Planning phase of a business always gives us a chance to learn how to achieve great things by thinking out of the boxOne way or another, obeying something to push us makes things harder than we thinkBut rather than to spill out all circumstances that lie down in the course of the subject, thoughtful details always benefit useliminate the damages that may occur during the growth phase.
Remember that ‘’An idiot with a plan can beat a genius without a plan’’.
How to Create a Business Plan?
Mohab Ayoub is an entrepreneur that has impacted many youth with his inspirational speech as a public figure,viral videos on Youtube where he shares his ideasexperience about how to establish a business or challenges that we face during starting a new chapter in our life.
At a young age, he has founded many companiesran them successfully, which still he has greatoriginal plans to put into practice.
So we couldn’t find a better person to get inspired by his unique description of the great planning phase.
Here, you will find everything you might wonder about how to create a great business plan;
Preparing a business plan is a must for entrepreneurs who want to start their own business to be successful duringafter the business establishment process.
A clearconvincing business plan guides you in achieving certain goals in defined periodsIt is also a document that will help you convince all investors, including banks, to invest in your business if you need capital to start a businessEven if there are many types of businesses, the basics of the business plan are standard.
Analyzing the Market
Analyze potential marketsWho uses your products or services? The answer to this question is not just based on guessworkFor this, a proper research should be done.
- Do your research firstIs there a suitable market for your products or services you want to sell? People like familyfriends are a good starting point in the beginningAsk them to be honest with you.
- Write down the demographics of the people who will use your products or services to decide your target audienceHow old are they? How do they get along? Do women use your services the most? Does your product or service attract people from certain ethnic or economic groups? Can only wealthy people benefit from your product or service? Do your ideal customers live in a certain area? Answering these questions about the demographics of your main market will help you predict the characteristics of the people you need to reach.
Estimate the size of the potential market. It will be easier to make predictions after the demographic analysis is completeThen you need to research the numbers: how many children are under eight years old? How much soap do they use monthly or annually? How big are your potential competitors? And where will you find the answers to all these questions? Defining the market is the best place to start.
Take the Matter in all its Details
Put yourself in the investors’ shoes. You want to receive reliableuseful information about the product or serviceDepending on your product, you have to do longdemanding researchMore importantly, if you find positive information, statisticsgraphics about the product, your courage will increaseYour hard work pays off when the potential investor turns into a real investor.
- Likewise, don’t be discouraged if you discover that all or some of your ideas are on the marketDo not ignore this factAre you doing a better job or offering better parts than your competitors? In many cases, know the market betteradd values that your competitors do not.
Take advantage of your competitors’ business plansThere are many well-definedachieved archives of online business plans that show how to successfully penetrate the marketSpend time analyzing the marketthink about how you would differentiate your products or servicesThink about the issues that will give you a competitive advantage.
Build İnfrastructure Before you Start Writing the Plan
Define your company. If you’re not completely sure why your company exists, the business plan won’t work eitherWhat will you do for the others? What productsservices will you manufacture or provide?
- Write down all the needs your company will satisfyPotential investors want to know if your products or services are marketableSo concentrate on the external requirements your business has to meet.
- What opportunities does your product or service offer people? Is it cheaper, safer or more efficient? Will your restaurant offer new flavors to suit people’s taste? Will your new mousetrap help people catch mice before they get sick? Will your new gum scented soaps revolutionize kids’ night baths?
Consider all the benefits your company will offer. Write them all downScratch your mindBelieve themThese benefits will be a major source of motivationwill also ensure that readers of your business plan respectcare.
Choose a successful strategyAfter determining the factors that will provide competitive advantage, you should choose a strategy that will enable you to reach your goalsHow will you differentiate your products or services? While there are millions of types of businesses, there are only a few basic strategies that can make any venture successfulThe first step in choosing an effective strategy is to define the competitive advantage of your product or service.
- Is your product or service better, cheaper, tastier or more useful?
- How can your company be more remarkable than your competitors? What limits your business or industry?
- Your competitive advantage may be in other features not found in competing productsYou may have outstanding service features such as faster shipping, low price, or attentive sales staffThese are not features to be taken lightly.
- Does your product or service give users a certain status? Is it more profitable or more beneficial for customers? Since the manufacturing costs of your mouse trap are very highthe design is titanium, you may want to position your product in the upper marketSo only rich people can get your mousetrapYou need a reason for your business to be successfulThis is the competitive advantage of your product or service.
Establish your companyDecide how to recruitorganize your workforceBy the way, you need to think about your possible business concept while coming to this stageKeep in mind that startup plans will undoubtedly change as the business growsYou will need to hire managers to set up new departments to manage staff or meet customer demandsThe targeted growthexpansion of the firm should be mentioned in the business plan, but this is not our priorityRight now you need to find help to raise funds to help you earn money.
- Investors want to make sure you can get this job doneNeed to hire experienced managers? Will you continue with your pre-existing staff or will you create a new staff? And where would you find these potential personnel?
- Investing resources also want to find out if your partners will be working with you or whether their obligations are just financialYou should describe key management tasksroles in your business planPositions such as president, vice president, financefinance manager,department directorates should be defined, along with who will report to whom.
- You may want to manage your company like a bighappy family, but organizations must have formal structuresinvestors want to see all of these issues on the plan.
Consider your role as leader or boss. As you will ultimately recruit stafforganize your workforce, you need to combine your desires with your abilities to be a good bossIf you haven’t thought of your responsibilities to be the boss of your own business before, now is the time to seriously think about itWhat kind of leader will you be?
Define the priority needs of your company. What do you need to get started? You can either hire a company with 300 employees or connect an extra line to your home phonework from homeAfter all, you need to make a list of the ingredients you needSome items may be material, such as five hundred binderslarge cabinetsThere will be other abstract requirements such as designing a product or conducting market research to identify potential customers.
- You may need to hire an assistant to develop a reversible filing system or a consultant to set up a computer systemIn some cases, it may be more economical to hire a virtual assistant than to have someone seated at the table.
- Let’s say you built a mousetrap prototype from bent paper clipsunused toothpaste tubes in your homeNo matter how good your mousetrap is, you cannot show this model to potential investorsWhat exactly should a mousetrap look like? What kind of materials will you need? Do you need money for the researchdevelopment required to develop an original toothpaste tubepaper clips? Do you need an engineer to prepare the production designs? Will you patent your invention?
- Then do your homeworkCall a real estate agentsearch for rentals around youChart the most expensivecheapest places by locationsquare meterThen determine how much space you needhow much you can pay for the rent.
- Make a list of all the resources, both abstractconcrete, that are necessary for your work to continueWhether you buy high-end computers or connect a phone line to your desk, the estimated total price of all of these will be your initial costsIf an item on your list is too expensive, look for other alternativesHowever, it is best to estimate the cost of each item realisticallySo you will not be broke or you can pay off your loansBe honestconservative when making predictions, but remember to be optimistic.
- In the beginning, everything doesn’t have to be the bestYou have to forego expensive accessories that will make your office look more stylishthat will force you in the beginningGet what you needreasonablyStay away from pretentiousness.
Target funding sources. Banksother sources of finance do not lend money to people who do not have good ideasBanks usually look at the firm’s capital, capacity, collateral, conditions,character before granting a loan to secure the loanBefore seeking resources, you must fulfill all these requirements.
- Where will you find the financing? If your business concept is starting to take shape, you can start focusing on the best sources of financeMatters such as the size of the business, the industry you are in, whether you are starting a new business or acquiring an existing business, whether you have coverage, are among the things you should consider when preparing a target financing source list.
- Your credit, credit assessment,business history are key factors in loan applications.
- You can increase your money by leveraging your personal networks, such as friends, familyprofessional contacts.
- If your investors are familyfriends, you should consider how this will affect your relationshipsIf they believe in you enough to endanger their home, you should keep in mind that you need to be careful in accepting this generosityPerhaps you need to prove yourself first.
- After completing the phase of your business plan that identifies potential funding sourcesanswers investors’ needsquestions, it’s time to increase the likelihood of getting the funding you need.
Disclose your financial data. How will you persuade others to invest? You can persuade investors if you have clear, transparentrealistic financial information that explains exactly what you wantshows that you are not hiding anything.
Introduce yourself in the best way possible. Show your skills, experienceenthusiasm that make you a unique entrepreneurRemember, investors invest in people, not ideasWhile your potential business has a lot of competitors, the qualitiespromises you show in your plan will help you persuade investors.
- What are your qualifications that will finalize your plan? Your resume should be included in the appendix behind the plan.
- Your CV should be where your qualifying skills are highlightedDo not ignore your experiences that seem unrelated to your new ventureFor example, having piloting experience can show that you can coordinate how to safely lead a team.
MarketingSales
Prepare a strong marketing plan. Entrepreneurs, especially inventors, feel that business concepts are greatthat promoting their products or services is unnecessaryThe biggest mistake made by entrepreneurs who prepare plans is the part of how to reach customershow to present products to customersPotential investors, staffpartners; they won’t be persuaded until your idea is successfulMarketing defines how you will position the product or service in the target markethow your potential customers will be aware of your companyPositioning your company means concentrating on the competitive advantages you define: will your product or service differentiate itself with its high quality, revolutionary features, or capabilities to delight customers? Marketing helps you focus on your competitive advantage so you can position your product or serviceIt also determines how you will reach your potential customerswhat you will say to themIf you have the right marketing campaign, you will gain market share, generate incometurn your financial forecasts into reality.
- Consider how to reach your customersWhat will you saypersuade them to buy your product or service? Is it more useful, faster or more valuable than competing products or services?
- Marketing should serve customers intelligentlyNever insult a consumer or assume that consumers are not researching for more informationBe openhonest.
Develop dynamic sales efforts. The word sales includes all the contacts you will establish with your current customersTo be concise, this part of your business plan talks about how you will affect customers with your product or service.
- How will you train the sales staff? Are you going to divide your sales staff into segments?
- What kind of advertisingpromotion activities will you implement? For example, are you going to have one free campaign for two buyers?
- You should also answer a number of questions while planning your sales activitiesWill you be the only one selling in the early days of the company? When will you recruit sales staff? How will you convince your customers that your sales team is as careful as you are?
- What will your basic sales philosophy be? Will you build long-term relationships with a few clients or short-term relationships with a lot of clients?
- You also need to decide how to pay your salespeopleWill they work with salary plus commission? How will you motivate salespeople to make good sales?
Consider the most convincing product or service quality for your prospective customersKnowing your competitive advantage is essential not only to develop dynamic sales efforts, but also to develop an efficient marketing plan.
Plan a persuasive conversation that salespeople can use when talking to customers.
How to Write a Business Plan?
Bring together all the pending information to write the business planYou have completed the difficult part of the research, decided what your business is about, targeted correctlysoldIt’s time to put together the business plan.
Prepare the draft of the business planDon’t get stuck with capitalization, punctuation,grammar at firstThe only thing you have to worry about should be getting the ideas right on paper.
Write down everything that should be in an effectiveefficient business plan.
Arrange the business plan. Write the chapter titlesput the appropriate information under the appropriate headings.
- Title page
- Content
- Executive summary – should be written in the last section
- General company introduction
- Productsservices
- Marketing plan
- Action plan
- Managementorganization
- Important milestones – the most important events the company has done to date
- Business structurecapital value
- Financial plan
Recheck your business plan for mistakesMake adjustments to the planCorrect any errors you findA well-written document is always better than a document with logic errorsa lot of spelling mistakesAsk someone whose comments you care about to readevaluate the plan.