business plan template free download

business plan template free download

How to Create a Successful Business Plan

1. Introduction

No plan is perfect, it always has its pros and cons. It is important for a company to have an evaluation from time to time about the business plan. It can tell what goals have been achieved, the reasons for unachieved goals, and future plan evaluation. With this, the company can make a new refined plan to achieve the same goals or a new different plan.

A business plan is also the reflection of the company towards the investors. Because these days, before an investor wants to invest in a company, they will look at the company profile. By having a business plan, the company can show the aims and achievements that have been made by the company till today, to the future goals and achievements in a structured way.

A business won’t be successful without a strong plan. A plan can tell what the owner wants to do with the business, the money they want to spend, and the reason for spending such an amount of money. It can also tell the company when they can expect to gain profit. It can show the company’s aims and make strategies to achieve them. This will help the company to stay focused. Then the plan can tell what’s being given to the market and how it can compete with the competitors. Usually, the company will then research the market, which can range from basic surveys, questionnaires, or SWOT analysis.

It is important to have a clear and precise plan for your business. With this in mind, the business plan is a written statement, outlining the business aims and the means to achieve the goals. It can be a start-up plan, an internal plan, a strategic plan, a feasibility plan, or a growth plan.

2. Executive Summary

The executive summary is a brief outline of the company’s purpose and goals. While it can be tough to fit on one or two pages, a good summary includes: a brief description of the company, the goal of the company, the product or service offered, and a brief overview of the target market. An example of a good executive summary would be a business plan for a start-up company: “Blue Sky Clothing Company is a start-up manufacturer of high quality clothing and accessories targeted at active outdoor sports enthusiasts, and others who enjoy the clean, fresh mountain lifestyle. We will offer a broad range of services and products that allow the customer to experience the lifestyle that they dream of.” This is the basic information that is required in an executive summary. It doesn’t go into great detail, but it doesn’t skimp on the important information either. It can consistently refer back to the start-up plans to make sure the company is on the right track. An example of something that a business should try to avoid when constructing a business plan would be “Our company is a start-up run by a couple of friends that has to do with clothing. Although we currently make no profit, we hope to change that in the near future.” This isn’t really a proper way to represent a start-up company. This isn’t a good way to represent a business goal. This doesn’t really show that there is direction for the company. It would be difficult to consistently refer back to this statement to check the progress of the company. A good executive summary is one of the most crucial areas of a business plan and will, in most cases, determine the success or failure of the plan.

3. Market Analysis

Knowing and understanding how to grow margins and the industry is an important step to take. Finding out how the margins are being affected by the industry or your competitors would be good to know. Next, define how the product you offer will impact your customer’s use of it, including its price. Is it price-sensitive or something else? This step is crucial in determining the best price for your customer while also not decreasing your production cost.

It is important to know your customer’s behavior. What are they purchasing and when? For example, a fast food restaurant sometimes serves other menu items that are not purchased by their regular customers. And lastly, the buying process is an important point. How does the decision-making process of the customer affect their purchasing decisions?

In this section, you also need to clarify your target market. Who/where are your target customers? How do changes in their number and trends impact our company? This is very important as we will waste our time and money making a product that is not needed by the customer.

The market analysis section can help you clarify your efforts so you focus on those that will give you the best return. Define your industry in terms of size, growth rate, sales projection, and other trends and characteristics. Your goal here is to find a better way for your people to work and serve your customers.

4. Business Strategy

Identify the Strategic Position. To be able to decide on what the strategic position is, first, we have to decide what the most advantaged position for the new venture or the existing project. This means that we have to decide where we want to be and also where to push the firm so we can achieve greater things. Mostly, this is a decision on how to make a firm grow to be larger and achieve a higher level of effectiveness in which it can achieve more profitable results. This requires some brainstorming with people involved in the project because the more ideas generated, the more alternatives that can be decided on to what is the best route for the firm. Usually, when a strategic position is decided upon, this could be a long-term objective on where to take the firm to a level higher than its current status.

As an entrepreneur, you are a risk taker, so it is only natural that you have the vision to make a successful business that will give you more profit in the long run. To achieve that, there are some steps that one must do and prepare to ensure that the goals could be accomplished. The Business Strategy section of the business plan is essential in order to lay the strategic foundation from which to start a new venture or work on a specific project to achieve a successful and gratifying conclusion. This helps to set the main objectives within a venture, alternatives on how they will be pursued, and the degree to which this is achievable, and also within the objectives to decide where a firm is going and what they will be able to achieve over a period of time. This article will describe the steps on how to make a successful business strategy in order to make a new venture or a project which is already running more successful.

5. Financial Projections

Financial projections are an important part of a business plan. It is one way of forecasting how your business will do in its first few years and can help you to figure out various revenue streams your business might have. Essentially, it is breaking down what sales you will make and how much it will cost you to make those sales. This in turn shows how and when you will make a profit and how much that profit will be. To generate a projected sales figure, it is important to look at the market size for your product and select the most appropriate methods of advertising and marketing. Different advertising methods have vastly different costs and you must choose the methods most suitable to your business. For example, a small local business would be better suited to advertising in a local paper or using leaflet distribution, but an internet-based business would be best to use the internet as an advertising tool.