There are 2 main purposes of a business plan. First of all, it helps you to work out what you want to do and how you need to perform to be successful. But your plan is also your pitch. It’s what you use to convince other people your idea is worthwhile – and potentially worth investing in.
Potential readers include your bank, if you need a loan; individual investors who you might want to invest in your business; partners who could help run the business; and future customers or suppliers, who you might want to give you preferential deals.
A good business plan should act as a prototype for your business. It will reveal any flaws or areas you haven’t thought about, so the more accurate it can be the better.
There are many ways of structuring your plan, but there are a few basic elements that will need to be included:
- Your strategy – what, how and to whom you’re planning to sell. You’ll need to analyse your competitors in this section too
- Your operations – any infrastructure (factories, shops, equipment) that you’ll need or already have, showing what you will require at each stage in your business’s future
- Your financial forecasts – the hard numbers on all of the above
- Your finance options – Business credit cards, invoice finance, overdraft facilities, letters of credit and even government grants could help you
Click here for assistance with your Business Plan