How to Write a Business Plan That Will Set You Up for Success

A business plan is a strategic tool to have for any business. It not only helps you clarify your plans for growth but it also helps you understand your company’s financial needs so you can attract funding from investors, banks, and lenders.

Moreover, if you’re just starting out in your business, developing a business plan can help you in evaluating the viability of your ideas before you run head on into your enterprise.

Furthermore, a business plan also helps you determine useful target market insights as well as the competitive landscape of the industry you are in.

While writing a business plan may seem like a daunting task, there is value in taking the time to research your idea and the market you’re looking to enter to understand your strategies.

If you’re unsure where to start, then this blog is for you. Today, we’re going to talk about how to write a business plan that will set you up for success. Let’s get started!

What Is A Business Plan

A business plan is a document that serves as a blueprint for a successful business. It describes a business, its product or services, how it will earn money, its leadership and personnel requirements, its mode of financing, and its operations model. Your business plan can also discuss other essential details to ensure the success of the business venture.

It helps business owners accomplish the following:

• Determine the feasibility and viability of a business idea. Some things may seem like a great idea at first but as a mindful business owner, you need to give them a bit more thought.
• Help create a roadmap for company leaders to follow. A good business plan guides a business’ operations some the first day onwards.
• Convey crucial information about the company and how it works. This includes its mission, vision, and purpose; management responsibilities; staffing requirements; marketing plans; and the competition in the marketplace.
• Give investors and lenders a general financing proposal that they can use to evaluate the company before they decide to jump on board.

At its heart, a business plan serves to make a case for your ideas. It provides fact-based evidence that what you have in mind is reasonable and had a good chance of succeeding.

A good business plan helps you identify the potential opportunities and challenges related to your business idea minus the financial risk. It can help you refine your ideas and concepts before you spend any money and pour your time and effort into your business. It gives you a clear picture of what it’s going to be like when your business is up and running.

Furthermore, it can help you in attracting the right people for your business. It is a useful document for potential sources of financing who need to understand your financial projections and quantify the risks they are taking. Potential business partners, investors, and joint ventures will use It to evaluate your business. Prospective employees can refer to your business plan to understand your goals and how they can contribute to achieving them. Finally, potential joint venture partners

Why You Need A Business Plan

Here are the benefits you can get from having a well-crafted business plan:

It Helps You Plot a Course

A business plan serves as a roadmap that can guide your decisions at various stages of success. It is an evolving document that can be regularly reviewed and adjusted to help you reach your goals.

With a business plan at hand, you can easily track your progress, adjust your strategies when some things end up not working, and it can be used as a reference when you have to make difficult decisions for your company.

It Makes Pitching and Securing Finding Easier

A well-crafted business plan can help you tell a cohesive story about your business. By its very nature, it serves as a useful tool when pitching your ideas to potential investors. It lets them know if there is really a need for your product or service, if your company has a sound exit strategy, and what your financial projections are.

It Can Guide You in Making Strategic Decisions

A business plan helps you stay prepared when you need to make big decisions for your company. It can guide you during times of growth and you need to expand your staffing, launch new products, or make a major purchase. On the other hand, it can also help you make confident decisions when your company is experiencing both internal and external crises like difficult economic conditions or when your current operational models are not working.

It Helps in Positioning Your Brand

As you write your business plan, you can gain insight into the industry you’re entering, the customers you’re going to serve, and the other companies you’ll be competing with. This can help you in identifying your brand’s unique selling proposition and what its role will be in the market.

Key Components Of A Business Plan

Regardless of the size of your company, where you are in your success journey, and what industry you’re in (or trying to enter), your business plan should contain these key components:

Executive Summary

This section serves as an overview of the business plan. Your executive summary contains a brief description of your products and service, a summary of your objectives, a concise description of your market, a quick look at your competitive advantage and viability, a glimpse of your company’s growth potentiation, and an overview of your funding requirements.

It is typically longer than an elevator pitch and can run up to two pages. It describes the most critical points about your business and entices the reader to turn the page and look at the complete details.

Company Description

This part of the business plan provides a snapshot of your business. It contains key information such as:

• your business’ registered name (if available)
• the address of any physical locations related to your business,
• the names of key people in the company
• the nature of the business i.e., a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation,
• the type of operation you are running i.e., wholesale, retail, food service, manufacturing or service-oriented
• the products or services that you offer

Statement of Objectives and Business Goals

In this part, you will highlight your company’s goals and how you plan to achieve them. It gives the readers an idea of what you want to accomplish over the short, medium, and long term and how you’re going to do it.

When writing this section, keep in mind that:

• Goals tell you where you want to go; objectives tell you exactly how to get there.
• Goals are meant to improve your effectiveness; objectives support your goals and make you more efficient.
• Goals are typically word-driven; objectives are often numbers-driven

Products and Services

This part of the business plan is where you clearly describe all the products and services your business will provide or is providing. While it may not be necessary to include technical specifications of your products or services, you should state these pieces of information in this section:

• How your product or service works
• Your pricing model
• How you will manufacture them and how much it costs
• How long the product or service will last
• What customer paint points do you seek to solve
• Your typical customers
• Your sales and distribution strategy
• The unique selling proposition of your product or service (what sets it apart from the competition)
• How you plan to fill orders

Market Opportunities

In this section, you’ll answer specific questions about your chosen market and the opportunities that can be leveraged in it. It should include data on:

• The size of the market and whether it is growing, stable, or in decline
• The market segment you wish to target including data on customer demographics and behaviors in that segment
• The demand for your product or services in that market
• How you can differentiate yourself from the competition
• What do customers in your target segment expect to pay for products and services similar to yours
• If your products and services are a commodity and if there is an opportunity for customizations

Sales and Marketing

This section explains how you’re going to market and sell your products. This includes information on:

• Marketing and promotion strategies you’ll use
• Pricing schemes for your products or services
• Sales strategies
• Your unique selling propositions
• How you’ll get your products and services in front of your target audience
• Your strategies for developing customer loyalty and repeat business

Competitive Analysis

Another key component of a business plan is a detailed competitive analysis. This section compares your business to your existing competitors and potential competitors. You can highlight your competitors’ weaknesses and strengths and highlight how your brand compares.

You can also use this part of the business plan to identify the advantages of your competition in the marketplace and how you plan to set your brand apart.

Operations

The operations plan highlights everything involved in running your company on a daily basis including:

• The facilities, equipment, and supplies you need
• The organizational structure of your company
• Research and development requirements
• Initial staffing needs and your plans for expanding the pool of talent in your company
• Your strategy for establishing business relationships with vendors and suppliers
• Your strategies for scaling when your company reaches a certain level of growth

Remember that your operations plan can vary depending on your industry, the market sector you’re servicing, and your customers.

Management Team

In this section, you’ll cover the management and organization strategy for your business. You can highlight your company leaders, their responsibilities, their industry experience, and their qualifications. You can also explain the legal structure of your company as well as your human resources requirements. Don’t forget to include the salary levels required so you can attract qualified candidates for the positions needed by your company.

Financial Analysis

In this part of the business plan, you can detail how you expect to bring in revenue as well as the funding you need to get things started. It should include the following financial reports and statements:

Balance Sheet

This describes the financial health of the company. It includes the company’s assets, liabilities, shareholders, and earnings retained that can be used to fund future operations or future expansion.

Income Statement

This report lists projected revenue and expenses and gives readers an idea if the company well be profitable over the course of a specific period.

Cash Flow Statement

This is a projection of cash receipts and expense payments to be made by the company.

Operating Budget

This is a detailed breakdown of income and expenses.

Break-even Analysis

This report shows when a business can expect to become profitable. It shows a projection of the revenue required to cover all fixed and variable expenses with some leftover for profit.

Tips for Writing Your Business Plan

Now that you know the importance of a business plan and the elements that go into it, you can now start writing it. Here are some useful tips that can help make the drafting process a little bit easier:

Be Concise

You may need to relay plenty of information through your business plan but that doesn’t mean you should indulge in filler language. Avoid the fluff and get to the point quickly. This way, the readers of your business plan can get the information they need more efficiently.

Be Realistic

A business plan is a document based on factual data. Be realistic about your goals and your claims and be mindful of the challenges and opportunities that you might face in the pursuit of your business idea.

Be Conservative

Aggressive projections and forecasts in your business plan can lead to problems don’t the line. You might end up making corrections too frequently and you might not be able to meet your milestones and deliverables.

Use Visuals

Some pieces of information are best communicated through visual elements like graphs, charts, and images. Apart from bringing your concepts to life, it can also help break up the text and help improve the flow. However, use visuals as needed only and don’t go overboard.

Proofread and Edit

Errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar can be distracting and off-putting for some prospective investors, lenders, or partners. Be sure to edit your business plan before using it in pitch meetings. If this isn’t your strong suit, you can hire a professional writer, copy editor, or proofreader to maintain a consistent tone and voice and to ensure that your business plan is free from errors.

Start Creating Your Business Plan Today!

Taking the time to write a business plan can mean the difference between a successful business venture and a failed one. This exercise not only helps validate your ideas but it also gives you the opportunity to understand the market you’re entering and develop the right strategies.

If you’re still unsure how to write a business plan, you can always hire a business plan writer to help you out! Sign up today for a free account at the FreeUp marketplace to get connected to a pre-vetted freelancer in as short as one business day.