January 2023 - Page 3 of 12 - BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

How Do Investors Read Business Plans

There are hundreds of thousands of business plans floating around and attempting to find a funding home. I receive hundreds of business plans annually myself, and can definitely state that 99% of these documents are laughable as presentations of an exciting investment opportunity. I am not referring to the value of the product being described, rather the presentation that purports to describe an exciting investment situation.

One of the reasons that so many plans are so poorly written, and there are many, many additional reasons, is that the writers do not understand how plans are read. Investment banks, venture capital firms, family offices, angel firms, banks and blind investment pools receive a stack of plans for consideration every day. Typically a junior reader, often a recent MBA, is assigned to read and screen the plans editing out all of the obvious losers. The remaining business plans are then marked up after sections are read in the following order: Executive Summary, Financials, Management, and Exit Strategy.

Why is the order in which a business plan is read important to recognize? Because, these are the areas that must be powerfully and compellingly addressed in order to have the business plan placed in front of decision- makers. The writing and construction of these sections dictate the level of interest that the original screening reader will express in the synopsis they will attach to the business plan copy as it begins it’s route through the project analysis process.

The Executive Summary is read first. This should be a two page vivid snap shot of the enterprise, and touch on each aspect of the opportunity. The Executive Summary needs to paint an exciting word picture that leaves the reader wanting to know more. Unfortunately, most plans are not read beyond the first paragraph or two.

Why? I have discussed this with investors on many occasions. I have asked the question, “aren’t you worried that you might be missing out on a great product opportunity just because the document has a weakly written Executive Summary”? The universal answer, “if there is no more passion or ability to excite us than we see in a poor Executive Summary, we have never had to look back at a missed opportunity. If you can’t make a great first impression for us, you won’t for anybody else either”?

You only get one chance to make a great first impression. The business plan is your projects first impression. It is the superstructure of your opportunity, the skeleton, and a foundation. If a house has a weak foundation it will not stand up for long. Why entrepreneurs submit documents that do not properly reflect the excitement they believe inherent in their invention is a sad mystery. A poorly executed Executive Summary negates all of the time, energy, investment and innovation built into a new offering.

Assuming the newly submitted Business Plan has an exemplary Executive Summary, and passes the initial screening read, Financials are read next.

Why Financials? Well, the Executive Summary is the skeleton of a project, while the Financials are the muscle.

Financials are based on a set of assumptions that are key to presenting a realistic, justifiable cash flow, balance sheet and income statement. Investors have certain Return on Investment parameters that they must seek to achieve before they can consider any investment commitment. The assumptions upon which the Financials are based must be from thorough research, current market conditions and historical means.

The principal reason Financials lead to project death is that the assumptions are based on dreams, hope and pie in the sky. A rule of thumb for successfully leaping the Financials section hurdle is this: investors need to realistically see that they will receive a mid-30’s per cent return on investment commencing between month 24 and 36 (year 3) after an investment is made. This rate and speed of return must be able to stand aggressive scrutiny. Believe me, investors are manic about analyzing, poking, prodding and tearing apart the assumptions upon which the Financials are constructed.

Good News! Your Business Plan has successfully passed through the Executive Summary and Financials doors. Next up, Management!

The Management section represents the brains of the new enterprise being considered for investment. An experienced (industry specific) management team must be either on hand, or readily available for successful placement.

The downfall in this area for so many prospective entrepreneurs is a complete lack of direct management experience. I recently reviewed a terrific safety product that had immense appeal. An exciting product, great margins, consumer need and obvious benefits, however, the group seeking funding had no executive management experience in any area the project required. They are candidates for a sale or license, but no funding round ever occurs without strong management. Remember: the investment is being made in people, people capable of driving an exciting opportunity to success.

Do not dream about running your own company, with someone else’s money, if you are a warehouse manager by trade but need production and marketing experience to succeed at the new business. It just will not happen, unless the investment comes from Aunt Hazel.

However, if you have strong and direct management experience and the Management section indicates a rounded team, the plan will move on through door three and to the last initial barrier to be overcome. What is your Harvest Goal (exit strategy)?

The Exit Strategy is crucial for investors and the effective management of their money pools. The Exit Strategy is the brain, intellect and emotional component of the deal. Venture capital is a high risk/high reward game. Investors know that the successful investment must pay out large, and relatively quickly, in order for them to cover the losers that greatly outnumber the home runs they hit.

Some entrepreneurs are unrealistic about harvesting gains from their business. This scares investment and venture money. An agreed plan to depart, take profits, sell or exercise myriad other harvest mechanisms at maximized points in the business cycle will be demanded before investment will be considered. It is best for the entrepreneur to be highly flexible when negotiating the harvest. The Exit Strategy is best summarized as an area where the entrepreneur is open, flexible, wishing to maximize profits and make a deal fair to all parties.

Inflexibility is a mortal sin for those seeking investment. I can not overstate how many deals never happen, products linger and die, opportunities are lost because an owner is unrealistic in framing his requirements for his enrichment when potential success is achieved. Leave something on the plate for all parties in a deal.

The other sections of a customized business plan are now important, but only after the pre-eminent Executive Summary, Financials, Management and Exit Strategy areas have passed muster. If your business plan has all four in good order you will be in rare company. Too many entrepreneurs dream about securing investment. This is anything but a dreamy exercise. It is tough, competitive, demanding, hard work. If you put the necessary effort into your project you will greatly enhance your chance for success!

Do not take shortcuts! Do not guess at details and assumptions! Do not fill in the blanks on a store bought template! Do not offer your opportunity for review until you have a professional, exciting presentation! Your Business Plan represents you, your family and your partner’s future!

Importance of Business Forms

Anybody interested in taking their business to the next level will probably be thinking about getting business forms. Customers are always impressed by good forms because they exude professionalism of the company. There are business owners who get customised forms to streamline their organisational procedure and do it in a big way getting successful all the while. There are several software in the market that aims to elevate your business dealings to the next level by providing good quality, printable interactive business forms.

These electronic business forms are built with a speed and precision that can never be compared to any paperwork. Not only that, the e-business forms allows for faster interaction with the target segment because they are sent across as emails and attachments. It is also received well by the target audience because they don’t have to do any writing work to get the forms filled.

There are different formats of business forms depending on the templates that you download from the net. Programming languages like Java and ABAP create first class interactive business forms that are appreciated by the clients because of the ease of use. Once these templates are downloaded from the internet, they can be customised to suit different needs that come with the nature of the business. There are some forms that you can integrate and create new ones. These are mostly done for industrial, banking, educational and government purposes.

Sending customisable forms makes your business more classy and professional. It is an investment that you will have to make, but the returns are worth the money you spend on it. There are several free business templates that you can download from the net. These templates files come with all the basic functions that you would need. These can be later tailor made to suit your requirements. Some of the websites that offer free download-able templates also allow them to be printed, so that makes the job much easier for you. Getting these forms also saves a lot of time and money because the reach is more and you can be sure that they actually get them instead of it going into the trash can. These online business forms encourage people to respond and interact.

Diversifying Essentials of Event Planning

Celebration of events either on religious grounds or social; are something to cheer for all of us. It is an opportunity which is driven by the precise deficiency of joy and gets togetherness. The biggest event which we all are looking forward to participate is Christmas and this is the event where we all wish to hang around. In true sense of enjoyment for any person, attending Christmas party is like oxygen. Therefore, if you are planning to bring together all your friends and family members on this Christmas, then throwing a party is the most appropriate and desired way. This is the platform where everyone will ultimately acknowledge your efforts and keep remember it for longer period of time. Before starting planning, most important step that should be followed on first priority is determining purpose. You have to determine in your party for which purpose you are going to arrange.

What event needs to be organized?

It is considerable to understand that events come in our lives in all forms and sizes. As a result, every event is required to be planned systematically in order to successfully organize. There are certainly other events which we might have seen around like; a sports day in a school, featuring a pop festival or wedding event. Hence I can say every event equally required proper planning if you wish to enjoy it. The people around you are very busy and they don’t have much time to come and enjoy every event. They have their own goals and there comes the importance of event planning. Solid event planning is very significant for a successful event.

What are essentials for successful event planning?

Here are some basic essentials which you must keep in your pocket while planning an event;

• Budgeting

What budget do you have and can arrange because a car can only run for certain miles if it has desire gasoline.

• Establishing dates and alternate dates

Your schedule is most important because you must take care of timing and date, enabling all to come and enjoy.

• Selection and reservation of event place

Where you wish to see your loves one to be with you while enjoying party? You are the only one who can answer this question. It can be your lawn or roof top as well as expensive hotel or picnic point.

• Acquiring permits

If it is place beyond everyone’s thinking, then it is a good idea to surprise everyone. But you must need to take permission from relevant authorities or owners.

• Coordinating transportation and parking

If your selected place is away from city or home then arranging special kind of transport can be clicking idea. Well, for me, basic idea is to help them forgetting everything else.

• Food and Drinks

Parties without drinks, is just like million dollars in bank account and you have no check book. Arrange as much as drinks as you can. Let them wet with drinks. Other role is food, and food must be very delicious. Empty stomach always calls for mouth watering food and then you present them they will kiss you and hugs you. Such moments can be life lasting moments and everyone will remember it till the last of their lives.

Is there any other mean to make event bombastic?

There are some other essentials which you must not forget while planning event like Christmas or birthday or wedding. These are discussed below;

• Developing a theme

Help your visitors in dressing by adopting any theme of party. Girls usually get confused about selecting party dress. I have heard some men do calls their friends asking what do wear. Therefore, it is time to make their life easier by selecting party theme. You can go for jungle theme as well as planet of unknown theme. Wild ideas, right?

• Decoration arrangements

Decorate hall, roof or room and place with theme. Decoration plays an important role and helps everyone to get into theme. I personally love jungle theme as it gives me sense of freedom. Place trees and plants with grass and very dim light.

• Music System and DJ

Don’t forget to bring music system and obviously DJ. It is time to burn the place with music and dance.

• Secure Environment

Try to give them secure environment where they can travel to space. Remember, there are no laws in space.

• Catering services

It is a good idea to hire some catering company to make arrangements. You cannot be king of every art therefore, leave the burden and enjoy.

• Portable toilets

Don’t forget to arrange portable toilets if you are arranging party in remote areas. Life without toilets cannot exist.

• Emergency Services

Life is very uncertain and parties usually get ruin when any mishap occurred. Take maximum care of such events by providing Emergency services like medical help or kit and some other basic tools.

As I said earlier, you cannot be king of all arts. Therefore acquired help from some expert event planner or professionals should not be beyond thinking. They know how to manage and they are expert in this field. Let them manage on your behalf but it required lot of money to throw. Money is petrol and it burns all obstacles which can come between you and a successful event. Use your brave heart in that matter instead of mind. Remember my golden words, sometimes trusting someone can take you out of shit.

3 Reasons Why You Should Write a New CV Today

Over the past decade the quality of CV writing has risen dramatically. This is down to the amount of free information you can find online. There are lots of CV writing guides and tips which help anyone wanting to improve their application, and this has pushed the quality up to a whole new level.

Because of this employers are now expecting a higher quality of CV, which leaves anyone not swotting up online in the past. The old style of writing a CV is not good enough anymore and it’s harder than ever to now get an interview.

If you’re worried that your CV may be failing you, here are 3 massive reasons why you must write a new CV today.

It’s too generic

If your current CV is purely a list of all your skills, qualifications and experience – then read on. This approach to CV writing is out of date and not going to impress anyone. But what will help you get a job interview is tailoring your application.

To find out if your CV is too generic, grab a highlighter pen and print off a copy of your CV. Having read the job advert you should have a good idea of the skills and experience they require. Then, highlight all the information which isn’t relevant to the employer you are going to send it off too. After highlighting all the irrelevant parts you will probably have most of your information in yellow by now!

Like so many other CVs you should find that most of your information isn’t going to be of interest to the employer. Now that you’re staring at a huge sea of yellow or pink highlighter, you can see why a generic and untailored CV is not going to get you an interview.

Now would be a great time to start again completely from scratch. Keep your old CV so you have all your work history, but create a new one which now takes into consideration what the company wants.

You must tailor your CV to the role and the company if you want to succeed. The hiring manager wants to pick up your application and instantly see that you are suitable. A generic CV will force them to read between the lines, and most of the time they won’t bother.

You only update

If you keep the same CV and simply keep updating it every time you change jobs, you definitely need a new CV. Your old and tired CV is going to continue to slowly step out of favour with its design and content.

“Tailor your CV. Look at the company’s website and social media accounts, look to see if they’ve recently been mentioned in the local press and use the job advert to make sure your CV is targeted to the role and employer.”

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/how-to-write-a-cv

We’ve already covered the topic of tailoring your CV to the role, and by doing that you will prevent this from happening. You don’t need to keep making small updates if you always write a brand new CV every time you apply. Even if you’re applying to numerous employers for the same job title, you should still write a new one for each – there will always be differences, no matter how subtle they may seem.

So stop making small updates and start again. It will ensure your information is relevant and fresh, and you can also choose a new design for your layout. This brings us on to…

You haven’t used a CV template

A CV template is a ready made layout that you can use to simply insert your details. Not only will that save a lot of time and stress, it will look great!

Unless you are a graphic designer or have a keen eye for this sort of thing, you should always choose a ready made CV template. You just have to make sure you pick a good one and avoid any rogue websites. Unfortunately not every CV template website you come across offers the best designs, but hopefully you will be able to filter out the good from the bad.

There are lots of modern designs to choose from and most are free to download. If you can find one that’s recent and clearly looks fantastic, it will certainly help you get a job interview. The overall layout and design of your CV is just as important as the skills you have to offer.

Agra an Emerging Business Hub in Utter Pradesh India

Agra is the third largest city in the state of Utter Pradesh and a well known tourist spot in the world because of its symbol of love The Taj Mahal Agra. Agra receives millions of tourists every year making it the best suited place for travel and tourism industry. Most of the businesses in Agra are some how related to travel and tourism. Agra has some of the finest hotel chains of the world that includes Taj Group of Hotels and Oberoi Group of Hotels. Apart from tourism Agra is also well known for leather goods and automobile parts manufacturing industries. What are the factors that make Agra an emerging business hub in India, let’s see one by one.

Infrastructure:
Agra has all the infrastructure facilities that are required to start and run any kind of business successfully. Whether it is office space, office equipments, production equipments and suppliers, Agra has every thing that a business need. Agra does have very good facilities to set up all required IT infrastructure. Water and electricity supply is also excellent in Agra as it is located on the banks of river Yamuna. The Government of Utter Pradesh is also very supporting and running several schemes to promote Agra as a business center.

Manpower:
Agra has always been a center of education in northern India as it has few world class universities, top notch collages and professional education institutes. So there is no shortage of educated and trained manpower in Agra. DayalBagh Educational Institute, Hindustan Collage of Engineering and Central Footwear Training Institute are some of finest professional institutions in Agra being known for their excellence in education.

Transportation:
Agra also tops in terms of transportation facilities as it is situated on National Highway No. 2 that connects New Delhi and Kolkata both are metro cities. Agra is also situated on New Delhi Chennai main railway line so there is no problem in goods transportation. Agra also takes advantages of Indira Gandhi International Airport as the distance between New Delhi and Agra is only of 4 hours.

Best Suited Business:
Because of very high volume of tourists in the city, it is best suited for travel related business. Hotels, Resorts and Travel Agencies are the prime business in Agra. Agra has been a major supplier of leather goods to the world and leather goods manufacturing unites are also prime businesses in Agra. The city also invites automobile parts manufacturing and trading companies.

Agra also has very good advertising and marketing services to market your business and relatively increase your sales. Agra Business Directory is one of such source and there are many online business directories where your can get your business listed and attract buyer from all across the globe.

How to Be a Masterful Trader Part 4 – A Trading Plan

Why Have a Trading Plan?

First thing is that we have a Trading Plan so that it keeps us on the right path like a road map and if we don’t have a road map how do we know where to go.

Secondly, having an up to date Trading Business Plan and consistently using it gives us the opportunity to keep a record of our trading results so that we can go back over our trades and identify our weaknesses and strengths so that we can learn from the past.

Thirdly trading is a business, not a hobby (remember that a hobby costs money, a business makes money).

Every successful business has a business plan and a trader’s business plan is his/her Trading Plan and the more diligent you are with your Trading Plan the higher the probability you have of being successful.

What Should Your Trading Plan Include?

First, you really want to have written in your own words a description of your Entry Points, how you manage your trade and how you will exit your trade.

Now this will change as you progress through the different stages of being a Professional Trader (from Paper Trader to Demo Trader to Live Trader).

Included in our Forex education programs are sample Trading Plans that cover all of the major aspects of each of these distinct and vital stages.

Your Plan should cover different aspects including your routine, your mind set, addressing your weaknesses and building on your strengths, your goals for the day, week, month and year.

It is important to include goals in your Plan – this is the area where you want to go into as much detail as possible – it is the area that will motivate you to achieve your goals.

The goals section is where you will go first when you are having a tough time keeping on track.

Your Trading Journal (when you plan to trade – including the session) should also be covered in your Trading Plan, as well as the time you devote to journaling your trades and the time that you review past trades to look for areas of development.

Your Trading Plan is a Living Document

You should go over your Plan at the beginning of every trading session as it will enforce what your trading style is, and at least you should up date your Trading Plan each week.

One of my friends who happens to be a trader said this to me once (well more than once) “you can have all the trading tools in the world but if you don’t have a plan on how you will use them, then you will have a hard time trying to be successful with them”

Trading Plans – Your Trading Business Plan for Success

The reason I am passionate about trading plans is that I did an overhaul of my trading plan recently and found that once I had finished going through it and updating it I traded with more confidence and freedom than I have since April 2003.

The other reason; which is more important to me, is that the all of the traders I have worked with have experienced astounding trading results after clearly writing their Plans and using them to keep them on track.

I also recommend having a Plan for each phase of your Trading Business – Paper Trading, Demo Trading and Live Trading. Each phase of your Business is distinct and you should have structures, goals and measures for each phase.

These are the plans that I use when I trade and the ones that I recommend that all of my clients use also.

Don’t Focus on Being the Best, Focus on Being Unique

In a world where competition is the constant factor, it’s hard to differentiate and build your own identity. It’s difficult, but it is possible to be unique!

Effective differentiation is one of the main challenges many business owners face, because they focus on competing with big companies. Here are four ways to help your business be unique and stand out from the crowd. Each one of these factors has worked well for countless companies. How many of them are part of your current business strategy?

1. Deliver Extraordinary Service

This is what makes the most successful companies unique and different. However, saying isn’t enough. You must deliver an extraordinary service that your customers can’t get anywhere else.

If you want to beat your competitors, don’t focus on being the best; instead, focus on being unique. You can be unique and different if you think about offering extraordinary service to your customers that goes beyond what your competitors are offering.

2. Address Customer Needs

If you want to impress your customers, the best way to do that is to meet their needs and desires. Think about how you can solve common problems for your customers. This’ll help you stand out from the competition.

3. Do Business Differently from Your Competitors

Doing business differently than your competitors will help to be stand out. Find and exploit holes in your competitors’ business strategy; this is the best way to be unique.

Get into the habit of analyzing your competitors regularly. Find out the products/services they offer, how much they sell them for and how they run their company. This information can make your business stand out from the rest. For instance, if a competitor sells a product at a low price, you can lower your price.

Remember, your goal should be to give customers a reason to do business with you and this could be one way to help achieve this goal.

When looking at your competitor’s business strategy, don’t just copy what they have. Instead, focus on their weaknesses and see how you can improve on them. Being innovative will help your business become better and different. How you can do the same thing differently?

4. Give a Powerful Offer or Guarantee

Offers and guarantees are the best ways to reduce the perceived risk of buying your products/services. Removing the reluctance for making a purchase can generate more sales. Also, a guarantee will make your company seem more trustworthy and likable.

For instance, you can make sure you answer every email or social media query within one or two hours. This will improve your responsiveness, and it will give customers more reason to contact you and do business with you.

Innovation is a common characteristic among successful organizations. If your business is innovative and unique, it’ll grow fast. So, if you want to take your business to the next level, focus on being unique, and don’t copy your competitors’ business strategy.

Succession Planning For Business

For most business owners in Canada, succession planning is treated almost as an afterthought. Too often, owners don’t prepare themselves or their businesses adequately enough to exit it at its maximum potential value. This article will examine succession planning from the standpoint of the business owner looking for a transition via the sale of a business within a 24-month time horizon or less.

What can be done to increase business value?

The key to proper succession planning is identifying what can be done to a business to maximize the selling price of the company for when it comes time to exit. A business owner should be looking at initiatives that can increase revenue and reduce expenses and add efficiencies to the business.

– Can new market opportunities be explored?

– Can existing clients be sold more goods or services?

– Can margins be improved via operating efficiency?

– Overall, can more be done with less?

– Can management responsibility be diversified so that a new owner will have a stable base of staff?

If the intention is to sell a business then the potential buyer will want to see yearly improvements to the results. A business that has slightly declining results would not command the same valuation as a company that is improving.

Get your books in order

Proper succession planning requires that the financial statements of the business are presentable. Too many small and medium-sized business owners use their businesses to expense personal or discretionary items in order to save in income taxes. A business buyer that is considering buying a business for succession will be given a big increase in comfort if the financial statements are accountant-prepared and that the results don’t include too many discretionary adjustments.

Tax planning

The goal of succession planning is to not only map out an exit from the venture but to also determine how you can structure a deal so that your tax exposure is minimized. Work with a C.A. or other tax specialist to determine what your potential tax hit is on different types of deal structures (example: asset sale vs. share sale). Knowing this before you list your business for sale will benefit you greatly during the negotiations.

Get prepared for the sale

Selling a business for succession purposes is not an easy task. The process can take several months with false starts and difficult compromises that may potentially be required. Work with a qualified business broker to learn more about the process well in advance of listing your company on the market.

Wealth management

Another issue to consider for planning your business succession is what to do with any funds received after a deal has been completed. Again, you should talk to your taxation advisors but also to a wealth manager to determine how best to invest your proceeds from the sale.

The points listed above are but a sampling of some of the issues to think about regarding business succession. If you are seriously considering exiting your business, the best advice you can follow is to plan your succession process early. Talk to a business broker, accountant, lawyer and succession planning consultant well in advance to map out a strategy that is most beneficial to you.

Feasibility Study – Securing the Funds You Need For Expanding Your Business

There is nothing quite like owning your own business. It can give you not only a lot of satisfaction and with the proper care and attention grow into one that will take care of your financial needs. When the time comes for growth you might find that you have to seek the help of a set of financial investors. If you have to present your expansion plans to them in order to secure the money you need, you best chances of success are likely to come if show them a well documented feasibility study.

What is a Feasibility Study?

If you have never worked with a feasibility study then you may not understand what one is let alone how to use it to your advantage. This type of study is undertaken when a business needs to make changes or grow and needs t show its investors that the ideas presented are sound. Considering the current economic climate most businesses are shrinking rather than growing and you will have to work hard to prove that yours can sustain the growth.

If you have never written one of these studies you can use a template that will help you to understand what information you will need and where it should be placed in your report. Essentially your study intended to help show your potential investors that your ideas and plans for expansion can and will work as long as you have the financial backing to follow through with them.

What Information Should be Included?

If you are using a template for your feasibility study you will see that there are specific areas assigned to cover each aspect of your reports. You will need to provide a complete description of what your plans for the future changes are. Your report should also include any research that you have completed in order to verify the feasibility of the project and the expected outcome of your project. You must include figures that show how much you expect your projected changes to cost and approximately how much your changes will affect the profit level of your company.

In essence a feasibility study is designed to show your investors that you have taken into consideration the costs, potential pitfalls and any risks you expect to see. Your template will also have an area dedicated to showing how you plan to deal with any problems that are likely to crop up along the way. This is the one chance you have to show your potential investors that you have thought of every eventuality and that your plans for expansion are solid. A well thought out and written report is far more likely to secure the finances you need for your project than any other means and is an industry standard.

How to Write a Business Plan That Works

Key components in and organisation’s success will depend on a great degree on how well you;

can gather and interpret information
adapt to change
manage staff and resources
promote your business
look after customers and more.

This is where forward planning can help you.

A colleague once told me that ‘even a bad plan is better than no plan at all’. A bad plan at least shows that you have given some thought to the direction you want to go in.

A good plan takes time and effort, especially the first time you do one and many business owners or operators think they don’t have the time, or don’t see the value in it. But believe me… it is worth the time and effort!

It is an opportunity for you to build solid foundations for your business, based on known facts and these allow you to:

be very accurate in your plans and future projections.
avoid unforeseen pitfalls and crisis situations
spend your money and/or other resources in the most effective way
stay ahead of the market
make the most of every opportunity
be pro active and choose your own course rather than be reactive and follow everyone else
stop wasting time, effort and resources on inefficient processes and more

Good business planning involves:

looking at what you’ve done in the past few years
looking at where you are now
drawing conclusions from the above two points
based on that information determining your objective for the coming year/s
setting key strategies to help achieve the objective

Analysis of Past Performance

In this section of a business plan you look at the past year (or two) to take a good look at what worked and what didn’t. Where you came from is every bit as important as where you are going. You need to look at:

What promotional activities did you run– for example did you have any discount deals, special offers etc?
What worked? What didn’t?
Why did the activities work so well, not so well – find the reasons
Advertising campaigns
(again) What worked? What didn’t?
Why did the campaigns work so well, not so well – find the reasons
What mediums did you use? (ie Newspapers, magazines, radio. List the actual companies you used as you may have used a number of different ones.)
How much did you spend on them?
Which ones generated enquiries and which ones didn’t?
Did you keep track of the enquiries, if so, what were the results?

Keeping statistics on where enquiries come from can help you to use your advertising budget in the most effective way. There’s no point in spending a lot of money on advertising on television, for example, if most of your enquiries come from newspaper ads or word of mouth. Asking customers where they heard about you and keeping a record is the best way of determining advertising effectiveness.

Were there any noticeable or unusual increases or decreases in your business? If so, why did they happen?

Were the increases/decreases at any particular time of the year, or did they affect any particular product or service. If so why? Do a detailed analysis of product and service sales. How many of each individual product or service did you sell? Break these figures up by month (as shown in the graph above) as this will, again, show up regular high and low periods which will then allow you to forward plan. For example in high sales periods you know that you will have to order more stock and put on more staff whereas in low demand periods you order less. You can plan for these peaks and troughs in advance… because you have statistically shown that they are coming. An example of a detailed sales analysis is shown on page 15.

Did your competitors do anything that impacted on your business? If so, what was it?

How did it affect you?

Are they likely to do it again?

What did you (or could you) do about it?

Budgets – income and expenses. This is extremely important and we will look at this in detail later in the document. Over the years these statistics will build an extremely accurate picture of your expenditure habits and sales that will show trends. With this information you can anticipate what is going to happen and proactively avoid any pitfalls or take advantage of upcoming opportunities. You can forecast – with a fairly high degree of accuracy – how much you will earn and spend in the coming year. While you might have an accountant to look after the “book keeping” for you, it is essential that you know exactly where your money is being spent and what your income is made up of.

The answers to these and any other questions relevant to your particular industry and business will give you a solid base upon which to build your plans for the future. Knowing how you got to where you are now can show you where you went right… and where you went wrong and gives a clear

Conclusions

Looking at the above information – what conclusions can you draw? For example:

What will you do again next year and why?
What won’t you do again next year and why?
What will you do differently and why?
Were there any lessons to be learned?
What were they?
Did you spend money on areas that were unsuccessful / unsuccessful?
How much?
Was this money well spent? Why / why not?
Which products sold well / not well?
Will you expand your product line?
Are there any products you should discontinue?

Overview of Current Situation

It is very important to have a firm grasp of your current business environment. This is where you look at what is happening around you right now. Things that are happening that could potentially have an impact on your business. This will:

give you a clear idea of any issues that might get in the way of your plans in the foreseeable future
give you the opportunity and the time to take proactive action on any of these issues. This is much better than having to “react” to a change or problem that you didn’t anticipate.

It’s like having a high powered torch in a tunnel as opposed to a match!

A good overview of your current situation will involve looking at:

the business environment in which you are operating
your strong and weak points
what your competitors are doing.

Business Environment Analysis

What exactly does “business environment” mean?

At its widest view point it can mean the sum total of a number of external and internal factors that affect you and the organisation you work for.

External factors could include such things as:

Political issues. The stability of the Government can have a dramatic affect on the country’s or state’s economy.
Legislative issues. New legislation can have an impact on your particular industry.
Economic Trends. Are people spending money? What are they spending it on and so forth.
Social Trends. What’s in.. what’s not? Safety & security issues as well as environmental protection issues etc are considered here.
Competitors. What is your competition doing and how does that affect your business?
Technology. This is an area that is constantly changing and can have quite an impact on the way business is done.

Also known as a PLESCT Analysis this is a thorough look at the world around you and the influences various issues may have upon your customers, suppliers and therefore your business. Doing this type of research means that you should not be caught unawares by new legislation, trends, changes or advancements. PLESCT stands for: Political, Legislative, Economic, Social, Competitor and Technology and looks at each of these sectors and how they may affect you positively – or negatively .

Doing a PLESCT Analysis

Some of the issues to consider when doing this analysis can include such things as:

Political issues. Here you should look at the general political stability of the country or state.

Is there an election due? People get nervous around election times and are cautious about spending / investing their money
Has there just been an election? In which case is the new government likely to make changes to the status quo – and if so, how will this affect you?
International economic and social environment – how stable is the situation?

and so on….

For example changes in government often have an impact on businesses dealing with health, education and employment as existing programs are often changed or discontinued after an election, or new programs are introduced. International economic crises often have a big impact on our own market as does the increasing threat of terrorism or conflict situations.

Legislative issues

Have any new legislations been passed / or amended that affect your industry?
If so, what will you have to do to comply with them? How will these changes affect:
staff?
resources?
policies and procedures?
costs?
Do you need to obtain any licenses or permits?

For example all staff working in the childcare industry, or dealing with under 18’s, must have a Blue Card, while industries dealing with tobacco or alcohol have very strict licensing laws.

Economic issues and trends

What is the current economic climate?
Does the current international climate have an effect on us?
Are people spending more / less money?
What are they spending it on?
Are they likely to spend it on your product or service?

For example, the cost of living is currently rising faster than wages – things such as petrol prices and interest rates are increasing rapidly and people are thinking twice about spending their hard earned money.

Social issues and trends

People will often be influenced in their purchase decisions by “what’s IN”, or may wish to keep pace with friends
Environmental issues such as water saving, conserving energy and so on can have an impact on people’s purchasing decisions and so need to be considered
Cultural issues also need to be considered – people from different countries and backgrounds have views and customs that may dictate how they make their purchasing decisions.

Competitor information – This is a very important part of your business environment analysis – you need to know as much as you can about your competitors. Questions you need to ask are:

Who are they?
Where are they located?
How big are they (compared to you)?
Do they have any affiliations?
What are their promotional activities?
How do they advertise?
What do they advertise?
How does their product range compare to yours?
How do their prices compare to yours?
How does their service compare to yours?
What impact do they have on your business?

The answers to these questions will give you an overview of how you compare to them and what you can do to improve, and therefore win extra business.

If practical, a product/price comparison grid is an excellent way of keeping an eye on how you are faring against them.

It’s also a good idea to also do a SWOT Analysis on your main competitors (next section) – you need to be able to:

counter their strengths
take advantage of their weaknesses
take advantage of the same opportunities and
maximise their threats.

Technology –

Is there any new technology available that will have an impact on the way you do business?
Is it viable for you to adopt this new technology from a cost point of view?
Can you afford not to adopt this new technology from an efficiency point of view?
What impact does the internet and electronic means of communication have on your business?

Internal influences also need to be taken into considerations and could include:

The overall economic state of your business. Is it doing well or not?
Change of ownership or management of the business. This could have a big affect on the internal workings of the company and the company morale.
Change of direction for the business. Are you offering new services or products?
Updating or upgrading of the business. New premises, new equipment etc.
Down or Upsizing. Are you laying off staff or hiring more?

Looking at the PLESCT Analysis and your internal influences in detail will give you a firm understanding of what is going on around you, and will help you:

avoid unpleasant surprises that could be costly and damaging to your business
stay a step ahead of your competitors
help you take advantage of new opportunities quickly
minimise the impact of negative trends…..

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis allows you to have a deep down, honest look at your organisation in terms of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and to look at ways to make you stronger.

Strengths

What are your organisations strong points? For example:

Do you have a great location?
Is it easily accessible?
Is it a long established company?
Does it have an excellent reputation?
Does if offer anything unique?
Do you have a lot of repeat business?
Are your prices the best?
Are you a market leader?

and so on.

Weaknesses

What are your organisations weaknesses? For example:

Is it a newly established business and not yet well known
Is the infrastructure in the surrounding area poor making it difficult for customers to get to you?
Are there any problems with suppliers or staff?

and so on. A point to remember is that not all weaknesses are negative and could be viewed as opportunities for improvement.

Opportunities

What opportunities are there that you could take advantage of? For example:

New legislation opening new markets to you
New housing or business developments bringing new customers into your area
New technology that will make your production or processes more efficient
Introduction of new product or service lines that will increase revenue

and so on.

Threats

What things could stop you from achieving your goals? For example:

A new competitor in the marketplace
A change in legislation that will mean major changes to your business practices.
Re-zoning of your area or roadways changing and taking customers away from their current routes (where you are located)

and so on.

Conclusion:

When looking at your SWOT Analysis what areas need to be addressed?

Strengths – what can you do to capitalise or maximise on them?
Weaknesses – what can you do to minimise or negate their impact. Which of them can be turned around to become a strength?
Opportunities – what do you need to do to take advantage of these opportunities? How can you ensure you get your slice of this opportunity?
Threats – what can you do to avoid or minimise the impact of the threat?

The answers to these questions will form part of your business plan.

Objective for Next Year

Having looked at your past analysis and current business situation you should now have a solid grasp of your business and where it needs to go to remain successful. Your endeavours to date will now give you a clear direction – or objectives – to aim for in the next one to three years.

One overall objective will have a number of Key Strategies – each of which will, in turn, have a set of tactics designed to help achieve each strategy and therefore the ultimate goal.

Your objective is WHERE you want to be in a given period of time (ideally 1 – 3 years0
Your Key Strategies are WHAT you need to do to achieve the objective and
Your Tactics are HOW you are going to go about actually making it work

Key Strategies

The objective, as stated, is where you want to be. The key strategies are the issues you need to address in order to achieve the objective; WHAT needs to happen. For example if your objective is to increase your revenue by 10% over the previous year, then typical key strategies could be:

Introduce a new product range to fill an identified market need
Decrease expenditure by 15%
Increase your customer base by 10%

All of which would work towards achieving the overall objective.

Obviously strategies will be determined by your own business and industry needs, so think about the things you need to do to achieve your goal.

Tactics

Each strategy will have a series of tactics (or steps) that need to be taken to make that strategy work. As mentioned, these will outline HOW you will go about each strategy. For example.

Key Stratey 2: Decrease expenditure by 15%

2.1 – Review all current suppliers to ensure we are getting the best product for the best price

2.1.1 Offer tender opportunitities to new suppliers
2.1.2 Research new suppliers via web, phone calls etc
2.1.3 Review all suppliers on an annual basis.

2.2 – Introduce new procedures regarding unnecessary printing of emails and other documents to decrease amount of paper being used

2.3 – Re-use single sided documents as scrap paper / memo pads to save paper

2.4 – All electrical equipment and lights to be turned off when not in use

2.5 – Review discounting policy and determine if this could be replaced in a more cost effective manner

2.6 – Review consumable usages

and so on.

Once again, the tactics will depend entirely on what strategies you need to fulfil and should be as detailed as possible. These tactics will form part of your action plan. If there is a cost involved, or extra resources, then detail them here.

Sales Forecast for Next Year

Forecasting is neither as scary nor as complicated as it sounds – if you keep accurate sales records!

Sales forecasting means making an “educated” guess on how much revenue you will earn in the coming year and for this reason accurate records are essential and indispensable. You need to know where your sales came from – by product or service and even by month or week of sale. This may seem overkill but eventually this data will give you a complete and detailed picture of exactly how your business is performing. For example spikes (up or down) in sales figures don’t happen for no reason – detailed statistics can show up these spikes which might be due to such things as:

Promotional or advertising campaigns
New trends
New products
Competitor initiatives
Seasonal fluctuations
Economic climates and so on….

For example – the Tourism Industry is very much affected by high and low seasons. They usually know well in advance when demand will increase or decrease. Travelling to Europe in their winter is low season and demand is not as high as going in their spring or summer time. Knowing this tourism operators can plan for these periods by developing specific products designed to increase sales and take advantage of increased demand in high season. They can also accurately forecast revenue because they have a solid knowledge of who their customers are and when they travel on a month by month basis.

The same may well apply to your own industry.

A review of past years sales statistics can give you an excellent idea of how your sales happen on a month by month basis. You can read the trends like a story – allowing you to estimate with a large degree of accuracy what sales you can expect to make and know how much you will need to spend in the next year.

But what good does all this do you in forecasting? When you have collected this data for a number of years you can start to build up a picture of:

peaks and troughs in your sales
popular and less popular products,
popular times of the year
effects of advertising and/or promotional campaigns and so on

Sales figures rarely drop (or increase) for no good reason.. the trick is to be aware of what is going on around you so that you know why increases or decreases happen. This is where your PLESCT and SWOT prove valuable.

Armed with all this accurate and well researched information you should be able to make a reasonably accurate prediction on how many of each product you will sell in the coming year.

Action Plan

Points for your action plan will come from the tactics. By putting them into an actual action plan, detailing what needs to be done, by whom and by when, you can ensure that each task (or tactic) is done on time and will therefore take you that step closer to reaching your objective.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is basically it!

By following these logical steps you can:

gain a greater awareness of the environment in which you operate
avoid major pitfalls that may come your way
realise your strengths
overcome weak points
take advantage of opportunities that are presented to you and much more

Templates for building a better business plan can be found on www.lptraining.com.au