Make Sure You Have A Business Plan

The first point to keep in mind about business plans is… have a business plan! This may seem obvious but is overlooked. Many people start businesses without a plan; sometimes it can come from sheer bravado, thinking “I don’t need a plan”, or alternatively you might hear “It’s all inside my head, that’s my business plan”. The reality is no matter how much you work with things in your head, no matter how confident you may be and how much you think you already have a great vision for your business, there are so many great reasons why you should get it down on paper.

Most of all if you are seeking funding for your business, it will be absolutely crucial to go along and show someone an actual plan, because there will be very few people who will loan you money on the basis of what’s just in your head. So it’s pivotal to have a plan and be committed to preparing that document. If you are someone who shies away from planning, or you don’t like writing or preparing documents, nevertheless you are going to have to force yourself on this occasion. I say that because it is such a key document for the future success of your business, such a tool throughout its development to return and refer to.

Have An Overall Vision

When writing your business plan it is really important to have an overriding vision of what your business is going to do, what it is going to be, and what you want to achieve. Very often it is tempting to get straight into the technical details, the monetary concerns, financial matters, where you will be sourcing supplies, etc. Now all these things will be vital in your business plan, but it has to be held together by a coherent, broader vision.

Remember the proverbial expression ‘not seeing the wood for the trees’? You need to see the ‘wood’ first, then delve in and start examining the individual ‘trees’, meaning the individual items which you will be breaking down later. So a great point is to make sure that you have that overarching vision – and if you cannot find one, then maybe it is an indication that you are obsessing on a few technical aspects that do not necessarily make up a whole business as you had imagined it. A business that makes sense and is going to be sustainable in the future is one that has that clear vision within which all the smaller parts contribute to make it successful.

Contextualise Your Budget

Of course your budget will be extremely important. But sometimes people sort of pluck figures out of thin air, not giving it the context it needs in the business plan to make real concrete sense of how that budget is going to work.

So it is crucial that every time you mention financials in your business plan, to really give them the correct context. When I have worked with clients in developing business plans, there has been a budget or amount set aside for example to be spent on marketing, which has been decided a bit arbitrarily. I mean with no real research, no understanding of what that amount needs to be spent on, and what that budget will truly achieve. It seems to have been put there to fill the need to attribute a certain sum to marketing.

Make sure you are researching each point of your budget, make sure that you are giving it context and it makes proper sense within your overall plan.

Don’t Make Assumptions About Customers

To be an entrepreneur does require plenty of self-confidence, sometimes almost a bloody-minded determination to make your business work. But this confidence spilling over into thinking that you know what ‘the market’ wants can be dangerous, without checking that it’s true. You need to do your research that the market does ultimately want what you will be offering, whatever products or services you will be selling.

That is a great thing to make sure you have in your business plan, that your business will be built around those real customer wants. Do not make callous assumptions, or statements like “I know what people want”, “People are going to love this”, and so on. Have you done your research? Do you really know that the people you will be targeting want your product / service, and crucially do they want it AT THE PRICE that you will be offering it at? Whilst confidence in your plan is fantastic, you must make sure that it does not lead you down a blind alley along a path that is not desired by your target market.

Don’t assume what customers want, do your research and make sure that is clear from the start in your business plan.

Research Your Competitors (But Don’t Copy!)

Every business plan should focus a lot on the business’s potential competitors, because research and analysis of the competition effectively gives you plenty of useful information. It may guide you as to where you should be advertising and marketing, or certain strategies to use or ones to avoid because you see they have been used unsuccessfully by others.

I often see people split into two camps. On one hand those who almost ignore competitors in their business plan, because they do not want to think about the issue yet and feel so confident they have a great idea for the market regardless. But I recommend not being overconfident when it comes to competitors. They are still there for a reason, they are still around and in business for a reason, so view them with that in mind.

I teach that you should seek to learn from competitors; obviously never copy another business’s idea or what they are doing, but you can absolutely learn from their mistakes or see what they are doing and discover ways to improve it. All of that analysis belongs in your business plan: make sure you have your competitors under the microscope and make sure that is a solid chunk of your plan. That is some of the best research and information you will gather about what will make your business successful in future.

Be Prepared For Risks

It is a fact of life that any new business or enterprise has a degree of risk attached to it. Therefore it is important for your business plan to analyse and calculate that risk, showing how you will engage with it. There is no business plan out there that is risk-free, but very often where the risk is higher then the rewards will be as well.

What should come into your business plan is how you assess it, how you foresee anything occurring that could have an adverse impact and how you would deal with it in the right ways. If you are looking to obtain funding from a bank or people you know, it is essential to show what the risk factors are in the proposed business and how you plan to defend against them.

It could be, for example, the risk of a change in the economic environment – what are your contingency plans for that in terms of dealing with such a situation? There may be many other risks as well specific to your particular sphere of operation, but that ability to plan ahead for all scenarios makes for a robust business plan. When I have received business plans, the very best responses come from people who have looked at the risks and have an answer for every question. What you never want is to throw a scenario at your plan and have to answer “I don’t know what I would do in that situation”. You want to plan for every possible contingency, and certainly all the major risks to the ongoing success of your business.

Obtain Feedback On Your Plan

When writing a business plan you sometimes end up locking yourself away. You might have unique ideas which lead you to seek some isolation and secrecy, or if you are going to be a sole trader you may only have one person to consult namely yourself. But it is fantastic to try and get broader input on your business plan – whether from a professional, or simply from friends and family whom you trust. I say that because of course you need to be careful with commercially sensitive ideas, as you do not want to pass your plan on to someone in the pub who then starts your idea before you across the road.

But do not be too paranoid, make sure you are showing it to people you trust, whose feedback you welcome and can be genuinely useful in guiding how the plan takes shape. Very often when working as individuals we get very close to certain details and miss out a big thing that has slipped your mind. You can concentrate so much on essential financials and supply logistics, but overlook other issues like marketing or opening times. By showing the plan to someone you trust, they can have a look and see what might be missing or worth developing more. Getting that valuable second opinion on how robust your idea is will put you in a much better position to start and keep going successfully.

Whether you are a veteran business owner, have recently begun your own venture, or are still in the dreaming stages, you have invariably spent many hours thinking about and envisioning your organization. While it is always exciting to try to realize your dream in your mind and to project that image into your future, the realization that barriers, stumbling blocks, and necessary “to-do’s” exist. These subjects range from broad to very specific, and can include questions such as:

• Who is my ideal client?
• What would be a good name for my organization?
• What is my unique selling proposition (USP)?
• How will I balance my work life with my personal life?
• How big do I want this business to be?
• Do I have the necessary resources? If not, where can I get them? If so, how do I most effectively utilize them?

The list goes on for pages and pages; indeed, there are numerous resources that outline these very details, and putting some time into exploring these ideas is always a smart move. For some specific ideas, check out some of the free articles on offer by MEG Enterprises.

The reasoning behind developing a business plan for businesses of all sizes can vary, but business plans are most often created for two primary reasons: as a management & planning tool, and to acquire funding for operational business needs.

Management & Planning Tool

If you are like many other small business owners, you are not only the owner of the company, you are likely also actively involved in the day-to-day operations as the President/CEO, the marketing department, the IT department, the HR department…the list goes on and on! One of the most important things to remember in trying to bring all of this together into a cohesive and efficient package is that planning is vital!

Many small businesses take a “fly by the seat of your pants” approach to operating their businesses. For example, let’s say that an excellent business opportunity arose for you, an opportunity that would net your business $5,000 over the next 3 months. However, in order to take advantage of this opportunity, you need an initial cash outlay of $1,000. Do you have the resources necessary to take advantage of this opportunity? If your answer is no, you may have been able to easily accomplish this goal by planning for such expenses in advance through a business plan. Even if having cash at the ready is not a viable alternative for you, you may have planned to have a line of credit available for such opportunities, knowing that in your field these opportunities do arise from time to time.

In a more broad sense, business planning helps businesses of all sizes to deal with the day-to-day needs of the organization by forcing the owner to weed through the operations of a typical work day. Business planning will assist you in understanding how to effectively market your business, how to understand and plan for financial stability both now and in the future, how to carry out your daily operations with a necessary level of routine, and so forth. Moreover, while unpredictable issues will certainly always arise, effective business planning will not only help you to navigate the predictable operations, but will also take these unpredictable situations into account. This will help you to deal with these issues with a level of comfort and ease, knowing that you have thought through and planned for such events.

In essence, here is a great way to think of superior business planning. Imagine you are taking a road trip from California to New York. No planning (“flying by the seat of your pants”) would involve you getting in the car and driving “East” on every freeway you come across. Adequate planning would involve mapping out your course, planning where to stay overnight, where to eat, sights to see, and so forth. This is a much better plan indeed. However, a superior plan would take all of these ideas to the next level by planning for “what if”: what will I do if I get a flat tire, if I run out of gas, if someone gets sick, or if I lose my wallet? You can see how the superior plan is clearly the best in most situations in that it allows for flexibility, plans for the expected and the unexpected, and allows you to spend more time enjoying the trip, knowing that you have all of your bases covered.

HELP…I Need Cash! (AKA Creating a Business Plan to Acquire Funding)

Another reason to create a business plan is to acquire funding. In today’s struggling economy, having access to cash as a small business is vital. In developing plans for this reason, a much more specific approach is taken. Here, the plan is created with a specific reader in mind: the lender. Whether seeking funds from a bank, an angel investor, or so forth, knowing your audience is vital.

How do you create an effective business plan in this situation? Well, simply stated, place yourself in the shoes of the person lending the money. What would you as the lender want to read in a plan? First and foremost, these individuals want to see that you have demonstrated the ability to repay the loan with the required level of return on investment (ROI) and within the required time frame.

These areas require that you present a strong case for your proposed financial expectations, grounded firmly in the supporting information of your plan, including marketing, market analysis, business operations, and so forth. Having confidence in your business and in yourself will assist you in demonstrating the potential for your company and in being able to deliver what your investor is looking for. Doing your due diligence and knowing the facts surrounding your business and your market will prove to be of great benefit when selling your business case, both in writing and verbally, to the lender you are seeking funding from.

So, How Do I Create A Business Plan? What Does It All Come Down To?

Although the term “business plan” conjures many negative images in the eyes of some business owners, taking a step-by-step approach will prove that creating a business plan is much less daunting than one might imagine. Although no two plans are exactly the same (the necessary details of the plan can vary between companies), the contents of a typical business plan include the following topics:

• Executive Summary – Sell your business to your reader!
• Business Overview – Giving a general summary of the business.
• Market & Competitive Analysis – What environment are you competing in?
• Marketing & Sales Strategy – How will you “win” in your market?
• Organization Plan – How is your organization structured?
• Financial Projections – Current status and future outlook.
• Funding Sought (if required)
• Key Milestones – What are your specific & achievable goals?
• Critical Risks – What keeps you awake at night?
• Appendix/Attachments

Does this look like a lot to you? Well, believe me, as you truly delve into the details of the plan and your business, you will be wondering why there isn’t more room for details!

The most important aspect of business planning (the “What does it all come down to?” part), however, is spending the time to do your research (“due diligence”) and critically thinking about these various aspects of your business. Of course, it is impossible to anticipate every detail simply by spending time thinking and writing; it is for this reason that plans are referred to and viewed as “dynamic”. However, the more issues and scenarios you are able to come up with ahead of time, the more prepared you will be to handle these as they arise.

So, in the end, I encourage you to realign whatever preconceived notions you may have of the business planning process and view it not as a daunting task or a necessary evil of running a successful business. Instead, view it as yet another opportunity, the chance to help make your dreams into a reality by mapping out the needs of your business, your customers, your employees, your suppliers, your community…and yourself!

No matter what the size and scope of your company, writing a solid business plan and brand positioning statement will help you. Not only will the process of writing a business plan and brand positioning statement help you carve your own path toward business success, the first will help you attract investors, while the second will help guide your sales strategy, bringing in new customers.

With that in mind, let’s cover some tips for writing a solid business plan and brand positioning statement.

Writing a Business Plan: Top Tips

1. Moderate your optimism.

Business success doesn’t come easy. Most new companies don’t actually bring in revenue during the first year. More than half lose money.

So, exercise moderation when choosing dates for milestones, defining management responsibilities, and setting your budget. It will probably take a little more time, help, and money than you expect to get your business off the ground.

2. Emphasize cash flow rather than profits.

Cash flow problems are a leading killer of small businesses, so planning ahead for them should be a top priority.

In fact, the company Palo Alto, a designer of business plan software, says if you include just a single table in your business plan, it should be the cash flow table. You bet investors will be looking for it.

3. Explicitly differentiate yourself from competitors.

If your product or service has enough demand to be profitable, you already have competition. So, if you want to achieve business success, you have to make it clear how what you’re offering is different from what the other guys are selling.

What this really comes down to is finding a niche. Your competitors aren’t fully meeting the needs of all of their customers-that’s impossible. What this means is that you have an opportunity to identify segments of their customer base you can cater to better and convert them.

A great exercise for differentiating yourself from your competition is writing a brand positioning statement.

4. Stick to 15 pages or fewer.

Rambling in your business plan is a sign that you don’t have a firm grasp on your core business concept.

A business plan for a new company shouldn’t be longer than 15 pages, and that’s with tables and images. If you ask around, you’ll notice that this is the maximum length set by many business plan writing competitions, and there’s a reason for that-it’s harder to write a concise business plan than a rambling one.

Writing a Brand Positioning Statement: The Basics

A brand positioning statement defines how you can serve your target market in a way your competitors don’t. If written well, it can help fine-tune your sales strategy.

The quintessential brand positioning statement used in marketing textbooks around the world comes from Swedish automobile builder AB Volvo:

For upscale American families, Volvo is the family automobile that offers maximum safety.

As an entrepreneur, you can use a brand positioning statement as part of your overall sales strategy to promote your business or yourself. A brand positioning statement should identify, preferably in one sentence, all of the following:

• Your product or service
• Your company (or you)
• The category the product or service is in (or the field you are in)
• Your target customer
• The one key benefit you provide, possibly with a brief explanation

You may have noticed that the brand positioning statement doesn’t explicitly mention your competitors. It is implied that your key benefit is something you can provide better than the competition within your niche. You have hopefully already identified this when writing your business plan.

Now, although there are similarities between a brand positioning statement and a tagline, your tagline is made for customers, while your brand positioning statement is more suitable for keeping you focused on your core strengths. If you don’t have a tagline for your business yet, we recommend starting by writing a brand positioning statement, as it should help you pinpoint the direction you want to move in.

Good luck!