How to write a business plan? Click here to download Business Plan sample and Click here to download Financial Projection tools

There is nothing new that is not old. As an entrepreneur in the making you probably have read or heard about what makes a winning business plan. This article seeks to give you brief skeleton on how to write a winning business plan.

Firstly you should use a simple and clear language. Don’t use slang or use some fancy words. Put you’re your points logically for an easy read and understanding. Your business plan should at least have the following:

Executive summary

This should outline all the important aspects of your business idea. It must demonstrate your understanding and knowledge of the business opportunity you want to take. This is where you capture your reader’s interest. Make sure that you kept it short.

Business description

Here, you provide a shot profile of your business. It must detail the type of your chosen business, name of business, who are owners, its location, age of business etc.

Industry overview

This section need to presents a short analysis of the industry and the economy that you are tapping into. It should indicate industry trends and characteristics, as it is important for you to keep track of your chosen industry trends and happenings. It will help you in identifying opportunities as they come.

Your goals

This section should state clearly what are your short and long-term goals. It should state what are you planning to do with your business once it matured. Are you going to sell it or expand it? Investors and financiers need to know about such things.

Product or service

Since the product or service is the foundation or the reason you started a business, you should give a detailed description of what is it all about. You should be able to say what sets your business apart from the rest. In business terms it is called the unique selling proposition. What is it that you do better than your competitors in the your chosen market or industry?

Your market

Your market research should provide you with all the information you need about your target market. You should then use this information to tell financiers about the potential market, your target market and your share of that market.

Operations

This section must talk about day to day running of the business. It must talk about the location and the resources or equipment you will need, the number of people who will work for you and how are you going to manage the business.

Pricing

Generally pricing is determined by the costs of production or bringing the product or service to your target market. You should consider this when you price your product or service. Costs should include labour, running costs, salaries and the profit margin.

 Financing your business

This is the most critical part of your business plan. You should know your maths or get someone who is good with figures to assist you on this. Bankers and other investors usually start with this section in order to find out if your business plan is worth reading. Failure to show your expertise on this section might mean goodbye to the potential financiers of your business.

This section must clearly state where the money to finance the business is going to come from. If you have some start-up funds, it’s points for you. It shows you are serious about the whole thing. If you don’t have any finances, your business plan should indicate what is your preferred source of finance. You must put your points in a way that everyone who reads your business plan understands what are your objectives and that you know how money works. In short these are some of the basic things your business plan should have. 

For more information and detailed guidance you can contact Umsobomvu Youth Fund. Such information is also accessible on www.youthportal.org.za. Their postal address is: PO Box 982, Halfway House, 1685 or you can find them at: Block P
Central Park, 16th Road, Midrand, South Africa.

Click here to download Business Plan sample and Click here to download Financial Projection tools