The 10 Important Elements of a Business Plan

A business plan is not just for obtaining financing. It will help you position yourself well against the competition, while keeping you in the right direction. Ultimately, a good business plan will help you make the best decisions.

What is a business plan?
The definition of a business plan could be summed up as a tool to help manage and develop a business, in addition to being a good way to obtain financing. A business plan is a period where you take the time to think about what you want to do, what are your strengths and what are your resources to start a business.

This is also the time to determine the legal form of the business and identify all shareholders or directors. The business plan creation period is also an opportunity to take a look at the market by evaluating the existing offer that directly or indirectly meets the needs you want to meet in a given market. Keep in mind that anything is possible, as long as you find the right solution and have the right timing. Sometimes, certain ideas are too avant-garde or not sufficiently adapted to the present moment.

Why is it important to have a business plan?
The business plan is important because it allows you to think before you act. This is a period when you will observe and get in touch with your market to identify opportunities that will make your offer unique and your positioning relevant.

It allows you to analyze your strategy. Is it the right time to start your business? The business plan is used to reflect, plan and organize. It also helps to know your limits. Do you have the capacity to carry out this project? If not, do you know people who will help you? It is also a period of time to validate your idea. Are there people who will want to buy it?

What should a business plan contain?
1. Define your value proposition
The value proposition determines the added value of a product or service. What are the characteristics of your product or service? What are the advantages? How do you stand out from the competition?

2. Identify your market segments
Market segments represent the different clienteles targeted by an entrepreneur. In order to properly identify your market segments, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

For whom am I creating value?
Who are my target customers?
What are their needs or problems?

3. Choose your channels
Next, you need to determine the best communication and distribution channels for your business. Keeping in mind the different existing channels (website, online store, storefront, warehouse, etc.), think about the most effective ways to reach your customers. What is the best way to distribute your products and services?

4. Determine the type of relationship with your customers
The identification of market segments has made it possible to identify the clientele you wish to target. It is now necessary to define the type of relationship and support service that will best meet the needs of this same clientele. Some products or services require a personalized approach, while others require less after-sales service, for example. You can also choose a self-service type approach where the customer does not have to interact with you. Conversely, you could benefit from a community relationship based on exchange and mutual participation.

5. Identify your resources
Resources include everything an entrepreneur owns that contributes to the proper functioning of his business. These resources are numerous and can include, among other things, qualified employees, material resources such as tools and goods, but also permits and patents belonging to the company. It can also be the know-how, experience and reputation of the entrepreneur and his team.

6. Find your key activities
Key activities are what allow an entrepreneur to realize their value proposition and make it available in the market, while being competitive. It is the concrete actions that will create added value and that will make the company stand out from its competition. It can be in the way you make or design your products or services, in your approach to selling, or even in the way you solve problems. For example, a manufacturer or manufacturer may distinguish themselves not only through their product, but also by inventing an innovative, patentable method of production.

7. Choose your partners
For a business to see the light of day and be profitable, an entrepreneur must collaborate with suppliers, subcontractors, distributors or any other stakeholders essential to the realization of its value proposition. You have to ask yourself who will be your essential partners and suppliers, and for what needs. Which partners provide the resources that you do not have internally?

8. Identify your sources of income
The flow of income is crucial both for a company and for its investors. Whether a company’s income is in the form of fees, packages, subscriptions, rentals or licenses, it is important to set these based on the price the customer is willing to pay. How will you get your income? What will be your most profitable products or services? How will customers pay you? How do they prefer to pay? By cheque, debit card, credit card, etc.?

9. Determine your costs
Costs can be many in a business. They can be related to resources, personnel and their training, relationships with partners, distribution, operations, and even taxes. It is essential to know all the costs of your business.

10. Think about funding
To make your project a reality, you will then have to go through the financial planning stage. You will thus be able to validate whether your various hypotheses are profitable in the short and medium term. In addition to being useful in your discussions with your financial institution, the profitability demonstration will allow you to modulate your strategies to propel your ideas. »

11. Do more research
Whether you are preparing a business plan for a child care centre, an agricultural business plan, or a business plan for a restaurant, you must take into consideration the characteristics specific to your sector of activity. For daycares, for example, it is important to find out about the regulations in order to obtain the necessary permits to achieve your objectives. It’s the same thing in agriculture, you need to know the sector, the programs and the subsidies associated with it.

Finally, the business plan also serves as an awareness. It allows you to concretely see all the effort, work and dedication involved in entrepreneurship.

The 10 Important Elements of a Business Plan

Newer Articles

Older Articles