Rightly said by Antoine de Saint that “A goal without
a plan is just a wish”
The proverb is enough to gauge the importance of
planning in all our activities. Least to say a business without a
plan is worthless and will always be in precarious state. A business
plan consists of set of goals, the worthiness and effectiveness
of those goals and the roadmap for reaching those goals. Writing a
business plan is necessary for the smooth functioning of the
business, so that any deviation can be spotted and necessary
preventive measures can be taken.
Planning is of prime importance for startups wherein
they can get funding based on the viability of their planning, but
this basic assumption that planning is necessary only for startups is
becoming a long time myth. In order to take advantage of new
opportunity as well as address changes in the current market
scenario, even an established entrepreneurs needs strong business
plan. Planning is a critical growth driver and helps in spotting
potential problems before they would actually occur and hamper the
business.
Following points should be included in a business
plan although based on the audience this could be tweaked, but a
basic framework remains same
- Executive summary—It’s a short description of what solution your plan provides, what are the target markets for it , its key financial highpoints and brief managerial roles
- Research— All the research work done in order to arrive at this planning should be summarized and briefed in the planning. This aspects is necessary in order to understand the feasibility of the business in the real world
- Product, services and other resource requirement— Under this section you basically pen down the overall requirement of business plans in terms of technology, services and key resource requirements. It can also include the use of someone else patents.
- Operational planning—It includes the physical business setup, task specific responsibilities and as a whole how the business will function.
- Target Market—The emphasis here should be on which market should be chosen based on the above research and why the specific market is target based on its potentials. Such business plans also include strategies for reaching the market, sales promotions and all the marketing and sales planning.
- Financial Planning—This is of utmost importance if we are planning to reach out to investors and basically get our funding requirements. Financial planning will include all the sales forecasting, cash flow statements and all the future profits as well as investment requirements.
Lastly, the effectiveness of a business plan
depends upon it successful implementation. Amendments are a sure
thing, but only after careful consideration. Finally a scheduled
review is what keeps the planning and actual work alike.
