Business plan part 1: the checklist
Lynne Franks considers the elements you need in your business plan and gets you started.
Even though your business plan will be essential when talking to a banker or potential investor, it is first and foremost for you. It is where you can see if all the pieces of the puzzle fit together and whether your enterprise will be sustainable financially, as well as representative of your values.
This is when you write your mission statement, set your specific goals, bring your budgets and financial projections together, decide on an action time line, and plan your marketing strategy.
Who's going to buy your products or services, and how are you going to reach them? You need to decide on a communication programme to reach your market, and bring it in line with the rest of your business plan.
There are many business courses and books that set out the logistics of designing a basic business plan, but there are certain common-sense rules to follow. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to create a heavy tome of a plan, which is difficult to read and boring to look at.
We live in an immediate world, and the most impressive business plans that I've see - and I've seen many different kinds - are those that are kept succinct and easy to read, and written with the passion and energy of the entrepreneurs whose businesses are being described.
Writing the plan, which involves examining all the different aspects of what will make your business viable, will give you the opportunity to make any last-minute changes and adjustments before you launch your new enterprise.
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