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Writing a well-designed business plan takes time and effort, but the huge benefits you will reap from this exercise are priceless.

The purpose of a business plan is to help you build a business that will sustain you financially. As such you can pass on an ongoing legacy. 

A well-designed business plan gives you a glance into the future and forecasts various outcomes. Even though it’s only a prediction, it assists you in mapping out your current performance and where you’re heading. The specific purpose of a business plan is to …

The purpose of a business plan is to keep you focused on the right things and highlight mistakes that could be detrimental to your business. We’re going to guide you through a step-by-step process of how to write a well-designed business plan.

Be Realistic

Many business plans are unfortunately not realistic. At the start of a business, the excitement causes entrepreneurs to misjudge the challenges they will come across, and overestimate the success of the business.

The effectiveness of a business plan comes down to how realistic it was set up. Before your business goes live, you want to be reasonably assured of a high prospect of succeeding.

Make time to build the foundation of your business. Do market research, analyze your financial requirements, and map out your future strategy. This will be your basis to write a well-designed business plan.

Executive Summary

Any business plan will start with an executive summary. It gives an overview of what your company is all about, the type of services or products you offer, the performance of your business since inception, and your future projections.

It is recommended that your business summary include at least the following information:

The executive summary underlines the main points of your business plan.

Company Overview

The company overview section gives more information regarding your business structure and what exactly it does. 

Essentially, you’re explaining the reason for your business’s existence. How you have ascertained a particular customer need in a certain market and then illustrate how you will fulfill that need.

The overview section functions as your Unique Value Proposition. To assist you in writing this section, answer the below questions:

Market Analysis

The market analysis section of your business plan provides in-depth information about your industry, your specific market, and the competition. When this section is done properly, it will give surety to those going through your plan that you are aware of what you’re getting into.

In your market analysis, seek to include the following information:

This section will take a significant amount of research, but it’s time well spent. It prepares you to succeed and gives investors the confidence that you have done your due diligence.

Organization and Management

Next, describe how your business will be organized and structured. Explain the business structure in legal and organizational terms. Explain where each stakeholder fits into the big picture of your business. Also include an organizational chart.

In terms of legal setup, are you operating as:

Then, make known the background of the key members of your team. Pointing out that you have skilled individuals on your team will give confidence to the investors that your business will have a high probability of succeeding. This is such a critical part if you are planning to seek funding.

Finally, describe any key appointments that will be necessary.

Products and Services

This section explains exactly what services or products your business will provide to customers. Begin by describing your specific service or product as well as the particular need it will meet. It’s crucial to highlight what your competitive edge will be.

Make your product or service really shine in this section.

Marketing and Sales

This section explains how you’re going to get your service or product into the hands of customers. Here you need to demonstrate how you will get customers to see your product or service and how you will persuade them to buy.

The first element in your marketing plan needs to be about your competitors. Will you position yourself by offering:

Next, discuss the specific promotional methods you’ll use to get the word out about your product or service. Furthermore, explain the metrics you’ll make use of to assess whether your marketing strategy is working. Bring in website visits, social media reach, leads generated, etc.

After laying out your marketing plan, discuss your sales plan. This part will focus on the methods you will use to persuade customers to buy your product or service, such as:

Next, talk about who will be doing the selling. Should you require a sales team, how many salespeople will you need, and who will be responsible for the training? Outline your marketing and sales budget, as this will assist readers to measure the scope of your efforts.

Competitive Analysis

In this section, write a detailed competitive analysis that clearly shows a comparison of your organization to your competitors. Indicate how your company will compare to your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses.

Add any advantages your competitors have in the marketplace, and any possible challenges you may face when accessing the marketplace.

Operational Plan

This section of your business plan explains how you plan to operate your company.

Include information such as:

Create a visual format of your infrastructure and add it to this section.

Financial Projections

In this section, paint a clear picture of your business’s current financial status, while also mapping out where you hope to be in the future. This section plays an important role for Investors to decide whether they want to approve your funding request.

If you’ve been in business for a while, include as much past financial data as possible, including:

Your financial projections for the future will either be based on your past data, or industry and competitor research (if you don’t have past data).

Funding Request

In this section, you will outline the funding required over the next three to five years. You also need to explain how the funding will be allocated to reach the company’s goals.

Details to include in this section:

Furthermore, lay out how you will be spending the funds. Will you be buying operational tools, office equipment, or inventory? Employ new staff? Settle a debt? It’s also important to set out your future financial plans in order for investors to know what they’re getting into.

Tailor your funding request in line with who you are talking to. If you’re requesting funding from a financial institution, stipulate a repayment plan. If you’re requesting assistance from an investor, provide them with an estimated ROI. Where you request Government funding (full grant), indicate what positive impact your business will make (eg job creation).

Appendix

To conclude your business plan, prepare your appendices. In the appendix, include supporting documents and information that verify what you’ve set out in the rest of the sections. You may want to include:

The appendix allows you to make available extra details. In this way, the attention is not taken away from the overall experience you want the reader to have when reviewing each section of the plan.  If the reader wants to see supporting information, they can easily refer to the appendix.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to write a well-designed business plan, take courage and start the process. It can only be beneficial and help you to stay focused on your business goals.