Developing a business plan is a difficult task. In order for it to be truly effective, it needs to summarize the entire commercial project as a whole in about 30 pages, in a rigorous and structured way.
A business plan needs to have a series of essential characteristics to be really effective : be well written, show the figures correctly and present the data in a clear and structured way.
It is quite common for entrepreneurs not to prepare or do not know how to prepare a business plan correctly . This is an important problem, since the business plan will serve as a reinforcement when requesting financing. Therefore, a badly presented business plan means that the financing request will be rejected.
However, with a little method and rigor it is possible to develop a convincing business plan even if it is the first time we do this task.
Our team is specialized in writing business plans, a task that we have been developing for the last 5 years . Here are the essential tips to keep in mind to make a successful business plan.
STEP ONE: KNOW WHERE TO START
When you're not used to it, writing a business plan can be a really exasperating exercise : there are so many aspects to summarize that we don't know where to start!
The first step is to make a plan . This plan will be the backbone of our business plan and will indicate the direction to follow.
It is not possible to make a business plan without having a precise planning. It is completely impossible!
HOW DO YOU ELABORATE A BUSINESS PLAN ? YOU MUST HAVE A WELL-DEFINED STRATEGY!
If business plans exist, it is because both banks and investors are fed up with seeing entrepreneurs present their business projects in a totally disjointed way .
A business plan is nothing more than a standardized presentation of our commercial project.
But for a presentation to be well articulated and readable, it must be structured around a precise plan .
Care must be taken not to mix the elements . For example, it would not be convenient to start by talking directly about the competition. Another example: the presentation of our project and value proposition must be presented before addressing the financial issue.
We know that it is not easy to find the perfect structure for our business plan . That is why our models contain an already detailed structure and plan, which can be developed naturally. Our business plan models represent significant time savings.
Classic business plan structure of one of our models
A SHORT AND IMPACTING PLAN IS PREFERABLE THAN A LONG AND BORING ONE!
Business plans too long! This is one of the most common mistakes that entrepreneurs often make when trying to present their business project.
It is a real inconvenience . A business plan that is too long is a “brick” that no one is going to read in its entirety. And precisely what we want is for our bank or investor to read it!
Why do entrepreneurs often make excessively long business plans? Because they are afraid of forgetting things, or because they don't know how to summarize correctly. And instead of that, what they do is "put pressure" (forgive the similarity) as much information as possible without structuring or ordering from most to least relevant.
For this reason, we find totally irrelevant informationand the really important data is eclipsed .
A good business plan should not be longer than 40 pages. As in the case of our free sample business plan.
There is no need to explain every detail. The important thing is that the general sense of the project is well understood and that the essential details are included (market, competition, marketing strategy, financial provision, etc).
A business plan that is too long is a business plan that is not going to be read!
LET YOURSELF GET ADVICE TO DEVELOP YOUR BUSINESS PLAN!
A very common defect among entrepreneurs is not having an adequate perspective on their own business project.
It's understandable! They work hard all week and often don't even have time to put things in perspective.
For all these reasons, they are not usually the most suitable to present your commercial project in a clear and understandable way.
Also, they are entrepreneurs, not technicians . Therefore, it is very possible that they do not have the necessary skills or knowledge to write a consistent business plan: good writing, ability to synthesize, financial knowledge, marketing notions, etc.
The most practical thing is to make an honest diagnosisof the strengths and weaknesses of our company. Once the situation has been verified, request specialized advice to solve the weak points.
COLLECT RELEVANT DATA
A big part of the job of making a truly persuasive business plan is that it contains all the important information .
Not only will it be necessary to collect data about the business, but also about competing businesses, potential suppliers, consumer tastes, etc.
Once the data is collected, it must be presented correctly. Don't have time to collect such data? Our models already contain all the necessary information about markets and companies.
DOING THIS HOMEWORK DOESN'T MEAN “WHEATING YOURSELF”!
We repeat: making a business plan is a very fruitful exercise in the long term.
In principle, this will allow you to check the viability of your project, as well as its promises of profitability.
This will also give us the opportunity to learn about our competition, about our potential customers and about our future operations.
It is a highly recommended exercise, which can bring us a lot . Let's not make a "botch"!
THINK ABOUT "FIGURES" AND "DATA" TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH YOUR BUSINESS PLAN
It is no secret to anyone that bankers and investors like figures.
A figure allows to quantify and therefore, to have a more precise idea about a specific aspect .
We will also be able to use these figures when making the financial plan and the study on market studies.
PRESENT THE ELEMENTS CLEARLY AND RIGOROUSLY
In order to be successful when creating our plan, we must write a business plan that is easy for the person reading it to understand.
It is not convenient to try to impress (uselessly) the person who is going to read our plan, with bombastic formulas or endless sentences.
You have to be concise, precise and direct . When it comes to making a business plan, "a lot" is not always "better".
Our models can serve as a sample to present the information correctly as can be seen in our free sample business plan.
For example, the parts on the competitor studies are presented in the form of a dashboard with points of comparison for each competitor, which is better than a long and boring text.
When it comes to making a business plan, "a lot" is not always "better"
PROVE THAT THE COMPETITION HAS BEEN STUDIED
There is nothing worse than an entrepreneur who dares to say that his business has no competition.
It isn't true!
We may not have direct competition (companies that make a product very similar to ours).
However, it is quite likely that we do have indirect competitors . That is, companies that offer products that can be used as alternatives to the solution that we offer to our target market.
For example, in the case of a private service business plan, an Ayurvedic therapist would be an indirect competitor to a doctor. For a corporate service business plan, a financial consultant would be an indirect competitor to an accounting firm. Finally, for a product sales business plan, a smartphone vendor may be an indirect competitor to a game console vendor.
We must present the strengths and weaknesses of our competitors . Show in which aspects our solution is better than yours for our market (these would be our competitive advantages).
BE AMBITIOUS... BUT REALISTIC!
It is very good to be ambitious and show that we believe in our project.
But it's also okay to show our investor or banker that we have our feet on the ground… and that we are aware of the potential risks!
Therefore, let us be optimistic but also prudent with what we write in our business plan.
PROVE THAT WE ARE IN A DYNAMIC MARKET
It is important to demonstrate that we operate in a dynamic market.
Because? Because nobody will want to invest in something that will not be used or will have gone out of style in a few years.
If we cannot present figures or data that show that our market is dynamic or growing... perhaps it is because it is not!
Making a business plan is also the perfect time to test our project and assess the feasibility of the idea .
In our models, our teams have carried out searches in the national markets and have summarized the factors that allow us to show the positive aspects of a market (growth, diversity of factors, new trends, etc.).
AN EFFECTIVE BUSINESS PLAN ALSO CONSISTS OF DEMONSTRATING THAT YOU HAVE A SOLID MARKETING STRATEGY!
Many entrepreneurs do not give enough importance to the writing of their marketing strategy when writing the business plan.
These entrepreneurs think that word of mouth is enough and that their customers will come on their own initiative to buy their product.
This excess of optimism can be very expensive .
Our bank or our investor hope that we have thought of a solid communication and marketing strategy. This strategy is the central axis of the project. Its implementation will be what will allow us to get a constant flow of new clients.
All our models contain marketing strategies, written, detailed and adapted for each project. They can be left as is, or slightly modified (only one text needs to be modified).
SHOW THAT WE HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT POSSIBLE RISKS
Always with the intention of demonstrating that we are prudent and thoughtful people, when presenting our project we must include the associated risks and propose solutions to remedy them.
Voluntarily omitting these risks is not a recommended option .
These risks are the first thing our bank or investor will look at before granting us the loan . For example, in the case of a business plan for a restaurant, we will have to talk about treasury risk and the management of the stock of raw materials.
It is preferable to deal with this matter before they ask us. All our models contain a part about the potential risks of each project, as well as solutions to prevent them from occurring.
SUBMIT A PRECISE AND DETAILED PLAN OF ACTION
A business plan is the perfect system to present our development plan for the next 3 years .
A good business plan obviously consists of presenting a vision of the most immediate plans (how we are going to start the business, for example) but also a long-term vision .
A good part of the entrepreneurs only have an action plan for the first year and do not really have any strategy for the following years.
For example, in the case of an agency's business plan, some of the actions to be carried out in the long term would be to propose new services, expand into new markets, open a second agency, etc.
All our models contain a precise and detailed action plan for 3 years , with quite generic actions (develop the client file", "launch marketing campaigns", "work on the positioning of the website", etc., which we can reuse for our project.
FINANCIAL PLAN: BE CONSERVATIVE WITH OUR ESTIMATES
A successful business plan is one that presents aspects that are potentially achievable.
It is unlikely that our company will generate business figures of more than a million in 3 years if we only have a team of 3 people. Even in the case of a business plan for an ambitious startup, that would not be possible in any case !
It is very good to want to show the bank or investor that our project has enormous financial potential. However, we recommend prudence in this regard.
Acting prudently is an attitude much more valued by investors than overconfidence .
In our financial plan models, we have made a list of prudent and conservative estimates that will help us choose the appropriate amounts.
MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE FINANCIAL ASPECTS
To develop a good business plan, it is also very important to understand it and know how to explain it clearly.
The financial part of the plan is always a difficult exercise that requires a lot of effort . In many cases, such as the business plan for a real estate company, the financial part is essential.
All of our financial plan templates contain explanations of all financial elements . We've added explanatory explanations because we know our clients aren't always impressively financially savvy.
If we decide to make the financial plan with an accounting expert or with a consultancy, we will be sure that this person will take the necessary time to correctly explain all the financial elements as well as the assumptions that have been made.
A financial plan that we are not able to understand has no value
AN EFFECTIVE BUSINESS PLAN SHOULD SHOW A CONSISTENT FINANCIAL PLAN
The objective of the financial plan is to forecast the financial state for the next (three) years.
We know that no one can accurately predict the future. Therefore, we cannot expect to make a financial plan that reflects reality with 100% accuracy. That is not what they are going to ask of us or what we are expected to do.
What is going to be required of us is that we know how to build a solid and coherent financial plan .
It is necessary that our expenses in marketing communication represent a significant percentage of the billing.
All our financial plan templates contain a tab that allows you to check whether the calculations made are consistent. In our models we calculate certain ratios and perform consistency tests. In the event that we have made erroneous budgets, our plan will indicate it. A considerable help for beginners!
GIVE OTHER PEOPLE TO READ THE BUSINESS PLAN
It is important to read our business plan to as many people as we see fit. Outside opinions are always valuable!
If you purchase one of our models, you can request a final reading. we will do it for free!
A CAREFUL PRESENTATION HELPS TO GUARANTEE THE SUCCESS OF THE BUSINESS PLAN
We stress this point again: our business plan should be nice and easy to read!
For this reason, we have chosen the Powerpoint format instead of the Word format (which becomes longer and more tedious).
Powerpoint is a program that has been conceived to make presentations . This allows more visual and aesthetic plans to be made.
PREPARE POSSIBLE ISSUES, DOUBTS AND QUESTIONS
As we mentioned earlier, it is not necessary to include all the details in our business plan.
The objective of a business plan, with the idea of presenting it to obtain financing, is to present all aspects of a project in order to arouse the interest of a bank or an investor.
Surely the bank or investor will want to ask us questions to obtain more information on certain points . We must try to anticipate that moment and prepare the answers in advance.
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