Business Plan - MPN

Writing a buisness plan can sound like a daunting task, but it is not as hard as it sounds. When making a business plan we have to put in mind that the outline of your plan has to be what is right for YOU and your business and there is no right or wrong way to write one! You can pick a plan format that works best for you. To summarise, a business plan is a written tool about your business that projects 3-5 years ahead and outlines the path your business intends to take to make money and grow revenue, it will kind of act like a sat nav that helps guide you in the right direction. When starting a business, structure is important, and by developing this written strategy you are essentially outlining every stage of starting and managing your business, break it down into mini-plans – one for sales and marketing, one for pricing, one for operations, and so on (you could also explain why your business will succeed where others might fail). It should show that you have a clear understanding of your business and the market it will operate in, and set out how you expect it to perform and explain any funding requirements you might need. Another pro is that by having one, you are essentially persuading others to work with with you (or invest in your business) and feel more confident in that decision.

To summarise, the aim is to:

• Help you focus and develop ideas and identify your business priorities

• Help you think through options, identify opportunities and make the most of them

• Help convince banks, investors and other key contacts to support and fund you to grow your business

So roughly, what goes in it?

This can vary from one plan to another, but generally they should include most of the following:

• Executive summary

• Business description

• Market strategies

• Competitive analysis

• Design and development plan

• Operations and management plan

• Financial factors

Having a business plan has given me more insight on the milestones my business has reached and informed me on decision making as I moved forward. I realised that my plan didn't have to include all the answers and backup plans just incase it didn't work, it is a great tool for a baseline on how I should carry out my steps and continues to being a living project for my business.

Good luck!