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February 21, 2021
Creating a strong business plan is one of the necessary steps when launching a startup. A business plan is an initial map that a company uses to determine its growth trajectory and includes details that will allow such entities as funding organizations, banks and potential partners to see the founder’s vision. Here’s the step-by-step, comprehensive guide to creating a great business plan for your company.
There are two common types of business plan format, traditional and lean startup. Traditional business plans use a standard structure and include details of each section. However, lean startup business plans focus on summarizing only the most vital points. A lean startup plan contains only essential elements, such as what you plan to do, how you plan to do it, and how you will succeed. It includes information about your company’s value proposition, resources, partnerships, infrastructure, customers and finances.
Start your business plan with a clear and compelling statement about the unique value your company brings to the market. An executive summary is a brief outline of your company’s objectives and goals that includes:
Your company description can include:
You can detail market opportunities for your business by answering the following questions:
The competition analysis section includes your competitive advantages that can make your business a success. You can find your competitors’ marketing strategies by tracking their news, public relations, blogs, social media posts, and their reviews and recommendations. Your competition analysis can include:
Your product or service section explains the nature of your product or service, its uses, and its value. It may also include the following information:
Your marketing and sales strategy should evolve and change to fit your unique needs. A good marketing plan can result in higher sales and profits. Your goal in this section is to
Here you can outline your complete funding requirements to pitch investors, such as:
Financial projections help investors or lenders evaluate a company’s potential for success. If a business seeks outside funding, providing comprehensive financial reports and analysis is critical. Most business plans include the following three reports or forecasts:
Describes the company cash position, including assets, liabilities, shareholders, and earnings. It indicates the financial health of a business.
Such statements show whether a company will be profitable during a given period.
It projects revenue required to cover all fixed and variable expenses. It shows when, under specific conditions, a business can expect to become profitable.
The above projections can provide you with a financial outlook for the next five years.
A business plan helps you analyze and evaluate your customer demographics, buying cycles, and willingness to adopt new products and services. You can include the following information in this section.
Your business plan should detail strategies for managing, staffing, manufacturing and all other day-to-day operations. The operations section of your business plan may include:
Use your appendix to provide supporting documents, such as credit histories, product pictures, letters of reference, legal agreements, permits, and other contracts. Here you can inform about the businesses or services you’ll work with to run your business, such as suppliers, manufacturers and subcontractors.
Our team is made up of seasoned professionals who bring years of industry experience to the table. You gain a trusted advisor who understands your business inside out.
Say goodbye to the hassles of hiring, training and managing in-house finance teams. You will never have to worry about unexpected leave of absence or retraining new employees.
Whether you’re a small business or a global powerhouse, our solutions scale with your needs. We eliminate inefficiencies, reduce costs and help you focus on growing your business.
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