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Creating a business plan can be quite intimidating – especially if you don't have any prior experience.
It's difficult to combine all the different pieces of the puzzle if you're a complete newbie – coz most things will be sounding like gibberish.
But don't worry – because l have created a 9 step system which you can follow in order to come-up with your own business plan.
It includes the following steps:
Without further ado, let me explain each of these steps.
1. Executive Summary
1. Executive Summary
The first section comprise of the executive summary.
Basically, it includes your mission statement i.e. ‘what your business is all about’.
For example, if it is a restaurant business, you can write something like;
‘We provide healthy meals to health enthusiasts – who’re concerned about improving their diet'
I just came up with this while typing this blog post. But l think you get the idea.
The key is to provide a brief overview of what your business is all about – so as to give a general idea to interested parties.
2. Business Description
2. Business Description
The next section involves the business description.
This is where you describe ‘what products or services you intend to offer’ – and ‘the problems you’re trying to solve with your products or services’.
For example, if you have a day care centre, you can say something like;
‘We provide day care services to our local community – so as to help working class moms with baby care – whilst they're at their workplaces'.
I think you get the idea!
It's just a matter of describing ‘what’ products or services you intend to offer – and ‘which' problems do they intend to solve.
3. Market Analysis
3. Market Analysis
This is whereby you describe ‘who your target audience is’ i.e. their age, gender, tastes & preferences, where they hang out, etc.
This is crucial as it help to define your ideal customers i.e. people who you want to help with your products or services.
For example, if you're planning to open a classy saloon, your target audience will be preferably young women – who’re interested in fancy hairstyles.
If possible, you should go into detail about their actual age groups – so as to provide deeper information.
4. Competitive Analysis
4. Competitive Analysis
The 4th section involves competitive analysis.
In this section, you should explain ‘what makes you different from your competitors’ i.e. ‘why should customers choose you over your competitors’.
For example, if you're getting into the information sales industry (online courses), you can say something like;
‘Most gurus makes most of their money by teaching how to do the business model – instead of actually doing the staff which they teach. However, lm different because I’ve spent 6 years doing the actual business – before l started teaching it to others'.
This will also help to craft your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – which helps your business to stand out from the crowd.
The key is to do some competition research – so that you can identify their strengths & weaknesses – and you use them to your advantage.
5. Sales & Marketing Plan
5. Sales & Marketing Plan
The next section involves the sales & marketing plan.
This is whereby you explain ‘how you plan to reach your customers’ i.e. ‘how do you want to get your products in front of them’.
You can say something like;
‘I will film & upload videos to my YouTube channel – which are aimed at reviewing my products/services to them'.
Or something like;
‘I will solve some of the common queries which people are searching for – then recommend my products as a cure to those problems'.
Or maybe;
‘I will run Facebook ads – which are specifically targeted to my target audience'.
You should take some time crafting your sales & marketing plan – otherwise, you might struggle to get your offers in front of your customers.
6. Ownership & Management Plan
6. Ownership & Management Plan
Basically, this section describes the legal structure of your business i.e. Is it an LLC, or Sole Proprietor, or maybe Corporation?
Personally, l prefer LLCs because they help to separate your personal assets from your business assets.
When you get sued, the legal practitioners can only go after your business assets – and leave your personal assets alone.
However, if you're a sole proprietor, there's no clear distinction between your personal assets & your business assets – thus, you might loose everything.
Thus, it's important to take that into consideration when deciding on the legal structure of your business.
7. Operating Plan
7. Operating Plan
The next section involves your operating plan.
This describes ‘how you’re going to run your business on a daily basis’ i.e. ‘which tasks are you gonna be doing on a daily basis’ – as well as the time frames’.
You should also mention who'll be responsible for doing those tasks.
For example, if it is a restaurant business, you can write something like;
8:00am – Opening (Supervisor)
8:10am – Morning Meeting (Manager)
8:30am – Cleaning (Worker X)
9:00am – Cooking (Worker A, B, C)
10:00am – Serving Clients (Waiter/Waitress X, Y, Z)
•
•
•
15:00pm – Washing Dishes (Worker U, V, W)
16:00pm – Closing (Supervisor)
*I think you get the idea.
But you shouldn't stress too much about this section – because some things might differ when you actually start operating.
8. Financial Plan
8. Financial Plan
The next section comprise of your financial plan.
This covers the projections of your business numbers i.e. estimated revenues & expenses – also, your break even points, profit margins, inventory cost, marketing budgets, etc.
This is key because it’ll guide you when you actually start operating – since you'll be comparing those figures on paper vs what you're actually getting on the ground.
But again, these numbers are just rough estimates – and a lot might vary when you start operating.
9. Appendix & Exhibit
9. Appendix & Exhibit
The last section comprise of appendix & exhibit.
This is where you include staff like product images, financial chats, market research data, etc.
Thus, if you have some product samples, you can take some nice pictures of them – and you feature them in this section.
Wrapping Up
Wrapping Up
So that's it!
These are the 9 steps that you can follow in order to create your own business plan.
If you follow these steps, you can come up with your own business plan even without prior experience.
Need Professional Help With Your Business Plan?
Need Professional Help With Your Business Plan?
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