What is a business plan ?
A business plan is a living document that maps out the details of your business. It covers what your business will sell, how it will be structured, what the market looks like, how you plan to sell your product or service, what funding you'll need, what your financial projections are, and which permits, leases, and other documentation will be required.
How to write a business plan
1. Write an executive summary
The purpose of the executive summary is to give readers a high-level view of the company and the market before going in to the details. Sometimes it's helpful to write the executive summary after you've put together the rest of the plan so you can draw out the key take always more easily.
The executive summary should be about a page long, and should cover (in 1–2 paragraphs each
1.Over view: explain what the company is, where you'll be located, what you'll sell, and who you'll sell to
2.Company Profile: Briefly explain the business structure, who owns it and what prior experience/skills they'll bring to the table, and who the first hires might be
3.Products or Services: Briefly explain what you will sell
4.The Market: Briefly explain your main findings from your market analysis
5.Financial Considerations: Briefly explain how you plan to fund the business and what your financial projections are.
2 Describe your company and business model
Next, you'll have your company description. Here's where you have the chance to give a summary of what your company does, your mission statement, business structure and business owner details, location details, the marketplace needs that your business is trying to meet, and how your products or services actually meet those needs
3. Analyze your market's conditions
Get specific here. For example, if you're selling bedding, you can't just include everyone who sleeps in a bed in your target market. You need to target a smaller group of customers first, like teenagers from middle-income families
Include both an analysis of research that others have done, as well as primary research that you've collected yourself -- whether by customer surveys, interviews, or other methods.
4. Explain your product and/or service
Here's where you can go into detail about what you're selling and how it benefits your customers. If you aren't able to articulate how you'll help your customers, then your business idea may not be a good one.
5. Outline all operations & management roles
Use this section to outline your business' unique organization and management structure (keeping in mind that you may change it later). Who will be responsible for what? How will tasks and responsibilities be assigned to each person or each team?
6. Design a marketing & sales strategy.
On the marketing side, you'll want to cover answers to questions like: How do you plan to penetrate the market? How will you grow your business? Which channels will you focus on for distribution? How will you communicate with your customers.
On the sales side, you'll need to cover answers to questions like: what's your sales strategy? What will your sales team look like, and how do you plan to grow it over time
7. Detail a financial plan with business costs, funding, and revenue projections.
Finally, outline your financial model in detail, including your start-up cost, financial projections, and a funding request if you're pitching to investors
Your start-up cost refers to the resources you'll need to get your business started -- and an estimate of how much each of those resources will cost. Are you leasing an office space? Do you need a computer? A phone? List out these needs and how much they'll cost, and be honest and conservative in your estimates. The last thing you want to do is run out of money.
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