Your business plan sets the tone for the years to come. Careful planning, risk assessment and budget calculations will help you determine whether you are on the right track. Careful financial and growth projecting can make all the difference in the world.
When drafting a business plan, you will have to work on several key components. Here are some of the most important elements to consider when writing the document.
Executive Summary
The executive summary is the first part of any business plan. It serves as an overview and it tends to be the component that investors examine. A well-written executive summary will help a potential investor decide whether to keep on reading your business growth plan.
The executive summary should include the company’s goals, background information, funding requirements, market analysis and financial projection summary. Coming up with a realistic figure will show the potential investor that you know what you are talking about.
Staff and Executive Team
A business plan should always provide guidelines about employee hiring and the company’s human resources needs.
Try to figure out how many professionals you will need in order to accomplish your goals. Break the part of the plan down. Think about the kinds of experts that your company cannot go without.
Consult a forensic accountant to come up with employee guidelines and regulations. You should have a work code that protects you from any schemes and manipulations that potential workers could get involved in. Such a precautionary step will be determining for the security and confidentiality of your corporate information.
Set Specific Goals
Many small business owners come up with a company growth plan that is difficult to accomplish. The main reason for such challenges is the selection of unrealistic goals. Know what you are dealing with and think about achievable landmarks.
Come up with small goals that can easily be achieved. Doing some risk assessment will give you a realistic idea about the state of affairs and your company’s ability to generate revenue right away.
A Marketing Budget is a Must
Even if you are operating on a tight budget, you will have to dedicate some funds to marketing.
A financial plan should always include an annual marketing budget. Think about the number of employees you will need, the ad creation expenses and the amount of money you will have to pay for the airing of your marketing materials.
You can always rely on inexpensive but efficient promotional methods like vehicle wrapping and social media marketing. Still, do some planning in advance and decide when and how you are going to carry out your campaigns.
Market and Competition Analysis
A business growth plan will lack a realistic dimension without competition analysis.
When working on the document, you should always try to spend time on competition analysis. Understand the current state of the niche you are functioning in. Which companies are most successful? What makes you unique and different from everybody else?
Knowing how the market is functioning will give you a chance to select the most appropriate company growth strategy and you will also be prepared to present your ideas to an investor. You will have an idea about what you are dealing with and you will get a chance to modify your business plan so that you have a chance to successfully become the leader in a sub-niche.
Financial Projections
Finally, you should wrap the plan up with your financial projections. This is a long-term prognosis that you can rely on when choosing corporate procedures and investment strategies.
Good financial planning involves adequate revenue estimates, accurate market share calculations, cost estimates and reassessment of the original financial projections. Let us face it, accurate figures will be determining for the survival of your company. All business owners want to minimize expenditure and maximize revenue but you have to get real when doing your financial projections.
If necessary, get help from a professional, especially when you are doing the financial parts of your business plan. The document is not a simple piece of paper. It can help you monitor growth and figure out whether your company’s performance is good enough. Spending time and effort on your financial and business growth plan can streamline future procedures and increase your chances of success.
Author Bio: This is a blog post by Nick Anderson who is a Marketing Executive at Forths Forensic Accountants. He writes on different financial topics to help people in achieving financial freedom. Follow Nick on twitter @NickNikanderson.