How to Write a Great Business Plan?

Creating a new business plan is one of the significant aspects related to the creation of a new business venture. Various articles, books, and research studies have highlighted this fact from time to time. The answers on How to write a great business plan would commonly involve references to certain elements. For example, product or service description, forecast of sales and operations, and the detailing of marketing strategy are widely noted in every successful business plan.

According to various case studies and real-world examples, planning plays a huge role in running a business effectively. It is seen that business owners who write formal plan have about 16% of more response rate as compare to those who do not write formal plans. You will get a better idea about the above statement from the below mentioned survey graph.

So let us discuss various pointers that can help you in using a business plan template effectively to create the perfect business plan.

Different parts of a business plan:

Before proceeding towards our discussion on effective tips for making the perfect business plan for your business, let us reflect on the components of a good business plan. The general business plan format could be highlighted as follows:

• Executive Summary

The executive summary must let the readers know details about your business. Information like what your business deals in and its current position must be clearly reflected. Mission and vision form the key elements of the executive summary. Apart from the two, general information about the company, its products or services is also stated. The future plans of the company are also a part of the executive summary. Make sure the summary is neither too short nor too long.

• Overview of the Company

By reading the company overview, the reader gets an overall brief idea about the business. It gives a quick view of the company. It must give information about the industrial sector to which the business belongs, its specific serving and target markets. The value proposition of a business is also laid down in this part of the plan.

• Market Analysis

The market analysis part gives all the information related to the market of the business. It includes the description of the industry, the size and potential growth of the target market, and market pricing. It must also speak about the market share your business is likely to gain. It also reflects data about the market competitors and possible barriers to business in the market.

• Business Organisation

The part of the business organization includes details about the organizational and management structure. It should speak of the different hierarchies in the organization. Starting from the owners to the board of directors to the entire team, it tells about everyone associated with the business. It should also give some hint about the kind of talent the business will be hiring as it expands.

• Products and Services

In this part of the business plan, make sure to elaborate every detail about the products and services of your business. It includes information about the on-going researches about the different products. If the company owns any intellectual properties, then details about it are written here.

• Marketing Plan

Under this heading of the business plan, make sure you write about all the marketing strategies you have planned to adopt. Starting from positioning strategy to promotional strategy to selling strategy, consider writing about all. You must also write about the various channels of marketing and selling you will rely upon.

• Financial Plan

This is the most important part of the business plan for investors. It tells about the current financial position and future aspirations. It includes the balance sheet, cash inflows and outflows, and all other accounting related details of the business.

Each of the above-mentioned components in a business plan has a unique significance for the complete plan. For example, the organization structure component in the business plan would show the structure of management while the market analysis provides clear details of the industry, concerned market, and competitors. You can find a free business plan with the help of online tools. But is it reasonable to trust them?

On the other hand, following these basic factors shown below can provide you with much-needed help in developing your business plan.

-Research paves the foundation:

The first thing to learn from various business plan examples is the importance of research in creating a business plan. Research should take up ample time as compared to the rest of the process for writing a business plan. Research can help in obtaining comprehensive information about the product, services, market, competition as well as the company itself. A perfect business plan requires intimate knowledge of the company, competition, product, and market. Research can help you with that!

-Specify the objectives:

The next priority in the creation of a business plan is to outline the objective of the plan. The objective of your business plan would form the focal point in its design. For example, if your business is a start-up, then it is essential to design your business plan as a road map which gives directions for a business to outline its future and avoid any kind of obstacles that may arise along the way.

-Highlight the company profile:

A simple business plan example would also reflect considerably on the significance of a company profile. A company profile essentially describes the history of an organization, the target market, and audience, resources, and product and service offerings. Therefore, a description of the Unique Selling Propositions (USPs) of an organization could be used as standout factors in the design of a business plan. Hence, it is recommended to present your USPs as a Company Profile section in your business plan that would serve as the “About Us” page for your business.

The importance of a business plan and the detailing required in the efforts for developing the perfect business plan show that it is not an easy task. However, a good look at all examples of well-written business plans and focus on research can help in developing just the right business plan for your new venture!