How to Write a Quality Business Plan

Table of Contents

Business Plan

Are you interested in entrepreneurship? Do you wish to run a successful business? Then you must begin by making a business plan or make one for your current business in case you are running the business without it. Any person thinking of running a successful business must aim at making and maximizing profits. Business involves buying and selling of goods and services with the aim of making profit. For you to be assured of a profitable business, you must make a solid plan of action that is fixed and focused on your goal – making profits. The best tool to use in actualizing the business ideas is making a business plan.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a summary of the steps you have organized and effectively put in place in order to ensure that your business venture succeeds, and your goals are achieved within a given period of time. For that matter, you will take up the role of an entrepreneur and assume that all the risks associated with the business will not deter you from succeeding. The business plan will also depend on the level of your business whether it is starting or its is already established and it is growing. Hence a business plan is a roadmap to successful business undertakings and it is part and parcel of the business. For example, if you get an opportunity to start a coffee shop, you will write a coffee shop business plan and the purpose of this plan will be to describe the business goal, examine its economic and financial feasibility, give timelines for achievement of the goals and state what will be done to achieve the goals.

How to write a quality business plan

The seed of any business is the business idea that you start with. It is this idea that leads you to developing a business plan. Once you start your business, the business plan is periodically reviewed and updated to grow the business. This means that even those businesses that are already established still need a business plan in various aspects of the business. However, you cannot write a quality business plan without carrying out proper research on the business idea that you have. For a start-up business, your business plan must address the following aspects or issues: –

What are the goals or aims of the business?
What are you going to do to ensure that the business attains these goals?
What are the time frames for the business undertakings?
What are the costs involved?
How are you going to fund the business?
What equipment and personnel do you need for the business?

For a business that is already going on, your business plan should address the following: –

Strategies that will make the business to develop, expand and grow.
Future financial needs.
Future lenders.
Future investors.

An established company for example may make a strategic plan, a financial plan, a sales plan, a marketing plan and others to compliment the business plan of the company. Whatever the status of your business, it is equally important to write a business continuity plan for the business. This is a plan that strives to ensure that any form of interruptions to that business do not cause it to stagnate or fail altogether. Such risks are mitigated through developing a business continuity plan. This plan will put in place strategies that will cushion your business and make it resilient in times of disaster, disruptions, pandemics, cyber-crimes, or uncertainties. The business continuity plan will help to ensure that the operations of the business will continue unabated during the disruptions and beyond. The risks that threaten your business will be tackled in the business continuity plan. Once you have researched and gathered enough information on the business, you can then write the business plan with the help of expert writers to be able to produce a quality document. You need also to read and look at various business plan examples before developing your own plan. Take for example the business idea of starting up a coffee shop. You will have to write a coffee shop business plan for this venture. We shall make reference to the coffee shop business as we look at the various parts of the business plan here. After researching and gathering information for the plan, you will make a business plan outline that begins with the executive summary followed by the opportunity at hand, financial plan, personnel and management. The business plan outline should provide answers to all questions that support the success of the business. It will assist in making a quality write up that can be reviewed and revised to give a final document that is precise and concise.

Internal and external business plan

Any business entity has an internal and external environment. The internal environment comprises of aspects like the personnel, the management, sales department, marketing department, physical facilities and all the systems and subsystems that are running the business. The external environment comprises of the competitors, third party interests, external customers, lenders, investors and those factors that are not directly involved in the daily activities of the business. Therefore, an internal business plan will be concerned with motivation, strategic plans, expansion plans, sales plans, marketing plans and all the plans that influence the business directly. The external business plan will be directed to aspects that will raise more capital for the business for example lenders, loaners, banks, microfinanciers, investors and other financial institutions; expansion purposes and future strategic plans and provision of additional information of the business to outsiders.

Step by step in formulating business plan

The steps given below are part of the business plan outline. When you formulate a business plan for example the coffee shop business plan, these steps should be considered amongst others: –

Executive summary – describe how the coffee shop is going to stand out. Is it going to be a sit-down, drive-through or small kiosk? What is your target market? Define your vision and mission. Why did you choose to start a coffee shop? When are you opening the shop? Do you plan to have a trade fair? How do you plan to exceed what your competitors are doing?

Business description – how are you going to carry out the daily activities of the coffee business shop? Where are you going to locate the business? What demographic factors of the business have you considered? Who are your customers and where are your competitors? Are you offering a variety of services for example take away services? Are your operations set on specific timelines?

Products and Services – are you providing coffee alone or there are other products that you are selling? What are your service times? How will the coffee shop impact to the community and the market available?

Marketing plans – how are you going to make your services known to the customers? How unique is your coffee shop business? How are you pricing your goods and services? What are your forecasts on sales? How will you reach or communicate with the customers? How are you going to satisfy customer needs?

Operational plans – what are you going to do yourself or what is your role in the business? What type of personnel and equipment do you require for the business to succeed? What type of coffee are you providing? How are you going to minimize costs?

Management and organizational structure – how are you going to structure the coffee shop in terms of management? How will decisions be made and communicated?

Benchmarks and milestones – what are your projected incomes and how will you beat targets? Check your strengths against weaknesses and opportunities against threats. What is your greatest achievement in the business?

Capitalization – how are you going to fund your start up business? how much money do you need to get started? Do you have savings for the business startup?

Legal entity structure – what legal documents do you require for the running of the coffee shop and other services that you are providing? Do you need registration and approvals from authorities? Have you factored in insurance issues in the business?

Financial plans and projections – When do you expect to break even? What are the expected incomes and cash flows? what are your projected profits?

Appendix – this is used to provide other extras that are necessary for running and implementing the coffee shop business plan.

What makes a good business plan?

A good business plan is factual and must have goals that are achievable within given timeframes. It must be detailed giving all information necessary on issues such as marketing strategies, financial matters, personnel, business operations, capital base and break-even analysis, sales and promotion and customer satisfaction. A good business plan must be Reviewable and updated regularly as the business develops and grows. Keep it simple, straight and short. Your plan must always have the audience at the core of the business plan.

How can a business plan be implemented?

The execution of a business plan requires skilled personnel and experience. You will need to respect your plan and strictly follow the deadlines and timelines given unless otherwise stated. Make an analysis of the process continuously to eliminate flaws in the plan. Develop a business continuity plan to ensure that your business can withstand disruptions.

What can hinder implementation of a business plan

Some of the factors that can hinder implementation of a business plan include poor planning, setting unrealistic targets, lack of sufficient cash flow or working capital, poor communication in the business environment, inappropriate use of manpower, misappropriation of funds, poor management, disasters, uncertainties, catastrophes and unforeseen disruptions of the business. To ensure that your business continues even through these shocks, you must write a business continuity plan to help in recovery from such business hindrances and make the business to resist failure.

20 plus examples of business plan

The internet has websites that have very many examples on business plans. You will find business plans in the following areas: –

Coffee shop and fast-food restaurants
Microfinance
Recreational vehicle
Garage
Pharmacy
Sports
Insurance
Accounting
Children and pets
Cleaning, repairs and maintenance
Clothing and fashion
Construction, architecture and engineering
Consultancy, advertising and marketing
Education
Entertainment and recreation
Farming and agriculture
Financing and investing
Fine art and craft
Fitness and beauty
Food and beverages
Hotel and lodging
Information technology and customer services
Manufacturing and wholesale
Real estate and rentals
Transportation, travel and logistics

How can a business plan be financed?

Money for financing a business plan can be solicited in very many ways. You need to explore all the possible ways available to you locally. Some of the ways include getting money through: –

Bank loans
Money lenders
Interested Investors
Personal savings
Family, friends and well-wishers
Financial institutions
Business grants

How to get professional business plans

Getting professional business plans is easy. You need to browse the internet and access Websites of professional writers such as essaytutors.com and you will get quality business plans from the writers. Business plan templates are also available and you can also be guided by the writers to prepare a personalized business plan.