Every entrepreneur knows that writing a business plan can be a daunting task, particularly if you’re new to the concept of business plans in general. It’s hard to know where to start, or what needs to be included, or even what should be left out! The good news is that there are plenty of examples of business plans available on the internet, and we’ve put together some of the best ones for your benefit! Check out this list of 7 tips for writing your own business plan, complete with sample documents you can use as templates if you get stuck!
1) What is a business plan?
A business plan is a written description of how you intend to start and run your new business. You may write it by yourself or with help from advisors, professors, friends, etc. The plan will include descriptions of:
- What your business will do
- How you’ll operate
- How much it will cost
- Who will fund it
- When it will begin operating
- Its legal structure
- Its long-term goals
2) How to write your own?
You need to start with your business idea and why you think it will be successful. Next, you’ll create your SWOT analysis that is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The SWOT analysis is really just another way of asking yourself a number of questions: * What is your business idea? * How do you plan to make money? * Who do you see as your competitors and what advantages can you have over them? * What are some possible ways that things could go wrong with your business or how could others affect its success? Write down all of these things—and don’t worry if there are more than seven! Once you have written all of these points down, begin to organize them into categories based on their type.
3) Sections in a business plan
There are seven basic sections in every business plan. Not all of them are required, but most are—and even if you don’t include one, your idea will be better off for going through it. The first is an executive summary , which needs to answer three questions: What is your business? Why do you need money? How much do you need? Answer those questions and then highlight three additional selling points—such as why should investors believe in your business. The next section is the company description , which includes everything from market analysis (what has worked before) to legal issues (how it fits into existing laws). Then comes a management team description , where you profile everyone involved with your business, including yourself.
4) Template samples
This section is essential for writing a winning business plan, but you don’t have to fill in every single blank in your business plan template. It’s important to highlight what your product or service is and how it will generate revenue, but certain parts of your plan don’t need much detail. Focus on including descriptions of what you can do that will add value to existing companies or services, and how your idea could change industries. For example, if you were launching an eco-friendly clothing line intended for women between 25 and 45 years old living within 50 miles of Chicago, Chicago might be listed as one market in your marketing section while 25-45 years old is listed as another area.
5) A step-by-step approach
You want to know what to include in your business plan, and which sections are most important. To make it easier for you, we’ve listed seven steps that will help you write an effective business plan. Check out our infographic now, or follow along as we explain how to get started:
Step 1: Be very clear about your goals; if you don’t have clear goals, you won’t know when or even if you’ve been successful. The best place to start is by considering what financial success looks like for your business—which means estimating how much money you need to be making in order to reach that goal.
6) Things to consider when writing your business plan
While you’re putting together your business plan, there are a few things you should keep in mind. There’s no one perfect way to create your plan, but understanding what makes a good business plan will help you develop your ideas and goals into an effective strategy that you can use to get funding. Some of these points may seem obvious, but they will help as you put together your plan. Remember, that as with all tools and templates, what works for some businesses may not work for others. The most important thing is to make sure that your plan includes information about how your business will operate and why it will be successful.
7) Helpful tips and tricks
Some business plans are more detailed than others, but all of them should have at least some of these elements: A summary: This is usually one or two paragraphs that quickly describe your business and what you plan to do with it. An executive summary: Similar to a summary, but typically shorter and more formal. It’s normally included in your business plan right before your introduction and is designed to give someone else an overview of what you’re doing without reading through an entire document. Market research: The basics – who are you selling to? Where do they live? What’s their income level? How big is their market (and how much opportunity exists within it)? Competitive analysis: Who’s doing something similar to what you’re planning on doing?
You May Also Like: