A business plan is regarded as one of the most important documents for any business or organization in general. The document is key in describing your organization’s strategy and operations, in translating
your overall strategy into actual steps, and in communicating what you need from potential investors
and creditors.
In this article, we provide you with useful factors that you need to consider when writing one. These are
things that can seem basic, but are constantly responsible for the futility of many business plans.
Regardless of your industry, type or state of your organization, there are key things that you always have
to consider when preparing your plan: its purpose and your reality.
Purpose Despite having a general structure and pattern – which includes an executive summary, departmental
plans, a stage of development, a conclusion, etc. – you have to customize aspects of your plan. There are
things that you need to consider in regards to the reader that you have in mind, and you can do this by
asking the following key questions:
What is the audience? This is key in determining where to go with your business plan – are you writing
to potential investors in order to gather funding? Are you writing to a bank seeking a loan? Or simply,
are you writing it to provide specific direction to internal staff? If so, to which department does that
staff belong to – finance, marketing, sales, or simply – all of them?
What information is most relevant to them? To answer this, it is important to place yourself in the
shoes of your audience. For instance, if you work in manufacturing, your product marketing staff may
not need the specific details related to your daily health and safety practices, and your sales team may
not need to know the specifics of your raw materials contracts. These are things that are more relevant
to your operations department.
The Truth
Honesty is the best policy and your business deserves only the best! It may be tempting to misrepresent
your organization with your business plan, whether by overstating or understating the condition of your
entity.
Overstating the health of your business can be dangerous because the audience reading your plan will
be disappointed when learning the truth. For example, if you are writing to internal staff, they will know
that you are not doing as well because they already work with you. This will either lead them to not take
your organization seriously, but if they happen buy into the illusion, your organization will be ignoring
obvious signs of failure in the same way many extinct businesses did.
Also, if you get the attention of investors with your overstated business plan, you will be caught when
they perform additional verifications as part of their due dilligence process.
It is also dangerous to understate the health of your business. If you happen to do this, your internal
staff may be affected as their work is not being recognized, and potential financiers will not have the
initial attraction that you need in order for them to learn more about you. The best thing to do it
recognize your performance, capabilities, and be able to support all of your claims.
In Summary
Building a business plan involves an overall structure that many people are often aware of. However, it
is also important to consider the audience, the relevant content, and how much one overstates or
understates the health of their business. Despite seeming basic, overlooking these factors can
compromise the success of your document.
Need a professional, reliable, and effective set of eyes to assist you in either composing or reviewing
your business plans? Our experts at Ubuntu Business Solutions are here to serve you. Feel free to
contact us and we will help you unlock the potential you have in your business!
