The Business Plan
A business plan is a formal statement of what you are planning to achieve in your business.
A basic business plan will contain the background to your business and your industry, how you’re going to achieve your objectives, the timescales and the financials – how much you’re going to earn and spend.
Who needs a business plan?
As a marketing consultant I stongly beleive that the fact is all businesses should have a business plan. Many people think that only start up businesses need a business plan. All businesses benefit from having a plan. The business plan process – the act of sitting down and planning where you want the business to go over the next period of time should focus your mind on what needs to be done and how you’re going to get there.
Business Plan Template
The following business plan template will help you organise your basic plan and help you with your business plan layout.
- Executive Summary
A one page distillation of the business plan. This will be the first section anyone will read. So make sure it contains all the important points.
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Business Description
This will contain your vision for the business. What you do, who your customers are, where you’re based, your market and why you will be successful. Established businesses will describe the progress they’re making and future plans.
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Competitive Analysis
You should identify your key competitors and their strengths and weaknesses. You must also show how you will successfully compete against them.
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Market Analysis
You should analyse the dynamics and trends within your total market. You should then focus in on the state of your local market. For your business to succeed there must be a demand for your products.
- Sales and Marketing Plan
This will be a synopsis of your marketing plan.- Who your customers are
- How you’ll communicate with them
- How you’ll promote your products to them
- Your pricing strategy
- Operations Plan
This section will cover everything relating to your location and premises and their suitability. Management information and IT systems and team organisation and structures should also be covered in this section.
- Your Team
Having the right personnel in your team is vital to your success. This part of the plan will enable you to review and reassess whether you have the right skill mix in the business.
- Financials
This is the crux of your plan and should include:- Sales forecast
- Cash flow forecast
- Profit and loss forecast
The next 12 months is obviously the most important but it is a good discipline to do a three year plan. This will give you greater focus on your objectives and of your progress.
- Business Plan Help
Whether it’s a start up business plan or a existing small business business plan, we provide business plan help. We are experts at the business planning process and can either guide you through it or write it for you.
So if you need a business plan but are new to the business planning process, please get in touch.
