START YOUR BUSINESS – BUILD YOUR BUSINESS PLAN

Resources, Outils pour des PMEs

Starting a business for the first time is exciting and scaring all at once. To help you assess properly
your business environment, we’ve written
and compiled a checklist of key steps.

BEFORE STARTING YOUR BUSINESS

A business plan is a formal document outlining your business objectives and the strategies required in order to achieve those objectives. It identifies how you drive your business’s future and aims to make your company successful. It will be particularly convenient when looking for financing, partners or to simply keep a clear overview of your business project.

WHY DO YOU NEED A BUSINESS PLAN?

Planning is essential when you starting a business. Creating a business plan is a worthwhile activity for entrepreneurs or business owners. It can help you:

  • Create the structure of your new business, so you know who is doing what and what you are producing and selling.
  • Setup a roadmap for your business future
  • Get a loan to properly finance your activity

WHEN SHOULD YOU USE A BUSINESS PLAN?

A business plan is necessary when thinking about a business idea, starting a new business or simply developing your existing company. It will allow you to establish and monitor your business growth, to remain competitive and to achieve specific goals:
  • Gain initial investment as a new business or startup
  • Plan market expansion for an existing company
  • Undertake product development
  • Plan divestment
  • Gain or sustaining a competitive advantage
  • Evaluate resource allocation and strategic goals

6 STEPS TO WRITE A PERFECT BUSINESS PLAN

Whether you are trying to raise money, grow your business or just need to figure out if your idea will work, every business plan needs to cover these 6 essential topics.
#1 Business Overview:
The overview is an essential part of a business plan as it synthesizes the most important points, including (to adapt according to your business stage, industry, etc.):
  • Introductory information
  • Business summary
  • Current business position
It is the first part of your plan and is ideally only one to two pages maximum
#2 Business Objectives:
In this section, you should clearly state and explain the goals of your business as well as clearly organize them to provide a clear overview:
  • What business objectives have you set for the coming year (short term goals)?
  • How do you picture your business in the next 5 to 10 years (long-term goals)?
  • Are they SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound?
  • What would you need to reach these objectives?
#3 Structure & Ressources:
Group and organize your business to make sure every employee performs at an acceptable standard. Provide a clear picture of you organization structure such as:
  • Structure of your company
  • Number of staff
  • Key staff, advisors and mentors
  • Existing assets & resources
If you create an inventory of all the resources, functions and operations of your company/project, you can then allocate these into specific business units
#4 Business Operations:
Answer different questions regarding your day to day operations, what it requires, your product(s)’ offering and its different features, etc.:
  • Products/Services & Pricing
  • Placement
  • Payment (how are you going to get paid, manage the cash, protect your funds, maximize your revenue, etc.)
  • Risk management (industry regulations, business, customers, employees’ protection, etc.)?
A company’s success or failure relies heavily on the efficiency of its operations, but that’s not it.
#5 Marketing Strategy & Plan:
Market analysis, competitors review and best practice benchmark is key to start a successful business. Organize your marketing plan and your strategy around these steps:
  • Market Research
  • Opportunities in the market
  • Target market and proposition
  • Customer management
  • Competitors
  • SWOT analysis
  • Strategic direction
  • Advertising & promotion

It is one, if not, the most important step in the development of any business plan.

#6 Financial Forecast:
Your business plan isn’t complete without thorough financial planning and forecast.
BFL Team is here to provide guidance around your business financial needs, but you should start with:
  • 3 years sales forecast
  • Expenses budget
  • Cash flow forecast (P&L)
  • Breakeven analysis
  • Financing needs
Our team of experts will then be able to work out with you how much money do you need to properly start your business and what is the best way to finance your growth over time.

 

Don’t forget that having a great plan  will help you sell your business idea to financial institutions, private funding sources or any other funding.

Contact us if you wish to know more about our financing solutions for your business!

DOWNLOAD YOUR BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE