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Preparing a Business Plan
Contact us for a template to prepare your plan.
Step One - What do you want from your
business?
In this first stage of the process you need to
think about:
- what are your long term goals?
- what do you
want to achieve?
- do you want to grow locally or
internationally?
When you answer these types of questions you can
develop your 'vision statement'. The Vision captures briefly where
you are going. Your Vision statement should be broad enough to allow
for expansion but precise enough for your staff members to feel they
are part of it.
What specific business are you in and how will you achieve your
vision - this description is known as a Mission Statement?
Increase the clarity of your mission statement by adding your
goals - financial, operational and market; and your objectives to
assist you in achieving these goals. Objectives should be SMART -
specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound.
Step Two - Analysing your Business
There are
a number of different techniques you can use to analyse your
business. One of the easiest is the SWOT analysis.
S - Strengths
- are things you
currently do well in your business which can be turned to advantage
eg. customer service, on time delivery
etc.
W - Weaknesses
- are things
currently present within the business that create disadvantage eg.
poor material supply, lack of funds, out of date equipment
etc.
O - Opportunities
- are
external things which can be to your advantage if you do something
eg. exporting whilst exchange rate low, taking advantage of
competitor out of business for period.
T -
Threats
- are external things which may hinder your future
if you do nothing eg. a new competitor discounting below cost,
Government changing import tariffs etc.
Once you have done this analysis you need to develop strategies
that:
- build on strengths
- minimise weaknesses
- maximise
opportunities
- protect against threats
Check your strategies to ensure they support your Vision,
Mission, Goals and Objectives.
Step Three - Writing the Plan
Remember -
prepare a plan that you can use, one that is meaningful and will
help you manage and develop your business. It does not need to be a
long wordy document. It is normal however that the following
sections would be included:
Executive Summary
This normally appears at the
beginning of the plan but you can only write it once you have worked
through your plan. It normally covers:
- what business your are
in
- ownership
- how it makes money
- main customers
-
anything innovative about the business
- additional investment
required
- long term goals
Company Description
A brief history / overview of the
Company - the type of business, length of time in business,
staffing, assets, turnover etc. To prepare this description you may
find the following headings helpful:
Your Business
- business goals/objectives
-
personal goals
- strategies to reach the goals
- type of
business market
- what you do, products/services
- how you
make money in your business
- how much from different
products/services
Your Customers
- customer related
goals/objectives
- strategies to reach goals
- market
conditions - local, national, international
- who are your
customers
- characteristics of typical customer
- customer
location; how you interact
- how much they typically buy in a
year
- drivers eg.service, price, availability, proximity
-
market share
- potential customers
- information available on
customers
Your Innovation and Value
- innovative
service/product
- how you know it is
- business point of
difference
- competitiveness
- value against other well known
brands
- innovation protection
Your Competitors
- who they are
- where they
are
- most significant competitive threat
- why they are a
threat
- business differences
Marketing and Sales
- marketing goals/objectives for
this year
- strategies to reach these goals
- market testing -
how, results
- market research on product - how, results
-
distribution channels - how
- percentage of sales through the
channels
- pricing and incentives
- alliances - benefits
Promotion
- advertising support for channel
-
effectiveness
- expenditure on brand support
- customer
preferences
- web presence and maintenance
Business Organisation
- organisation related
goals/objectives
- strategies to reach these goals
- business
systems (draw the main steps)
- who handles what
- business
structure and responsibilities
- decision making? - costs related
to parts of the system
- fixed vs variable costs
Management and People Resources
- skills people have
/ need
- filling gaps
- training needs
Finance
- financial goals/objectives
- strategies
to achieve
- financial operating history
- explain
variances
- additional requirements for year
- cash flow (see
finances for a template)
Opportunities and Risks
- business opportunities
arising from plan
- risks to the business
- actions to
avoid
Step Four - Take a well earned break
The above notes are brief but are provided to guide you in
preparing to write your business plan. Remember to have some fun and
call if you need help.
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Business Planning
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