Need help writing a business plan? We have compiled 5 things that you need to know in order to get a great business plan.
1. What should be the length of your business plan?
Thinking about the length of your business plan right before writing is a very wrong approach. A lot of times, we have clients who need help writing a business plan come to our business planning firm to help them with their business plans, but then they already have a fixed mindset of how long or short the business plan should be. This is very wrong.
When it comes to writing your business plan, content is king!
Let the content determine the size of the business plan! There are other factors that would affect the length of the business plan such as the nature of your business, the industry, the purpose of the business plan etc.
But as a guide, not a rule, a business plan between 15-25 pages, is a great way to go!
2. Your executive summary should grab attention
When you have to present or send your business plan to outsiders or investors, you want to ensure that your executive summary grabs attention.
This is because a lot of times, the executive summary section of a business plan is the only section people would read, and as the name implies, it is expected to be a summary of the entire business plan irrespective of the length.
Knowing that the executive is the go-to place when people have your business plan, then you want to prepare it in a way that it is simple, captivating and can lead your readers with a desire to go further in reading other sections of your business plan.
If you need help writing a business plan, connect with our professional business plan writer.
3. What problem are you solving?
Think about Facebook, Google, Wikipedia, Inc, Forbes, etc. they all have one thing in common. And that is, they have one problem or the other they solve.
You must state the problem that exists, and how your product or service solves that problem, if you cannot do this, then you don’t have a business, perhaps you have a hobby!
If you need help writing a business plan, you most certainly want to get your unique selling proposition right.
Your unique selling proposition-the solution you offer- is what separates your business from the competition; it is what makes your business the best option for your prospective clients and customers. You can have a look at seven mistakes people make when writing a business plan.
4. Investors love traction, give it to them
When you know what investors love, you are well ahead and closer to winning them.
If you intend to raise funds from investors with your business plan, you need to put out your traction.
Just in case you are wondering what “traction” means, it is simply showing investors that your business is viable and can you do this by showcasing your current achievements; this could be your key partnerships, prototype, amount of products sold thus far, investment received from other parties, etc.
5. Getting financial projection right is a key reason people need help writing a business plan
The financial projection section of your business plan is a key section, this is the section where you state how much your business is able to generate over a specified period of time.
As a global standard, a 3 or 5-year projection is ideal.
Sadly, this is not the section to project unrealistic and unexplainable figures, this is one of the reasons many people need help writing a business plan. They understand they have to get their financial projections right!
You want to project figures that communicate growth, and this is achieved by showing that your revenue for the second and third year would be greater than the first year.
Bonus!
How you intend to generate revenue, is key information that your business plan should communicate without confusing or leaving your reader in doubt.
Whether it is just your executive summary that a reader goes through or the entire business plan, they should be able to say they understand how you intend to make money or generate revenue.
If you want to hire a business plan consultant, there are a few things to check, you may want to have a look at some of such things.
However, if you need help with your business plan, look no further, we have seasoned business plan writers to help you with a professional business plan.
You can also check this post to help you run better social media ads.
