Last week we talked about steps you can take to get your business idea off the ground. Weeks before that, we built a foundation for running a business by looking into aspects like strategy. Next we will explore those steps in our weekly educational articles. The first step we will be looking at this week is how you can create a business plan for your business.
Let us start first by defining what a business plan is. It is a comprehensive, written description of a business. This document provides detailed information about a company, its mission, vision, products and services, market and clients, strategy, human resources, organizational structure, financing and sources of funds.
You may be wondering at this point; why do I need to have a business plan, and who reads it? A business plan helps an entrepreneur/ management to get an integrated view of their business while also informing partners and lenders about the position of the business. I believe this statement already answers who reads the business plan. Some parties that read the business plan are investors, executives, and commercial banks.
Now that we have defined a business plan and described why we need one and who reads it, we will look at the steps to follow when writing a business plan. That will also give guidance with the business plan template.
Steps to follow when writing a business plan:
Executive Summary
Products and Services
Market and Clients
Marketing and Sales
Organizational structure and Management Team
Financial Projections
We should note though that a business plan is not a one size fits all. The structure depends on the nature of the business but the above guidance is standard to most business. Khalala has an upcoming course in Business planning. Be sure to follow us and subscribe to our channel so that you can get updates when the course is available. This course will discuss business planning in details. You do not want to miss it. A wise man once said, “Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” Khalala is here to serve you with knowledge and empower you with skills that will help you take your business to the next level!
Watch the video below to learn easy ways on how to write a business plan.
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