Guidelines for preparing business plan

  • Keep the plan reasonably short 
    Depending on the target of the plan, a business plan should be short enough to sustain interest. If the business plan is just for an entrepreneur, it can be brief; if  it is for raising funds, then it should be reasonably longer but not too long to include redundancies and irrelevancies for a reader keen on specific issues contained in the plan. To avoid overweighing the main text (where necessary) appendices could be used. Readers of business plans are time-conscious and would refuse to waste time. \Thus, entrepreneurs should explain the venture carefully and comprehensively albeit in a concise manner. The plan typically ranges between 25- 50 pages long. 
  • Organize and package the plan appropriately 
A table of contents, an executive summary, an appendix, exhibits, graphs, logical arrangement of segments and overall neatness are elements critical to an effective presentation of a business plan.It is important to ensure that the document is error-free, has proper grammar, and financial accuracy. Indeed, errors damage credibility and can throw an entrepreneur away from competing plans if they are noticed. 
  • A distinct vision 
Entrepreneurs should have a clear vision of what their ventures stand for.Entrepreneurs should attempt to create an air of excitement in the plan by developing trends and forecasts that describe what the venture intends to do and what the opportunities are or can be available. 
  • Avoid exaggeration 
One should avoid inflating sales potentials, revenue estimates and the ventures potential growth.Support by some documentation and research are vital to the business plan’s credibility. 
  • Highlight critical risks 
The critical risks segment of the business plan is important in that it demonstrates the entrepreneur’s ability to analyse potential problems and develop alternative courses of action.Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs do not do well in this part for fear that they will fail to secure financial support.  \
  •  Description of  an Effective Entrepreneurial Team 
The management segment of the business plan should clearly identify the skills of each key person as well as demonstrate how all such persons can effectively work together as a team in managing the venture.   
  • Do not Over-diversify 
Focus the attention of the plan on one main opportunity for the venture. A new business should not pursue multiple ventures until it has successfully developed its main strength. 
  • Identify the target market 
Prove that you know your target customers and the problem your product or service will solve for them.Substantiate the marketability of the venture’s product or service by identifying the customer niche of the target market. This segment of the business plan is pivotal to the success of the other parts. 
  • Keep the plan written in the third person  
Avoid personalising the plan by keeping the writing of the plan objective. 
  • Capture the readers’ interest 
As there are more business plans submitted to potential investors but with only A small percentage of these plans being funded, entrepreneurs need to capture the readers’ interest from the word go by stating the uniqueness of the venture from the outset.One can use the title page and executive summary as the key tools for capturing the readers’ attention and, hence, creating a desire for them to read on.  
  • Competitor analysis 
A business plan that omits an analysis of competitors immediately raises a red-flag to potential lenders and investors. The plan should show that an entrepreneur understands his or her competition and its strengths and weaknesses.  

 

 

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