How to Write A Good Business Plan for Investors?
Why Do You Need A Good Business Plan?
A good business plan is a roadmap for how to structure, run, and grow the business. Good planning does not always mean that you will be successful in business life, but we see that those who are successful also have a good business plan. In business life, you must make the best possible planning, anticipate the possibilities, and take the necessary measures to achieve your goals as soon as possible. Within the framework of these predictions, the best plan is the one that leads you to success. A good business plan should contain the necessary elements for success. Many factors such as how the company structure will be, partnership structure, location selection, necessary financial needs, management, and employees are the elements of a good business planning.
The most common business plans are traditional plans and lean startup plans. Traditional business plans are detailed and cover a variety of topics including the targets, opportunities for investors or lenders, financing needs, future projections, detailed marketing strategies. Lean startup business plans focus on the most important points of the business plan. They are less common and use a standard structure.
A good business plan is a roadmap
Traditional Business Plans
U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) says that traditional business plans use some combination of nine sections.
- Executive summary
- Company description
- Market analysis
- Organization and management
- Service or product line
- Marketing and sales
- Funding request
- Financial projections
- Appendix
The executive summary gives brief information about your business. It briefly explains your business, the problem you are solving, the target market, key financial facts, and projections. Your mission statement, your product or service, and basic information about your company’s leadership team, employees, location, and capital structure are parts of the summary. The executive summary is an essential part of a good business plan.
Company description provides detailed information about your company. Who do you serve and plan to serve? What needs do your products or services meet? Who are your solution partners? Highlight your strengths. Highlight the features of your experts if you have them in your team. Explain the factors that will support you to be successful. Specify your location and product advantages.
Market analysis shows you what other businesses are doing and what their strengths are
Why Is A Market Analysis Important?
Marketing and sales strategies describe how your business will attract and retain customers. These strategies are not static. Contingency plans provide flexibility.
Market analysis shows you what other businesses are doing and what their strengths are.
It helps you understand potential customers, customers' buying habits, competitors, competitors' strengths and weaknesses, target market, and trends. With this analysis, you can analyze how much customers are willing to pay for your product or service?
Major benefits of conducting a market analysis:
- Risk analyzing,
- Targeted products or services analyzing,
- Marketing optimization
- Trend analyzing,
- Profit analyzing,
- Competitors.
A market analysis reflects the scientific approach of a good business plan.
Is Legal Structure Of A Business Important For Investors?
Organization and management describe the legal structure of your business. Describe your business as a C or an S corporation, a general or limited partnership, a sole proprietor, or LLC. For example, Le Marche Leather as an LLC has a successful business plan. An organizational chart to lay out who is in charge of what in your company can contribute to a good business plan and consequently your business success. Your employees' CV's will be able to increase the reliability of your business. You give confidence to your potential customers by highlighting the qualified CVs of your employees.
Service or product line tells what your business sells or serves. Customers may be interested in highlighting what problems the product or service offers. Intellectual property includes business ideas, works, unique processes, business name and logo, patents, trademarks, and copyrights. If your business owns any intellectual property, write briefly about it, because it will make your business look more attractive. This section explains in detail how the product or service will be delivered. Detailed service and product descriptions enhance the quality of a good business plan.
Financial projections and funding request. Revealing the financial capacity clearly and sharing the financial statements of previous years, if any, create trust. Explain if funds are needed. Describe growth targets and medium-term 3-5-year plans.
The appendix provides financial figures, credit histories, resumes, product pictures, letters of reference, licenses, permits, or patents, contracts, permits, and legal documents. Such documents are supporting documents and increase reliability.
Lean Startup Format vs Traditional Format
On the other hand, if you have a small business, a good business plan may be in a lean startup format. One of the oldest and most well-known lean startup formats is the Business Model Canvas.
The nine components of the Business Model Canvas version are:
- Key partnerships
- Key activities
- Key resources
- Value proposition
- Customer relationships
- Customer segments
- Channels
- Cost structure
- Revenue streams
Why Does A Good Business Plan for Investors Matter?
A good business plan is similar to a personal CV. It includes sets of skills, experience, ambitions, and goals. Business plans should reveal their references, capacity, goals, and be reassuring. Successful business plans can be imitated. Expert support is always very helpful. Firms with many years of experience in legal and investment consultancy save time and money. In an investor-friendly country such as the USA, many public and private sector professional associations make significant contributions. You can reach such professional associations more easily through expert consultancy firms. Business plans should be tailored to industry and market needs, and not contain elements that violate intellectual property rights. Reliable financial data and realistic projections always look more attractive for new investors.
Why Is Our Support Invaluable?
In a nutshell, just like a personal CV, a good business plan includes sets of your skills, experience, ambitions, goals, and projections. You can prepare a traditional or lean startup format depending on the legal structure of your business, your financial capacity, the size of your business, and your vision. Traditional business plans use a combination of nine sections: Executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management, service or product line, marketing and sales, funding request, financial projections, appendix. The nine components of the Business Model Canvas version are key partnerships, key activities, key resources, value proposition, customer relationships, customer segments, channels, cost structure, revenue streams. Business plans should be tailored to industry and market needs.
To start and run your business in the US, you need a lot of documentation to be prepared. Preparing a good business plan can be time-consuming and detailed. You cannot be an expert in every subject you need. An expert consulting firm you can trust will save you time and money.
Comprised of experienced business attorneys, marketing experts, business advisors, and blockchain professionals, Liberty Business has the answers to any questions or needs a blossoming business may have.