots of reasons why you’d need a business plan.
The most important are:
- Starting up
- Succession planning
- Company sale or takeover
- Structural change and reorganisation
- Merger
- Cooperation
- New product launch
- Expanding into other markets
- Capital increase
- Initial public offering
- Applying for public funding
- Asking the bank for a loan
Tasks for business planning
A business plan can be pretty lengthy. It’s made up of different parts and includes lots of different information. You need to do some research to find out about the market and competition, products, distribution channels, suppliers or partners. You also need to come up with ideas for how to make money, how to make your processes and resources work better, and ways to measure customer acquisition and customer care or marketing campaigns. Finally, you need to crunch some numbers to work out sales, turnover, costs, profitability and capital requirements.
What are your plans for getting the money you need to get your business off the ground?" Let’s share our ideas!
Important Infos inside your Businessplan
- The business plan includes all this info: The company’s goals and success; how it fits into the corporate strategy (business case)
- The market with its players, framework conditions, trends and possible market potential
- The area of application with the employees concerned, the processes and the development potential
- The competition and the individual competitors in the market
- The alternatives to your project
- The most important influencing factors from the areas of technology, law, regulations, compliance, society, economy, politics or the environment
- The opportunities: potential for success in the future
- The risks and dangers: Things that could go wrong, new trends, how competitors might react, customer behaviour, problems with implementation, employee resistance, problems with organisation or technology
- What could go wrong and what could go right
- What we need to do to market and sell the business idea or to make the project happen
- How profitable the project will be, what we can expect in terms of profit, cash flow or amortisation Turnover or cost savings, costs, investments
- Financial requirements, necessary capital or budget
- Assumptions on which the planning is based
You can give a quick overview of all this in a management summary. This should include:
- the main reasons why the business idea or project should go ahead
- what still needs to be decided
- why it’s worth reading the whole business plan
Ready to take your business idea to the next level? Get started on your business plan today and make your vision a reality!
Click HERE to get a copy of a Businessplan Template including Checklists and Tipps.
Any questions or need some help? Leave a comment below and let’s get the conversation going!