What to Include in a Business Plan
(721 Words)
A business plan is vital for any new company. A business plan may contain many different components, and its exact makeup will be determined by the company, the entrepreneur and the industry. The more thorough it is, the more prepared the business will be as it comes to fruition. It may contain the following elements.
Goals
Before you start thinking about how you will get to where you want to go with your business, you want to create goals. These can come in a variety of different forms. You can write about the products that you wish to produce, the sales you wish to reach, and the financial profit you wish to realize. You should be detailed in your goals, including both short term and long term ones. Make sure that these are realistic.
Your target market
You need to understand who is going to purchase your products or utilize your services. You may have to do market research to discover this. Think about what need your product serves and for whom.
Competitors
You want to understand who your competitors are. Try to think about how you can give yourself a competitive advantage. Evaluate their positive and negative components when you are trying to come up with a suitable business model for your venture.
Capital
Starting a business is often expensive. The amount of capital required ranges greatly and is dependent upon the amount of overhead, where the business will be located, how much of the work needs to be done before money comes in, the scale of the business and more. You want to come up with a realistic projection of the amount of money you will need to spend on your business.
You also want to know how you are going to come up with the capital. If you will be financing it yourself, then show from where this money will come. If you plan to look for investors, then make a specific plan for doing so.
It is important to make a budget. You want to know where all of your money is going to go and what things are going to cost. Do not just guess on these, but do your research to come up with accurate estimates.
Equipment/supplies/location
You need to understand all of the components that will go into building your business. This include the facilities where the business will take place. Will it be out of your home? Are you going to rent or purchase office space? Also consider any equipment you might need as well as supplies. Think about what equipment you initially need to purchase.
Employees
Is this going to be a single person business? Will you be hiring employees to aid you? Consider how many workers you will need to make your business come to life. Consider details such as pay. Also consider how you are going to find these employees.
Production
You need to have a detailed map of the production process. This may be simple such as if you are a copywriter and will write what people request. Sometimes it will be more complicated such as if you are crafting specific products.
You want to also understand vendors that you may utilize. Do research to find out which ones might be best for your business.
IT functions
Many companies require IT functions. Try to come up with a plan for this. Will you do it yourself, hire someone or outsource it?
Marketing
People cannot frequent your products and services if they do not know about them. It is important to promote your business, and there are various ways to do so. You could do traditional advertising such as in newspapers, television commercials and radio spots. You could also utilize the Internet. If you are going to build yourself a website, then make a plan for it. Will you do it yourself or hire a copywriter/graphic artist/web designer to help you with it? You can also consider other ways to market your business such as through social networking websites like Facebook.
Remember that a business plan is exactly what it says – a plan. You want to be as detailed and accurate as possible, but remember that not all projections come true and specifics can change. Reevaluate your business plan as your company comes to life.
Resources:
http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business
http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessplans/article38290-3.html#types
http://www.myownbusiness.org/s2/