Small Business Franchise | 4 Tips for Creating a Business Plan That Works

A business plan is essential for two reasons. Firstly, it provides an invaluable roadmap for your business, plotting out the first few years and how you will overcome the challenges you’ll face during that time. It’s also vital if you’re trying to obtain outside financing to help get your business off the ground. Asking someone to invest without providing a dynamite business plan is never going to end well!

If you’re trying to put together a business plan that will help you plan your future and get the funding you need, here are some great tips to help you get started:

Identify your audience, and write for them

Many people put together multiple versions of their business plan, aimed at different audiences. You might need a business plan for individual investors, a separate one for venture capitalists, and another one for companies that you may wish to partner with, rather than seeking funding. You’ll need to think about what each of these groups are looking for in a business plan, and cater to them in each version.

Always remember that no matter who you’re writing for, you need to convey a sense of trust and credibility, a strong understanding of your business and the sector it operates in, and financial confidence. Convey each of these things effectively to each separate audience, and you’ll have a viable and convincing business plan.

Be realistic

You might think that cramming your business plan full of optimistic figures and projections is a great way to get people to invest – but many of them will see right through these pie-in-the-sky delusions. Always be as realistic as possible – even conservative – and you’ll sound much more credible to potential investors.

Know your competition

A business plan isn’t just an opportunity to tell investors more about you – it’s a valuable chance to prove to them that you know your market and understand your competition. It’s important to research your rivals in great detail, looking at who the market leaders are and how you can effectively compete with them. However, you should be wary of being disparaging towards your competition in the business plan – there’s no need to get personal. Let the facts do the talking.

Cover all the key areas

A good business plan should have the following:

These are the base tenets of a solid business plan. Make sure you’ve ticked off each one and you’ll be ready to distribute it.

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To find out more about how Eazi-Apps can help you offer solutions to small businesses, contact us today.