Five tips for writing a good business plan

A business plan contains key information about your organization, including its market, financing, operations, and future plans.

It is a useful document, especially if you are just starting your business and looking for people to collaborate with. Your plan can inform key stakeholders how your organisation will operate and provide a basis for suppliers or investors to make decisions.

Because of this, it’s important for you to be able to write a good plan. This means it should be well-structured and supported. Here are some important tips to follow when writing out your company’s strategic document!

Structure it well

No matter what document you are writing, structure is essential – especially for your business plan. Because this is a document that will be read by other people, you should take care to structure it logically.

Having a good structure to your document will make it that much easier to read and follow! This can influence people’s opinion of your business idea and its viability.

Content and components

A complete business plan includes the following components:

• A title page with the purpose of the plan and general information about your company.
• A one-page business summary which should be written after all the other components of your document are written.
• A management or operation plan with information about staff, your product or service, location, and structure.
• A marketing plan that includes an industry analysis of competitors and customers and your business strategy.
• A section for your future outlook and how you envision your firm to progress.
• A financing plan for how you will fund your company and the projected costs and earnings.

Having a business plan with these components is a great way to start thinking about the practical workings of your company.

Tailor your plan

It is a good idea to tailor your business plan depending on who it is meant for. While having a complete document with all the sections is a good way to plan and organise your business functions, it may be unnecessary for certain stakeholders.

Think about who is going to read your document and how you can adjust it to fit what they will be most interested to know. This doesn’t mean you should cut entire sections out – potential investors will want to get a full picture of your firm!

Research thoroughly

Your business plan should be supported by research to increase its credibility and viability. This is especially relevant for its market analysis and operations sections.

You should demonstrate a high level of research into your industry to support your strategy. Knowing about your customers and competitors is essential to establish a good business goal.

An operations plan should also be supported by a good knowledge of business functions, technology, and the structure of firm activities.

Review and edit

As your ideas change, so should your document. Make sure that it is updated and edited as you come up with new strategies or make new discoveries!

Your plan could contain your latest insights and ideas – only then can it represent your business well. Review and edit constantly to ensure it is getting the latest updates!