How to write a successful Business Plan
- Business Rescue Business Growth
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If you run a small business and are asking the question “What do I really want to achieve this year and what must happen to get me there” your Business Plan should have all the answers. Business Plans are a crucial document for start-ups and established businesses alike. But how do you write a successful Business Plan? Here are a few tips and tricks from the Be Rescued team.
What is a Business Plan?
It might sound like an obvious question but it really helps if we go back to basics with a reminder of what a Business Plan is and what it does.
Be Rescued Founder and Business Planning specialist Maria Pombo has her own definition:
- A Business Plan is the map that takes you where you want to be.
- It guides you through the road to your ultimate destination - the realisation of your vision.
- The plan is also the blueprint to your vision and helps answer your own doubts.
In a nutshell, a Business Plan will give a summary of your business and how it works, evaluate your market and outline how you will generate money. Your plan will also detail your objectives and a strategy to get you where you want to be.
To create a successful Business Plan there are key elements you need to consider such as the structure, your target audience and finances.
Would you benefit from working with a Business Planning Consultant? Maria at Be Rescued is here to help you develop your Business Plan. Contact Maria today.
Why write a Business Plan?
Most small business owners know they need a Business Plan yet they may not physically create one. The plan might be in their heads or the information detailed separately in spreadsheets but not in one concise document. Does this sound like you? Business Plans are worth their weight in gold and help business owners plan for the future.
Here are three reasons why you need a Business Plan:
1. A Business Plan will help you to get organised and focus on what you need to do to achieve your vision.
2. A Business Plan will help you explain your business to others and demonstrate its viability. A plan is vital if you want to secure funding through investors or a bank. A well written plan can also help you attract business partners.
3. A Business Plan will act as a benchmark for you to measure the effectiveness of activities from your operations to your marketing. Goal setting in your Business Plan will help you to achieve your objectives and assess the success of your business.
How to write a Business Plan?
Writing a Business Plan will involve a lot of work before you put pen to paper. It’s vital that you do thorough research. Make sure you dot the i’s and cross the t’s to increase your Business Plan’s chances of success.
Tips for a successful Business Plan:
- Do your research. You need to know your market, your target audience and your products or services inside out.
- Consider the time period your plan will cover: one year, three years or the next five years.
- Know your finances including any start-up costs, your running costs and sales projections.
- Set achievable objectives (short and long-term) and outline a plan to help you achieve them.
- Stick to plain English and avoid jargon - keep to the facts and be specific.
What makes a Business Plan a great Business Plan?
So, what’s the secret to creating a great Business Plan? Maria at Be Rescued has a five point strategy for business planning success:
Make your Business Plan:
1. Realistic
Is your idea/product/service attractive enough to sell and make a living from? If the answer is YES, go for it! A word of caution, tempting though it is, don’t be over-optimistic with sales forecasts as ultimately you are setting yourself up for failure.
If things go wrong, can you change/innovate or diversify? Having a Plan B in place will put you in a stronger position. Be realistic about your chances of success in business.
2. Actionable
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Be easy on yourself and your business. Break your Business Plan down into small goals to make the tasks more manageable. Setting mini-goals will make evaluating success much more straightforward and you can change direction sooner if something doesn’t work.
3. Simple
At Be Rescued we love an acronym. When it comes to Business Planning KISS – keep it simple and straightforward. Make sure your plan is easy to navigate, to understand and to evaluate.
4. Transparent
Avoid being creative with your basic numbers as bank statement numbers don’t lie. If you are creating your Business Plan to attract funding you will fall at the first hurdle if your finances don’t add up. A well written, accurate plan will increase your chances of success.
5. Thoughtful
Be thoughtful and consider your audience. Whether you are seeking investment or a business partner, a Business Plan should be developed with your target audience in mind.
Do you need a Business Planning Consultant? Contact Maria at Be Rescued to find out more.
The key elements of a Business Plan
What you need to include and consider when writing a Business Plan:
Executive Summary
Your Business Plan should open with an Executive Summary. This is where you outline your vision, your product/service offering and your numbers. Time spent on this section will pay dividends as it will help to make a good impression and crucially give you as the business owner confidence in your business and its potential for success.
Building the Business Plan
When building a Business Plan you need to bring together lots of elements of your business and show how they will contribute to its success.
Sections in your plan will include Operational, e.g. your business legal structure, your products/services descriptions etc., Marketing, e.g. your pricing policy, your customer profiles etc. and People, e.g. details of your team whether you have in-house or external support.
Test the Business Plan and make it happen
The final stage of the Business Plan is testing. You need to evaluate the plan and adjust it based on your findings. Review your plan to optimise its chance of success.
When you are happy with your Business Plan, start using it and make everything happen.
A Business Plan will help you get where you want to be in business.
Make sure you return to your plan to assess what works and what doesn’t. You can tweak any successful activities and repeat them in your plan. Likewise, if anything doesn’t work, ditch it in favour of things that do. Your Business Plan can guide you for many years to come.
Key takeaways
Your Business Plan is a blueprint for business success. To create a successful Business Plan do your research, consider your target audience and cover key elements including Operations and Marketing. Testing and revising your plan accordingly is a must to ensure it works effectively and acts as a trusted guide for the future of your business.
At Be Rescued, we love helping small business owners. Over the coming months we’ll be looking at Business Planning in-depth so keep an eye on our Blog for top tips on how to write your Executive Summary, build your Business Plan and much more!
Whether you want to build a Business Plan from scratch or update your existing plan, we can help your business. Sometimes it really helps if you have someone with experience to review your plan. Maria at Be Rescued can be a fresh pair of eyes and suggest any revisions to boost your Business Plan. Contact Maria for small business planning advice.