Guide to building a business plan for successful company
Follow this guide to understand why a business plan is important, the main elements it should include
A business plan is a document that will not only keep your company on track with its goals but will also be a vital component to helping potential lenders invest in your business. It's a detailed document that highlights the goals of the company and provides steps on how the business is going to achieve those goals.
There are a couple of different types of business plans you could choose. One is a traditional business plan, which is a very detailed, comprehensive outline of your business. If you are planning on taking up lenders and investors, this detailed account of your business is going to be needed.
A lean start-up plan is a second option. This is more of a general overview that covers key points. This type of business plan will not go into nearly as much detail as a traditional business plan.
Before getting into your business plan, brainstorm key elements to get you started. (iStock / iStock)
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A business plan is important for any company, big or small. As your company expands, your plan may need to be altered.
Depending on the type of business plan you create, it may include different elements. Below are key points that are important to include in any business plan.
- Executive summary
- Market analysis
- Product or service
- Marketing
- Management
- Financial data
1. Executive summary
A strong executive summary will include elements such as the company's mission statement and goals for the business.
In your executive summary, you can provide a brief introduction to your company and the reasons why the company will achieve success.
Every business plan should have an executive summary, which is essentially an introduction to your company. (iStock / iStock)
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2. Market analysis
In your market analysis, you'll want to include research you have done on your company's competitors.
Write about things that make these other companies successful and the strengths of your own business.
In your market analysis, talk about how your business differs from its competitors and who will be your target customers.
3. Product or service
In this section, you'll want to explain what your product or service is and how it works. This would be a good place to include information like the pricing of your product/service and the manufacturing process of your product(s), if applicable.
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In your business plan, you'll want to include a section that highlights the product or service that your company provides. (iStock / iStock)
If you have copyright on your product or are in the process of obtaining one, this could also be discussed in this section of your business plan.
4. Marketing
There are so many different avenues to take when it comes to marketing. In this section, provide a straightforward approach to how you plan to promote your product or business.
Your target audience is going to be one key factor here because you'll want to choose market strategies that coincide with the group of people toward whom you are advertising.
Marketing could be through a website, attending a craft fair, social media or creating business cards. Your marketing strategy will most definitely include more than one method of promotion, so make sure to include them all in your plan.
5. Management
Who's in charge of your business? This is the question you'll want to answer in this section of your business plan.
Include a biography of each member of the leadership team and write a detailed description of their experience.
6. Financial data
Any important financial data you possess as it relates to your business should be included in your business plan. (iStock / iStock)
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Any financial data you already have, like financial statements and balance sheets, you'll want to include in this section.
If you are making any requests for funding, you can also put that into this section of your business plan.