Plan Archives - Page 3 of 10 - BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

Developing an Integrated Business Plan

A Business Plan is a document that includes the qualification and characteristics of the business of an organization, its way of operating, the development of its strategies, its action plans to secure a market share, methods of financing for its investments, and the projections for expenses, revenues and financial results. The goal of the Business Plan is to provide the company’s managers with guidance to create a significant value to the customers and meet the relevant needs such customers are willing to pay for, in addition to providing a potential significant profit to investors, thus meeting the company’s cost-benefit expectations. This document must contain the following sections while observing the subsequent questions:

1. The Venture: Brief description of the business, its location and scope;

2. Description of the Business: What business is to be established? What products or services are to be offered? What is the target market and its size? What is the best way to offer the products to the market? What are the critical success factors for the business? What are the possibilities of growth of the market under study? What are the positive and negative points of the business?

3. The Market: What is the big market and the best segment status to compete? What is the size of the segment and its growth possibilities? What is the geographical distribution of the market? What are the seasonal fluctuations for demands? What is the estimated value and the location of the business? Highlight the positive and negative points of this market.

4. The Competition: What are the direct competitors to the business? What other substitute businesses or products will compete with the product? What is the size of competitors? What analysis can be drawn about the competitors? What is the company’s price strategy? What is the distribution strategy? What is the technical assistance strategy for the company’s products or services? What is the quality concept for the product? What selling methods are to be applied? What the means available for publicizing the products or services?

5. Description of the Venture’s Product: What is the technology used in the product? What is its current development stage? What function and application does the product have? What innovative solutions can be used to serve the market? What are the regulations and technical standards governing the product? What analysis can be drawn on the relation between the product and the environment?

6. Price: What is the price competitiveness? What is the price strategy to be used? (in this case, study the prices that exist in the domestic market and the price of the similar imported products). What margins are appropriate to work with?

7. Suppliers: Where are the suppliers located? What inputs are imported? How to obtain the necessary inputs for the product? What are the delivery times for the inputs and the minimum quantities required for the product?

8. Productive Process: What is the flow of the productive process? – present an example of the process core, what is the planned number of employees? What will the installations of the business be like?

9. Marketing / Commercial Plan: What are the potential customers and their locations? What is the best way to attract the customers? What will the sales channels for the product be? How will the sales promotions be conducted? What are the best suppliers of inputs? How much should be invested in advertising? How will the distribution system for the products, and the technical assistance thereof, be operated? Who are the opinion makers for the product? What is the potential and sales estimate for each the product?

10. Costs: Cost estimates shall be generated for those inputs directly involved in the production of the asset – fixed costs and overhead, as well as the level of reliability of forecasts for the critical costs of the venture.

11. Investments: What is the infrastructure required to be obtained for the business to operate?

12. Organizational Aspects: What are the skills and knowledge of each partner, director and employees of the company? What organizational structures will support the venture?

13. Financial Plan: What is the sales volume required to obtain profits? What are the financial sources for the company? What is the shareholding of the organization? Present a cash flow spreadsheet for the first 10 quarters (in BRL) and NPV for the venture.

14. Partners: What are the possibilities for establishing partnerships for the venture?

15. Entrepreneurs: What are the motivations for creating this venture? What is the experience of the entrepreneurs? What are the main barriers and threats to the venture?

16. Venture Phases: What is the time required for developing each phase of the venture: Implementation, Growth, and Consolidation?

Five Characteristics of a Good Business Plan

A business plan like any other write – up can either be good or bad. And if you want to know the difference of a good business plan from something that can be mediocre or even bad, then read on. But first off, let us start with giving everybody an idea of what a business plan is.

As implied, a business plan is a document that specifies and discusses the following:

• The company’s nature and identity

• Your objectives and the purpose of your existence in the world of consumers and entrepreneurs.

• The products you sell and offer

• Your marketing strategies

• The goals that you plan to achieve

• Your niche – the market that you plan to conquer

• Your plans for the business’ future

• And of course your financial standing prior to starting

By having all those information, you can see that a business plan is very much like a blueprint that will help you or anyone start and manage a business regardless of its nature.

Now that you realize its importance, the next thing that you should start working on is learning how to make one. But before you have the urge to get your computer going and start writing, here are the qualities of a good business plan that you have to keep in mind.

1. A business plan should be detailed. In listing your products and services for example, you should not really stop by just enumerating them. You also should write down the descriptions and scope of your products and services, touch base on production and identify means on how you can market your “brain – child” to your targeted niche.

2. It should include a market research that identifies your competitors, their share of the market and the range of the products they produce. By learning how they conduct their operations, you may learn tricks of the trade in the business you want to enter and you also get to have a basis on what you can do to excel.

3. It needs to have a list of everything you need. Note that the word everything here comprises of the equipment, technology, raw materials, financial and other resources that you may need when starting and running your business venture. Having all these listed will give you an idea on how much capital you need before you start and how much money should you make in a day to make your business survive.

4. It also needs to be written in formal format and style. You have to remember that a business plan is something that you may have to present to your business partners, financial firms and banks. So if you can, refrain from using slang in any part of your plan.

5. Finally, a business plan should be error – free. This is important because your business plan defines who you are as a business person. If it turned out sloppy, then that does not speak too highly of you.

Again those are five characteristics of a good business plan. Now that you know of them, you can start your research and start drafting your write – up.

A Retail Clothing Store Business Plan – Customer Analysis

Your retail clothing store’s business plan requires a well-thought out customer analysis which describes what type of customers will make your store succeed.

Not Too Broad, Not Too Narrow

When choosing your customer target markets, make sure that they are neither too broad nor too narrow. The broader a target market, the more expensive and difficult to reach it and sell to it. For example, if the target market is simply “Residents of the Tri-state Area” this will tell you and readers little about the most effective means of reaching them.

Think further about who the most profitable customers within these broader markets will be and whether there are distinct groups of profitable customers worth mentioning. Profitable here refers to the total revenue that a certain customer will bring in through clothing purchases over a certain period, the customer’s likelihood to remain loyal and keep purchasing after that period, and the cost of achieving that customer through marketing and sales work.

If customer groups are too small, readers will be concerned that there isn’t enough potential revenue from the target markets for the store to show a profit. Remember that readers will not believe that you can ever achieve 100% of a market. You have to show that you will be able to break even with much smaller market shares, especially in the early days of your store.

Three or Four Segments Is Good Enough

To prove the excellence of your store’s potential, you may be tempted to write a list of target markets segments that you can target. Resist this temptation, and clearly show your focus on three or four segments at most for the short-term. If the amount of revenues that you can achieve from these groups seems limited over time, then you can go on to describe some future target markets, labeled as such, to detail the next steps the company can take when the original targets are tapped out.

Customer Values

For customers in each segment you describe, write about their specific reasons to buy from your store based on their values. Show the difference between each segment, because if two segments have the same values and needs, they could probably be lumped together as one. Don’t detail your promotion methods and product line again here as a way of explanation – those are covered elsewhere in your plan. Do be clear as to why each group listed is a good target for your clothing store.

How to Set Goals For Your Business Plan

What are the goals for your business? It’s a fundamental question every entrepreneur needs to ask themselves. Why are you in business? What do you hope to accomplish and when? Goals can be defined as what you want your business to be when it grows up. Set a reasonable number of goals, one is probably not enough and twenty would be way too many. The goals relate to a time period as well, a year, or perhaps six months, is a good target. One way of setting goals is to describe your company one year from now.

Goals, objectives, and strategies are incorporated in a business plan that is used for internal purposes rather than raising capital. It’s an important exercise for management to go through and then incorporate the results in a working business plan.

It’s a good idea to complete the Historical background of the company the Industry and Economic Review and the Product section before tackling goals, objectives and strategies. Looking at where you’ve been and where you are is the starting point for where you want to go.

Brainstorming is a good way to get started on goals. Make a list of all the achievements you could make in the upcoming year. Just list them. Don’t make any value judgments on whether they’re achievable. Now rate each goal in five different categories: effort, money required, like and dislike, talent required, and payoff.

Effort is simply the amount of energy and time that will be expended to achieve the goal.

Money required is the investment that will be made. For example if staffing will have to be hired or outsourcing will be utilized that means it will be necessary to invest money in the business to pay for the employees or the outsourcing. Nearly all businesses require some investment of capital, if nothing else for Internet access and phone lines. Use ballpark figures.

Liking or disliking the tasks required to achieve the goal has an impact on whether the goal will be achieved successfully. If you like to write then it won’t be a problem establishing a ghostwriting service, but if writing is the last thing you’d choose to do, you probably won’t be a success at ghostwriting.

Talent means whether you have the abilities required. If you have no artistic talent then graphic design isn’t for you, unless you have such great contacts for clients that it makes sense to outsource the design function.

Payoff is the reasonable amount of money that can be earned. This is a guestimate of what you believe will be the payoff if the other factors – effort, investment, like or dislike, and talent hold true.

This is a simplistic way of rating the goals. It may turn out that the goal with the highest score also requires the most money to accomplish and that just doesn’t fit in with your budget. Or perhaps the lowest rated goals are the goals you have the most talent for and require the least effort. The point is rating the goals gives you a starting point.

How to Write a Business Plan For an Online Business Directory

Writing a business plan for an online business directory is as important as writing a business plan for any type of business. A proper plan is essential to making an online directory a success. This will outline the type of business directory you will be running and how you will make it profitable. Below are a number of tips to writing a business plan for an online business directory.

1. The plan should outline your strategies on how you will make the directory a money generator. It will detail how the directory will work and how you will maintain profitability. It will also help you plan for unexpected obstacles, such as if one method of acquiring business listing does not work, how you will modify the strategy to make it more effective. It is important to regularly update your business plan to maintain competitiveness. Create short and long term goals and establish time frames for achieving specific tasks and set goals, such as the number of businesses that will post their listing in a week, or in a month.

2. The mission statement is a blueprint to having successful directories. It should define your values and objectives to maintaining competitiveness in the marketplace. It is important that you outline how you understand your target audience, including their needs and wants and how your directory will meet them. It must detail how you will attract customers to list their businesses.

3. You must detail your understanding of your competitors and how your directory will be unique and stand apart from your competitors’ directories. For instance, will yours fill a particular niche market? You need to outline your promotion plan and how you will implement your marketing strategies. You need to create a strategy that gives you a competitive edge.

4. You need to detail a comprehensive financial plan. You have to include such information as advertising and promotion costs and the expected revenue you will generate. You should outline all of the methods and programs you will use to effectively monetize your directory. This can include affiliate programs, offering paid listings…etc. You should create an effective budget that is practical and takes hidden or unexpected costs into consideration. You will need to break down your expenses and revenue to make sure you have a plan that generates more revenue that money paid out.

Starting a new online business directory can seem overwhelming as there are so many online directories on the internet. To stand out from the others, you need a strategic plan, clearly defined objectives, clear promotion and marketing plan, and a practical budget. It will help minimize the risks and maximize the benefits. A general guide on writing a business plan for an online business directory is helpful when planning to build a successful online business directory, but it is essential that you do your research and consult with others to make sure your business plan is a blueprint to success.

Marketing Strategy Plan: What’s Your Unique Selling Proposition?

Every business must have a marketing strategy plan. The success of every business, whether online or offline, depends on business planning. Experts have shown that strategic planning in marketing is the key to improving efficiency and effectiveness in business. Business owners are advised to always present unique selling propositions. Deep insights in marketing are necessary for reasonable propositions.

Unique Selling Proposition and Its Benefits

A unique selling proposition (USP) can best be described as a marketing idea that differentiates one businesses product or service from its competition by way of a benefit or way of doing business. Your USP will convince the potential buyer from doing business with you because your proposition is seen as much more valuable as compared to your competition. Here are three famous USP examples:

“You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less – or it’s free.” Domino’s Pizza

“The ultimate driving machine” BMW

“The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand” M&Ms

Furthermore, a USP helps greatly in product marketing strategy. Every seller must be able to identify the company’s unique selling proposition. You do not sell what you do not know. You will be able to provide answers to any question asked by the buyer and thus convince the buyer to buy even more.

How do you know your USP?

1. Consider yourself to be a buyer.

The USP must be unique indeed. It ought to be an addition to the benefits that are obtainable in your industry. The consumer market research should be critically conducted. This will reveal the needs of the consumers and it’s the tool that will be used to uncover the USP. Having understood the needs of the consumer, the solutions to the needs are then made unique in such a way that it is completely different from those of the competitors.

2. Determine customers’ motivating buying factor.

You can get to know this by a simple questionnaire or by short interviews of your customer. Most customers will provide genuine answers as per what gives them the drive to purchase your products. This is very essential.

3. Determine reasons why consumers prefer your products and services.

The best source of getting feedback is through your customers. They provide you with the information you need to know about the reasons why your services or products are distinct and preferred to others in your industry. Some of your customers will even suggest how you can improve your services.

Ensure that your selling propositions are convincing enough to persuade customers to use your products and services. Also ensure that you retain your customers while you increase your customer database.

Franchising Strategy: Strategic Business Plan Development

As with any business, you must have a solid business plan. Do not think that you can start a franchise without a good plan. The plan is a roadmap to how you will operate, how you will reach new franchisees, how you will market your business and must have solid financials. A mistake of a single percentage point on a franchise royalty can easily cost you millions of dollars. It does not seem like a big mistake, when you have a single franchisee. It simply means that the franchisor will make $5,000 less in royalty revenues. But in franchising, we are talking about continuing growth, and this mistake might be multiplied 100 times or more. Other business decisions that a new franchisor will make that could impact long-term profitability include:

• Advertising fees

• Technology fees

• Product margins

• Type of franchise offered (individual, area development, area representative, etc.)

• Organizational structure

• Compensation structure

• Geographic growth strategy

• Territorial rights provided to franchisees

• Reservations of rights for the franchisor

• Franchise Disclosure Documents

Conflicting or ambiguous communications when a franchise is first sold can form the basis for future franchise litigation. The cost of defending any franchise lawsuit, even an inconsequential one, can be enormous. The cost of prosecuting even a “small” franchise litigation lawsuit can easily exceed $100,000 to $200,000, or more.

You must have a solid, coherent Franchise Disclosure Document. An integrated Franchise Compliance Program that stipulates rules and expectations, manages Franchise Disclosure Documents and controls the publishing of all information is extremely important. It is also one of the best investments a franchise company will ever make.

Understanding a franchise agreement

A Franchise Agreement includes all of the key facets, requirements and principles of the franchise, including the privileges and commitments of both parties, the length of time the agreement will last, the territory (if any) granted to the franchisee, and the costs involved and how they are to be calculated.

A Franchise Agreement is the foundation of your business. You must be certain that you understand it clearly before you start to build on it. The following is an outline of some of the key aspects contained in Franchise Agreements.

Every Franchise Agreement needs to be carefully read and you should therefore have your attorney review the Agreement clause by clause with you, to make certain that you understand all of its terms. Franchisees also need to be aware that, while it can be relatively simple to enter into a Franchise Agreement, it may be far more difficult to remove yourself from one. A standard Franchise Agreement is a long-term commitment to a third party (often of six to ten years in length). The Agreement will include stringent requirements which have to be complied with for the full length of the term. Failure to conform to these requirements may in many situations allow the franchisor to terminate the Agreement.

While the strict stipulations of Franchise Agreements are there to protect the interests of all parties and particularly the franchise system, from time to time Franchise Agreements can include or exclude clauses which aim to protect the franchisor.

A provision that any costs involved in defending the use of the trademark should be paid by the franchisee

Immediate rights for the franchisor to cancel without notice if the franchisee misses or delays payment of royalties

Lack of clauses regarding ongoing support, training and development of the business by the franchisor

Limitation of the franchisor’s liability to the franchisee even if the franchisor breaches their requirements to the franchisee

Widely drafted clauses undermining a franchisee’s ‘exclusive’ territory in unwarranted circumstances.

The presence of these clauses will vary between Franchise Agreements. An experienced franchise lawyer will be able to highlight them for you. Some franchisors will not be willing to make any changes to their agreements especially when there are other franchisees already in operation.

Regardless of what you may dislike about some provisions in a Franchise Agreement, it is nevertheless essential that you understand it fully and the requirements it places on you as a franchisee. Careful attention should also be paid to supplementary documents, as these may contain provisions that, if breached, constitute a breach of the Franchise Agreement.

You should also be certain that any pre-contractual statements regarding turnover or other aspects of the business that may have attracted you to the franchise are carried over into the Franchise Agreement or in some other written form.

Grant of Rights

The Grant of Rights sets out the term of the franchise and its renewal provisions. It is important to make certain that the term of the franchise is adequate to allow you to achieve a realistic return on your investment. Renewal provisions need to be looked at carefully along with any renewal fees. They may contain some or all of the following:

Notice of renewal – this is usually required within strict timeframes. If the renewal notice is not given in time, the right to do so may be lost

Payment of renewal fee

Changes to terms of the Agreement by the franchisor upon renewal

Changes to the franchise territory size by the franchisor where the particular Agreement provides exclusive rights to the franchisee

Changes, alterations and improvements to operating practices to meet competitive and other challenges

First options or first rights of refusal for additional franchises.

It is important that the franchisee understands that, more often than not, the right of renewal may in fact be a right in favor of the franchisor. The franchisor often has the ability to reject the renewal if a franchisee has not been performing to set standards.

Ongoing costs and royalties

Many Franchise Agreements include ongoing payments to the franchisor such as:

• Royalties

• Advertising levies

• Mark-ups or margins on products supplied by the franchisors

• Training fees.

There may also be requirement to attend franchise conferences and other meetings. The Agreement should clearly set out the details of what has to be paid and when, including circumstances relating to any deposits payable before securing the franchise.

For advertising and promotion costs, the Agreement should specify when the payment is to be made and to whom, including details of any special banking arrangements. Back-up assistance and assistance are essential to the operation of a successful franchise. Details of the support and training to be provided by the franchisor should be stated in the Agreement, including both initial and ongoing assistance. As well as having your attorney review the Agreement for these provisions, talk to existing franchisees about the level of support they have received.

Initial costs

The Agreement, or often an ancillary document, should set out in full all beginning costs. These may include the initial franchise fee, equipment costs, working capital requirements, fit-out costs, initial training costs and the cost of opening stock.

Premises, leases and mobiles

Lease provisions usually allow the franchisor to take over the lease at the end of the term, and also if the franchisee defaults during the term

Often the franchisor will lease the property itself and grant a sub-lease to the franchisee. You are responsible for paying the rent, so you should ensure the amount negotiated is a fair market rent

Mobile franchises usually contain terms that set out the sign writing and other décor required by the vehicles from which the business is operated, and possibly for any major items of equipment

One issue that is often overlooked is the need to ensure that the length of the franchise term coincides with the length of the lease term.

Requirements

Every Agreement should contain clauses setting out the initial and continuing requirements of both franchisor and franchisee

• Examples of franchisee requirements include minimum operating hours, insurance, engagement of staff, and uniform requirements.

• Examples of franchisor’s requirements include maintaining the manuals, providing products, and training

• Records of accounting must be up-to-date, with regular reporting and auditing

• Intending franchisees should pay careful attention to the requirements since breach of any may entitle the franchisor to terminate the franchise.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property is a key element of most Franchise Agreements, specifying legal ownership rights by the franchisor concerning patents, copyright, trademarks, designs and even operating systems. Other relevant laws include the Fair Trading Act and common law rules prohibiting the copying of a business’s identity.

Sale of the franchise

Most Agreements will allow the franchise to be sold during its term, but you should note that as a franchisee your rights to sell the business may be restricted.

• The franchisee may have to give the franchisor the right to buy the business first known as right of first refusal, which in itself can destabilize the value of that business and the goodwill for a selling franchisee

• If the franchisor chooses not to purchase, they may rigorously control the sale process

• The incoming franchisee must be approved by the franchisor

There may be a transfer approval fee, which the franchisee will need to pay to the franchisor when a sale takes place. This is designed to cover the franchisor’s costs involved in training the incoming franchisee.

In some Franchise Agreements, the term of an existing franchise for sales purposes covers only its unexpired remainder, unless the Agreement provides for the franchisor to offer a new Agreement for a full new term.

Termination

Franchise Agreements provide for circumstances in which the Agreement may be terminated in advance of the original ending date. These include:

• Bankruptcy, company liquidation or criminal conviction of the franchisee

• Termination of leases to the franchise premises (where premises retention is important).

Termination provisions should be considered carefully as they are often points of disagreement. There are frequent misunderstandings by franchisees as to what happens at the end of a term and procedures vary from one franchise system to another. However, it should also be kept in mind that if the franchise is operating well and the franchise relationship is a good one, it is likely that both franchisee and franchisor will want to renew the Agreement.

Disputes

Although disagreements between franchisors and franchisees are usually solved through discussion and negotiation, mediation and arbitration are also effective methods for working out disputes and less damaging to franchise relationships than legal proceedings.

Other terms

The Entire Agreement clause is especially important as it usually states that what is contained in the Agreement overrides anything which may previously have been promised unless it is expressly referred to in the Agreement

As a franchisee, you should be certain that anything on which you have relied in selecting your franchise is included in the Agreement in some way

The Definitions section, usually close to the beginning of the Franchise Agreement, contains key definitions. One of the most important is Gross Sales, the figure on which the franchisor’s royalty is usually based. Usually this covers substantially every type of transaction carried out by the business and almost every payment received. Often it will include sales made, whether or not payment has actually been received.

Business Plan Mistakes To Avoid

Don’t Do The Following

Claim A Lack of Competition

Some entrepreneurs get carried away in their zeal to demonstrate barriers to entry that set their company apart from others. A “Barrier to Entry” is proprietary information or knowledge, or a set management team experience no one else can claim. Factors that make your company stand out are attractive, but the reality is that no business has no competition.

The Industry Analysis section of your Business Plan must show the size of the industry in which you compete. The Market Analysis will show the sub-set of that industry on which you will focus. The Competitive Analysis must show your competitors strengths-and how you will overcome them.

You can have your cake and eat it too, in other words. You must show there is enough competition to convince investors that the market is large enough to cash in big- time, but that your strategy is focused and unique enough to navigate an exclusive path through the waters of that competition.

Use First-Mover Advantage As Your Chief Exit Strategy

Companies who’s sole exit strategy, or investor payout point, is to flood the market with a new product or service, and then sell the company in a year, will not find worthy investors. Things move too quickly in the information age. Investors want a company that can grow quickly but steadily in phases. They look for Business Plans that show a sober, realistic lookout, and fiscally responsible exit strategies.

Target Just One Large Company To Eventually Buy Your Smaller Company

For example, if your company is developing new software, do not place all your eggs in the Google and Microsoft basket. If the exit strategy of your Business Plan depends on a larger company buying yours, provide parallel case studies. Show sufficient evidence that the conditions are the same for your company as they were for the successful sale of the case study companies.

Furthermore, show why a larger company would not want or be able to develop the same product in-house.

Let us be absolutely clear:

Don’t Claim a lack of competition

Don’t Use first-move advantage as your chief exit strategy.

Don’t Target just one large company to eventually buy your smaller company.

Avoid those Business Plan mistakes and your path to funding will be much clearer. Make sure to set your Business Plan aside once completed for a few days and review it again with fresh eyes.

9 Elements of a Successful Business Plan

A business plan is your road map to profitability and success. A well-conceived plan describes the vision you have for the business and the path you will take to achieve that vision. It also serves as a communication vehicle for employees, customers and potential financial resources. An effective business plan has nine key elements.

1. Executive summary. The executive summary outlines the plan’s key sections such as the company’s mission and goals, target markets, products and services, primary competitors, marketing strategy and financials. The summary should be one to two pages long and should convince the reader to review the entire business plan.

2. Company description. The company description provides a clear idea of what your company is all about, what it does, and how it will operate. In other words, it articulates your company’s mission statement, which is a brief, formal declaration that describes the specific purpose for your business.

3. Market niche. This section of the plan describes your target customers, the larger environment in which your business will operate and why this environment is viable. The key is to identify your desired niche and to explain why you can be successful. To do this, you must answer three questions:

Who do I serve (who are my customers, who are the people I want to have as customers)?

What value do I offer (what are my customers able to do because of me = value proposition)?

How do I help customers achieve this value (what goods and services do I provide)?

4. Competition. This section of the plan describes your primary business competition, including their strengths and weaknesses. The most important factor is the identification of your competitive advantages. You can effectively develop this section by addressing the following questions:

Who is my primary competition?

How does what I provide differ from these competitors (think about your value proposition)?

What are my competitive advantages and disadvantages?

5. Marketing strategy. The single most important step you can take as an entrepreneur is to effectively market your goods and services. You can have the best products in the world, but if no one knows about them, your business will fail. Creating a successful marketing strategy is all about addressing the 5 P’s:

Product – What are you selling?

Price – How much will you charge?

Person – What is your target market (i.e., market niche)?

Place – How will your goods and services be distributed?

Promotion – How will you let potential customers know about your goods and services?

6. Operations. The operations section describes how the work will be done. This is not a particularly detailed section of your business plan, but it should describe your company’s typical business activities.

7. Management and organization. This section identifies the key business managers and the organizational structure. This is a very important section when you have a staff. It is also critical when you are seeking capital. Investors will thoroughly examine the backgrounds of the management team in charge of your business.

8. Long-term development. This section of the plan describes how your business will grow over time. You should provide a specific timetable for the company’s development, including identification of the potential risks your business faces. You can begin this process by addressing the following questions:

Where do you want your business to be 1 year from now in terms of product, person and place?

Where do you want your business to be 3 years from now in terms of product, person and place?

9. Financials. The last section of the business plan outlines your financial projections for the first several years of the business. Ideally, this includes the production of several forms including an income statement (describes anticipated profits over a specified timeframe), a cash-flow analysis (estimates the movement of cash into and out of the business), and a break-even analysis (estimates the point at which revenue received equals the cost of generating that revenue).

Create Your Own Business Plan Competition

You still remember a few years back where you asked a few of your school mates to be part of a team to join a business plan competition organised by your university. It is so vivid in your mind about the dedication, persuasiveness and analytical skills that got your team to the finals with a lot of offers to take your business plan to initial public offering (IPO). You feel that your entire team has matured and become more focused in the quest for success.

Now you have decided that you do want to create a business-plan competition as a way of giving back to society. However, you start to realise that it requires a lot of planning, strategizing and focus because this business plan competition can also be the launch-pad of an unknown startup. This is the magic of being part of a business plan competition. You feel the immense feeling of a big achievement already.

Here are some tips that will help you along this path.

Your purpose:

Before you even start to create your own business plan competition, you have to be very clear about what separates yours and a host of other business plan competitions globally. How do you measure the success of your business plan competition?

The prize:

The prize need not be all in cash. It can also include free administrative support or even the matching to a venture capitalist.

Judging Criteria:

The judging criteria has to be clear and constructive to participants so that they know what to emphasise during their group presentations.

Sponsorship:

Start getting sponsors early. It is essential that you have a detailed meeting with potential sponsors and understand how your business plan competition can give their organisation more positive publicity and mileage.

Judging panel:

Ensure that you get a big pool of judges who are considered as subject experts and have no vested interest in any of the teams and are unbiased and fair in their judgement. Organise a meet-up where you can brief all judges about the judging criteria and how they must adhere to the agreement of non-disclosure and confidentiality.

The more experienced judges can be offered the opportunity to be judges for the finals and must have the ability to do Q&A and articulate about what made them offer certain points.

Mentors:

For a more hands-on group of professionals, you can offer them the opportunity to mentor the participating teams. This may give your judges the opportunity to continue to be part of the startup even after the end of the business plan competition.

Media Publicity:

Every startup participating in your competition desires to get as many people to know about their product or expertise. Thus you have to ensure that your business plan competition is accorded the most positive publicity as possible.

This is especially important for startups that may not have won the competition but are very eager to get more potential customers to learn and use their products or services.

Any form of publicity can be put to advantageous use.

Publication:

Consider choosing a few finalists to be part of a book to recognise how they have gone beyond just being startups. This book may give them more credibility on a global platform.

You can also create a directory listing the product or services of all your participating teams and you may obtain a commission once there is a good match.