How to Design and Write your Business plan
Designing Your Plan
There is no set formula for designing a successful business plan. Every plan will differ in length and style depending on the type of business. However there are characteristics which should be apparent in each of them.
Deciding the length
The length of your business plan will vary depending on the nature of the business. As a guideline your plan should be between 25 and 40 pages including the title pages and any appendices. Obviously if you have just invented a new car that runs on fresh air you are going to need a far more detailed document than if you are planning to set up a simple grass cutting business.
The amount of capital you need to raise will also have an effect on the length of your plan. Generally speaking, the more capital you need the longer the plan. If you are looking to raise £100,000 then anything less than 25 pages is unlikely to convince your bank manager to lend you money. However, if you only require a few hundred pounds, then a 40 page document is likely to bore the reader and overstate your case.
Choosing the right style
You will develop your own style of writing but you must always retain the interest of the reader and write in a narrative style using everyday terms. There is little point in using technical jargon if the reader cannot understand what you are trying to say. For example if 'it has a 456 micro buffer enhanced with a 789 extended memory data translator' means it is a fast and powerful machine, then just say it is a fast and powerful machine. Each sentence should follow on from the last in a logical sequence as should each chapter and subheading. Avoid trying to convey too many ideas in one sentence. Remember you are trying to make your business plan easy to read and understand.
Simplifying Your Plan
The task of producing a business plan can seem daunting but with a little forethought you can turn it into a highly enjoyable experience, and this after all is one of the fundamental reasons for being in business - to have fun and enjoy what you are doing.
Ten steps to help you
1. Decide which business best suits you and where it should be located.
2. Compile market research data to summarise the competition.
3. Decide how much capital you are able to invest and then set your business objectives.
4. Decide on the legal structure of your business. Identify your target market.
5. Compile your marketing strategy to show how you will sell your product or service.
6. Work out how many employees you will need and what they will cost.
7. List any equipment you need and how much it will cost.
8. Compile your cash flow, profit and loss and balance sheet forecasts.
9. List your assumptions indicating how you arrived at these figures.
10. Write notes about each of the above points.
When you have completed all of these points you will be ready to start writing your business plan. Whatever the size of your business organisation you should be able to condense all the information you have gathered and wish to convey in 20 to 40 pages including all title pages. No-one reading your plan will have the time to wade through a document the length of War and Peace.
Editing Your Plan
After you have gathered all your information the task of actually sitting down and writing your plan begins. The key to successful writing is to always compile a rough draft first then leave it for a few days. When you return to your draft, read it and then read it again deciding how it can be improved. Only editing, re-writing and fine tuning will make your plan into the best document you can possibly
produce. If possible, get a friend or colleague to read through your rough draft before you start on your master copy. Sometimes someone else's viewpoint can prove to be invaluable; there is no substitute for constructive criticism.
Preparing the master copy
When you begin compiling your master copy from your rough draft, take particular care that your document is grammatically correct and that any spelling mistakes have been corrected. If you are using a word processor to produce your plan, then do not just rely on the spell check facility to amend any spelling mistakes: some words with just a letter added or removed can make a different word which although spelt correctly is not grammatically correct.
Finding someone to read it
Before submitting your plan to anyone, get a friend or colleague to read through it and ask them if they understand what you are trying to convey. If there is any part of your plan they do not understand, then edit, re-write and fine tune until it does make sense. If they had a problem understanding it then you can be sure your intended business reader will have the same problem. Ultimately you are responsible for any errors, so make sure none remain.
