Read on to discover the last 5 steps to create your perfect business plan.

6. Build a simple financial plan

All business plans should contain some financial information. This should include the overall costs of setting up your business. For example:

• Cost to make or buy products.
• Costs for labor and manufacture, including raw materials.
• Staff costs, especially for service businesses.
• Distribution and marketing costs.
• Fixed and variable overheads.

 

Good accounting software will help you create a draft financial model. We’ll look into this in more detail in a future guide. For now, talk to your accountant or bookkeeper for help and advice.

 

7. Include an outline marketing plan

For this section of your business plan, you need to think about the five “Ps”:

• Pricing – how will you price the end product?
• Positioning – how does your product or service fit into the market?
• Promotion – what channels will you use to attract and communicate with customers?
• Profit – how much do you expect to make per item sold?
• Place – what are your sales outlets?

 

8. Plan your operations

Put your vision to one side for a moment. What are the daily tasks that need to be done when running the business? Include all business processes such as manufacture and packaging. Try to cover all departments too, including sales and customer service.

 

9. Get the right people

This is one of the most important factors. Think about who you want to hire. How will you find people whose skills complement yours? And how will you convince them to work for you?

 

Also think about who you want as your business advisors. You’ll need people you can trust, to guide and mentor you at times when you need it.

 

10. Simplicity is the key

Keep it simple. Complex and long documents won’t be read – either by you or by potential investors. A business plan should be brief, relevant and focused.

 

If you find yourself getting carried away while writing, stop and take a break. Then go back and edit what you’ve written. Shorter is better. The core of a good business plan should be just a few pages long.

 

Plan your business around your strengths

As you write your business plan, keep in mind your strengths – and also any areas for improvement. This will help you construct a plan that makes the most of your abilities, while still being realistic. That’s more likely to convince investors that you’re serious.

 

Your business plan is a roadmap for your business – but it’s not set in stone. Review it at least once a year and make changes if necessary.

 

Above all, keep getting feedback from your advisors – official and unofficial ones. With their help, you’ll create the perfect business plan that takes you where you want to go.

 

You may also like to check out our free resources page where we have heaps of free guides and tools you can download.

 

We also have an interactive tool to help you create a business plan, click here to access