Planning your BusinessPrimer on How to make a

Business plan

http://www.slideshare.net/ArnelSSI

What is a Business Plan?• A business plan is a document

used to detail plans for a start-up or existing business.

• It is used to describe business goals and strategies, as well as provide a blueprint of financing and marketing plans.

• It provides detailed information about where a company is going and how it will get there.

Purposes of a Business Plan

Simply stated, a business plan conveys: your business goals, the strategies you’ll use to meet them, potential problems that may confront your

business and ways to solve them, the organizational structure of your

business (including titles and responsibilities)

the amount of capital required to finance your venture and keep it going until it breaks even.

Three primary parts to a business plan

Business concept• Discuss the industry, your business structure, your

particular product or service and how you plan to make your business a success.

Marketplace section • Describe and analyze potential customers (who and

where they are, what makes them buy and so on). • Describe the competition and how you’ll position

yourself to beat it.

Financial section • Contains your income and cash flow statement,

balance sheet and other financial ratios, such as break-even

Components of a Business PlanI. Business Profile

II. Product Information

III. Marketing and Operations

IV. Finances

I. Business Profile

• Business Name and Logo

• Members

• Vision and Mission

• Commitment

II. Product Information

• Product Name

• Competitive Edge

II. Marketing and Operations

• Marketing strategies

• Manufacturing and organization of items to be sold

IV. Finances

• Source of Funds (Capital)

• Expenses (Cost of Production)

• Projected Sales (Selling Price)

• Projected Profit (Mark-up)

Three C’s in Writing a Business Plan

•Concise

•Convincing

•Complete

Be Concise:

• The goal of the business plan is for the entrepreneur to explain the company they want to build so they will a.) be able to condense it and render an executive summary that the investors will read and b.) have a basic execution plan for the company.

Be Convincing:

• A convincing opportunity is optimized by the right deal, with the right price, at the right time, with the right product/service and the right team.

Be Complete:

• An incomplete plan, such as one that lacks financials, marketing or sales strategy, makes it look like the entrepreneur hasn’t thoroughly thought out their business. This makes them look either unprofessional, fly-by-night, or both.

In closing…….

• A business plan is a necessary tool for all businesses. Just as a home is not built without blueprints or a movie made without a script, you don’t start a business without a sound and workable blueprint.

Further Readings

• For helpful tips and guides in preparing your business plan, download the file Chapter7Businessplan.pdf at www.slideshare.net/ArnelSSI.