How To Write A Modern Business Plan

You’re excited. You have been thinking about it for a while, and now you are finally ready to take the plunge.

Perhaps you’ve been working in a similar company for some time and know you have the correct skills and knowledge for the job at hand. Or maybe this is a brand new venture, but you know you have the personality and skillset to achieve it.

Either way, starting a business comes with its own set of challenges and tribulations that you will have to overcome to make it a success. It is something that requires a lot of thought to get it off the ground.

Thinking about and writing a coherent “business plan” will help you iron out any kinks in your proposed business and will force you to think about every step thoroughly. 

Market research

Whatever type of business it is that you are looking to get into, you need to spend a lot of time looking into the current market.

• Who are your competitors?
• What is the size of your market?
• Who are your ideal target customers?
• What are you going to do differently?
• What is your USP (Unique Selling Point)?
• What problem is your company going to solve?

You need to learn as much as you possibly can about your proposed market before you can move forward and write the proposal or plan. Read as much literature as you can about your field. Get an idea of logistics and costs, etc.

You must understand your business inside and out before you can move forward in an informed way.

The purpose of your business

So you have done some market research and can see that  there is still a hole in the market and you have a great USP.

Next, outline in detail the problem your company will be addressing.

Create a list of aims and objectives you want to achieve and explain how you are going to do things differently from your competitors. You must also sell yourself. Say why you are the best person to do this, and why you care so passionately about it. 

Company name

In the research phase, you will constantly be formulating ideas about how your company will stand out from the crowd and what it is going to do differently. All this will help you when it comes to naming the company.

The name is so important and needs to encompass something to do with the purpose of your business. If it is a serious venture, the name needs to be serious. If it is fun, it must be fun and catchy. The title must mirror the content. Spend time thinking about this and have some ideas on possible branding.

Promotion

How do you intend to promote your business? Part of the plan must be marketing and PR.

You must think about whether or not you are going to do this in-house or bring in a firm of experts.

Are you going to have a launching event? Will you be giving away a freebie?

Perhaps you will want to host an open event with other startups where you all contribute to costs. Or you may want to promote yourself at some different type of event, such as a music festival.

This means you may need to give some consideration to things such as crowd control measures if a lot of people will be attending, especially if you do get the initial marketing gimmicks correct.  All promotional costings must be considered within the proposal.

Ongoing budget considerations and forecasts

An investor wants a clear idea of where you see the company going and how long it will take to break even and start making a profit. You will need to write very concisely about how this is going to happen.

Write a methodology and ongoing structural analysis and how you are going to manage growth. You must say how it is going to work and why. Everything you write needs to relate to the research you have done, as this is the clearest indicator of its success.

It could be that you already have a business in place and are upscaling, so you need very clear graphs and diagrams showing the uptrends.

There are many things to consider when looking to startup a small business, but writing the proposal will focus the mind and help bring clarity to your idea. It is the best course of action as it turns your ideas into something far more concrete.

This is a contributed post.