By Dr Marko Saravanja
The following are eight steps and tips for writing powerful business plans.
1. Executive Summary
- Describe 5 w’s and h – what, who, why, when, where and how much
- Describe your product or services
- Summarise key objectives, marketing strategy, financial analysis
- Describe key success factors
- Explain differentiation or uniqueness
2. Introduction and Background
- Introduce key products/services
- Provide background information on organisation and people
3. Products or Services
- Describe your current and future organisational products or services
- Explain what differentiates your products or services from the competitors
4. Market Analysis and Marketing
- Conduct market analysis, segmentation and describe your market, demographics, age, income, geographical location, race, culture and similar
- Describe market needs
- Identify market trends and growth opportunities
- Analyse main competitors
- Describe the four Ps of marketing (product, price, people and promotion)
- Describe your sales strategy and the channels of distribution
- Describe your promotional material
- Define your brand and describe branding strategy
5. Strategy and operational plan
- Describe overall strategy and tactics for a three to five year period
- Explain value proposition
- Define key milestones
- Describe strategic alliances, partnerships and stakeholders
- Develop operational plan in a table format describing the following: smart objectives, activities, people responsible, timeframes, resources, required budget, indicators of success and monitoring mechanism
6. Financial Plan
- Describe past, current and future financial performance
- Explain start-up costs and break-even analysis
- Forecast profits and losses
- Describe key financial indicators
- Provide information on balance sheet
- Provide a realistic cash-flow projection
- Define financial controls, accountabilities and name of auditing company
- Describe clearly what is required of investors or funders
7. Management, Leadership and Governance
- Provide organisational structure / organogram
- Describe ownership structure, leadership and management team
- Provide an overview of HR plan, number of people, types of positions and salary costs
- Describe principles of sound corporate governance
8. Conclusion
- Summarise key business plan features, strength, benefits, uniqueness, and profits
- Write a powerful and inspiring conclusion that touches heart and soul of the reader
© Dr Marko Saravanja, Regenesys Management
