Tips for writing a great business plan
A business plan is a written guide that outlines your goals and details on how to go about achieving them. It can be a blueprint of your cost estimates, strategies, and laying down the steps to realize your ideas.
It is also a way to share your business vision with potential investors, and according to Harvard Business Review, a good plan can even increase your company’s chances of success.
Writing a business plan is no easy task, so let’s look at some ways to write a great one.
Keep it straight to the point
How a business plan is written says a lot about the person behind the ideas. It lets investors know how you are as a person.
When writing out your vision, detail your goals and priorities of the company with a clear objective and explain why there is a need for this business and how it can be successful.
You can highlight initial setbacks and potential challenges, and address them with solutions.
Avoid writing essay-long explanations or make it sound too emotional. You can save that for effect during a live presentation to share your heartfelt intentions for this project.
Keep your game plan defined
One of the most essential things in a business plan is your action plan and time frame.
By knowing what your next steps are, it gives investors and yourself a timeline of all the steps to follow and trigger the decision-making process.
It also gives an overall picture of the budget, workforce planning, and resources that would need to be planned out. The plan will later set out clearly-defined roles and the responsibilities as the team grows.
This can also enhance your investor’s trust in you by showing that you know what you are doing.
Keep it accurate
A business plan with a lot of mistakes, inaccurate information, or unrealistic profit projections may hurt your chances of scoring a deal.
Instead, keep it concise and write statements based on actual research and analysis in your short-term and long-term projections.
If you make any assumptions or predictions, back it up with trusted reports, it is best to keep the facts and figures as accurate as possible.
You may wish to consult a trust financial advisor or mentor to guide you along the process and offer you feedback.
Keep in mind your audience
Investors can come in many forms. They may contribute finances or help in other ways. They can also connect you to the right people, supply you with physical resources, or dole out precious advice to help improve your plan.
If your investor is not able to shell out the big bucks, avoid showcasing large projections that might turn him off.
Also, your writing language matters – try not to include too much technical jargon and complicated terms which can be confusing to the reader.
In short – keep it simple, straight-forward, and craft out your goals and timeline as accurately as possible.
