Guide and tips for developing a business plan

Any company has a long way to go from the idea from which it springs to success . In this itinerary there is a map that serves as a fundamental guide: the business plan. We explain what this tool consists of and how to do it so that it is really useful when setting achievable goals.

When talking about successful entrepreneurs, the focus is always on the novel idea on which their business is built. But ideas are of little use if you don’t know how to develop them. How the start-up of the company is financed, if it aspires to be an SME or a large multinational, what income will be obtained, what growth objectives must be achieved to make it viable, what phases must be completed and in what terms, what personnel it takes … All this and much more is what a good business plan includes.

This map is very useful when looking for investors and financing, because it helps to present the blueprints and potential viability of a business. But it is even more important for the entrepreneurs who create it, because it helps them think about the management challenges they will have to face and how they want to solve them to achieve their goals. That is why it is essential to be honest in your preparation and set realistic goals. These tips can be very useful to write it

A good plan: complete and systematized

Although there is certain flexibility in its preparation to allow it to be adapted to very different types of businesses, the model of a good business plan is already highly systematized. The concepts and general lines that must be included are valid for all types of projects and allow a complete overview to be given to potential investors or to financial entities that finance the venture. A good business plan has to be complete and respond to this systematized model, including the following chapters:

• R executive Summary: always tops the business plan, but is written to the end when the other chapters are already clear. It is logical that this is the case, because after all it is a reduced version of what will be detailed later. Conciseness is essential to put in a few words the keys that support the project.
• Description of the activity. The product or service offered is the axis around which the future of the business revolves and must be explained in detail. Its usefulness to the consumer, the origin of the idea, the audience it is aimed at and what needs it can cover are key issues. It is not so much about the technical characteristics of the product or service as about its value to its potential users.
• Competition and market. It may happen that the product or service offered is so innovative that there is none equal: in this case we will have to focus on the ability of the market to accept it. The other option is that there is competition: it will be necessary to explain if there is a gap for another similar product, if it is going to focus on a specific segment, if it is to take advantage of a geographic environment with demand … In this chapter it is convenient to start present numbers with market studies, their evolution, the costs of the distribution channel, and so on.
• Marketing, marketing and sales. If in the previous chapter it was detected that there is a potential market, it is necessary to explain what the strategy will be to access it. Prices, advertising strategies, sales channels and techniques, promotions, loyalty, commercial network.
• Business model and financing. If the other chapters are well constructed, the logical thing is to think that the company will be viable. The necessary question is: When? Income and expenses change over time and it is necessary to detail, based on reasoned and honest calculations, how they will do it during the first two years of the project’s life. Also, consider how it will be financed until it reaches economic viability. And one more detail, very important when looking for investors: how will the company evaluate each phase of the process and how divestment is contemplated for those who contribute capital in search of profitability.
• The promoters of the project, their professional career, their successes and previous experiences, are information that any recipient of the business plan will want to know. But this is only part of it: how many personnel will the project need, whose profiles, in what phases, where they will be sought and how they will be attracted are other questions that must be included in the document.
• State of development. Before putting the final point to the document, a chapter must be dedicated to explaining the stage of the project. If you have already achieved partial goals and to what degree the objectives have been met. Locate where the company is currently.

 

 

Posted by: Abdul Rimaaz