In the process of building and developing, businesses must master the current operating situation, identify target markets, competitors to chart out their development path in the future.
That is why businesses need to make a detailed and specific business plan for themselves. Just try to imagine the future operation of your business as a path without light, then the business plan is a flashlight that illuminates, helping you to take firm steps forward.
Despite knowing the importance of business planning , many Vietnamese businesses are still confused and have not yet figured out how to create a complete plan. Malu has compiled a detailed A-Z business plan guide with templates, hoping to give you a better overview of this extremely important process.
The importance of business planning
Before we dive deeper into the process of preparing and implementing a complete business plan, let’s explore the concept of a business plan and its importance to businesses. .
1. What is a business plan?
A business plan is a plan that describes the business process of a business for a certain period of time.
In the plan, the business identifies the context of the target market, the main customers, the current business situation, the competitors in the industry, and the direction of the business’s development in the future.
2. Why do you need a business plan?
A business plan is very important for any business.
Internally, the business plan is a measure to assess the current performance of that business, helping them to identify the strengths they are mastering, the weaknesses that need to be modified, and the market opportunities that need to be grasped. , and the challenges of external factors to plan to cope.
In terms of external relations, the business plan is also an important document for external parties (such as partners, investors, customers) to recognize the operation process of the business and make decisions in the process. future cooperation.
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Prepare a business plan
To build a complete business plan, you need to prepare and collect some necessary documents as follows
1. Data collection
Each business plan is created to serve a certain audience. Therefore, your first job is to find out what the purpose of building this business plan is for. Who is the target audience of the plan reader…
After answering the most basic questions of the business plan, we begin to gather data, this information includes:
- Business model: What industry is the business operating in?
- Enterprise size: How many people does the business have? What is the capital size of the business?
- What is the mission and vision of the business?
- Information about the business, including name, address, phone number, website, etc.
- Organization chart of the enterprise.
- Information about the products and services businesses are providing to the market.
- Some overview information about the market, industry, key customers, partners that the business has been working with.
- Information about the size of the enterprise’s production, including related resources, technology, and other resources.
- Marketing activities of enterprises: distribution channels, communication channels, brand values, promotional programs, etc.
- Finance: information about assets, capital sources, cash flows, etc.
- Risk management: These are the risk factors that businesses may encounter in the course of business operations.
You need to carefully consider the amount of information to be provided in the plan, to avoid the shortage or excess of unwanted information.
2. Prepare relevant documents
After gathering the key figures and information, it’s time to prepare some documents that need to be attached to the business plan. These documents include:
- Logo and brand identity.
- Accounting documents, such as financial statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, etc.
- Documents related to the authenticity of the business, such as business licenses, relevant certificates.
- Industry, market, competitor, customer analysis documents.
These documents can be more, depending on the purpose and audience of your business plan.
3. Define the implementation object
Once you have completed the necessary data collection and documentation stages, your business needs to determine the audience to implement the business plan. The executor can be the administrative department of the business, combined with outsourcing the design to make the planning board more visually professional.
In this preparation step, businesses need to pay attention to a number of factors, such as planning costs, and require the maker to agree on the views and orientations of the business in the plan.
How to write an effective business plan
When starting to write a specific plan, you need to pay attention to the required elements, content and business plan writing template to be as professional as possible.
#1: Summary of the plan
A financial plan is usually quite long, up to dozens of pages. A very concise and concise summary page is needed for them to capture the entire content. This section should only be one to two pages long.
#2: Description of the business
All information related to the business, from business type, history, achievements, scale, facilities, etc. should be listed in this section.
#3: Information about products and services
In addition to the basic information about the business, you should also present an overview of the characteristics and properties of the products and services the business is providing to the market.
#4: Market analysis
All market-related parameters, such as competitors, suppliers and key customers, need to be described in detail in this section. Recognizing the picture of the market, you will map out for yourself specific steps in business activities later.
#5: Human Resources, Marketing and Finance reports
These are the three must-have elements of a business plan. What is the number of personnel in the departments, the organizational chart of the departments, the goals and marketing strategies that need to be implemented in the near future, the current financial picture of the business, how to allocate What is the source of capital, the plan to raise capital in the future…
#6: Attachments
To further clarify your business plan in the future, it is definitely indispensable for additional attachments. These documents include balance sheets, cash flow statements, business licenses (as well as accompanying certificates), etc.
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9 steps to create an effective business plan
To create an effective, focused business plan, you can refer to Malu’s 9-step process as follows:
#1: Define a long-term vision
Want to go far and stable, your business must have a business strategy in the long and short term. This will be a guideline for you and your colleagues to follow in the future business process.
You should write the company’s long-term vision in the Mission section, the vision and direction in your business plan.
#2: Set specific goals
The objective in the business plan sheet is a must-have item. But it also needs to be specific, easy to set, practical, and challenging. A good goal is one that follows the SMART principle
SMART Principle
Specific means specific. A good goal should be clear. Be clear about the goals set, where, when, how to change.
For example: The sales of beverage products of company A in 2019 must grow 2 times compared to the same period in 2018.
Measurable: In the goal set, the business must incorporate measurable factors. Often these factors are indicators, profits, revenue, etc.
For example: Company A’s article about SWOT will rank #1 in Google search results, keyword ” What is SWOT? “
Achievable: The goal set must be feasible with the current situation of the business.
Realistic: The goal must be realistic with the current target customer and market context.
Time-bound: Finally, the goal must have a specific time limit to limit.
#3: Identify a Unique Selling Advantage
A unique selling point (USP) is what sets your business apart from the competition. This is what makes you stand out in the eyes of your customers.
Include the USP in your business plan. This helps you identify your strengths, and makes your plan stand out in the eyes of the reader.
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#4: Research your competitors
You need to find out what type of market you are targeting, how many competitors there are, who they are, what size they are. From there, you can easily map out the right plan for the future.
#5: Get to know your core customers
The main customer is the one who will directly consume your business’s products and services. An important thing when making a business plan is to determine the exact audience you will serve, to have the appropriate direction.
#6: Research market supply – demand
Accurately determining market supply and demand has an important impact on your planning for production and outsourcing.
#7: Build business goals
After the market research step, it’s time to set yourself specific financial, sales and marketing goals for your product.
Don’t forget that business goals also need to follow the SMART principles mentioned above.
#8: Write a specific business strategy
With certain goals, you need to build a specific strategy for each goal. What is the communication channel, how to apply Marketing programs? How long does the application period last? How much capital is required? How much business capital is needed?
#9: Action
Once you’ve established specific goals and strategies, it’s time to put the plans you’ve outlined into practice.
Do not forget to regularly monitor the market’s changing process to have certain updates for your business plan.
You can refer to the 9-step business plan process through the video below:
3 principles of writing the perfect business plan
When writing a business plan, you should adhere to a few principles:
#1: Write your plan as compactly as possible
It would be exhausting if the reader had to scroll through 100 pages of a business plan. That’s why you should consider choosing specific information to include in your plan. Ideally, the number of pages of the business plan should fall between 10-20 pages of A4 paper.
#2: Know who the audience is
Determining exactly who your audience is will determine what elements you choose to include in your plan. For example, if the reader is a shareholder of a company, the main information in the plan sheet should be the financial statements for the year and the financial plan for the coming year.
#3: Don’t put too much emphasis on technical issues in the plan
Most of the people reading your plan probably aren’t too familiar with the elements involved in the industry’s expertise. You need to interpret the information in the plan so that even a 5-year-old can understand what you are saying.
Giving out numbers that are too academic will only make your plan more confusing and complicated than necessary.
Refer to the template – business plan report template
If you are still wondering how to write a complete business plan, you can refer to the 3 websites that guide you on how to create a business plan below.
#1: Panda Doc
Panda Doc is a business that specializes in providing document templates of all different fields. One of them is, of course, a business plan. In the navigation panel, you just need to select the industry of the business, and there will be suggested templates just for you.
#2: ThoughtCo
If you want a concrete picture of a realistic business plan, then ThoughtCo is the place to go.
ThoughtCo has painstakingly created a sample of its own, taking the simulation company ” Acme Management Technology ” to present you in the most intuitive way the elements needed in a real-life business plan. Your job is to learn and compare with the plan of your business.
#3: BPlan
When you browse the BPLAN business plan templates, you’ll have access to suggested tables only available at BPLAN, including financial statements and descriptions of future financial plans.
In addition, Malu also sends you a business plan template on Word, download details here . Under each heading, there are specific suggestions for you to map out for yourself.
Above are all of Malu’s sharing about the business plan, as well as how to write the plan in the most effective and professional way. You can also check out Malu’s other articles on business , and marketing .
