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fine-tune what really constitutes an effective business plan.
There is no doubt that everyone wants to plan for success and no one would want to enter a venture expecting to fail. We all want to get rich, don’t we? As the owner of the venture it is incumbent upon you to sell the idea to others and make them realise the viability of the business proposal. You don’t have to sweat to justify that it is a feasible idea, the facts should do the talking and all this should be contained in the business plan.
Make an effort to send a product sample and this will help you navigate in your presentation that you have a tangible outcome that you can place on the table. For those planning to go into the catering industry for instance, why not take along one of the delicacies that you feel is your best! Be proud of your products, and if you can’t, at least carry sample menu cards and attach them as an annex to your business plan.
Do not by any means underprice your services simply because you failed to get good market data. Be thorough and only take the next move when you have exhausted all the channels available bearing in mind that this plan could be your passport to even greater things.
When doing your cash flow projections, do it at different rates and this simulation will give you a feel of different business conditions and prepare you for possible outcomes.
You should not, however, inflate or understate your margins, as this will mislead the financiers or potential investors. There is no reason why you should not believe in yourself, and ultimately your business plan. You should be able to stand by it and it will stand by you. It’s that simple.
After completing your plan, you should thoroughly go through it and when you are done, have someone proofread it. Feedback is critical and never turn your ears against what others say about your plan, it will only but strengthen it.
Some business plans fail simply because they are built around strategies that are defined inaccurately. With a clearly defined strategic vision, it is easier to steer the business along the chosen path. A shared vision will easily get buy-in from all the stakeholders and this is key in charting the way forward.
While a business plan can be meticulously crafted, there are instances where one cannot clearly describe the processes highlighted in the plan. This is particularly evident in cases where an entrepreneur approaches an “expert” to prepare the business plan for him. Do not get me wrong here, there is nothing wrong in getting a competent person to prepare a business plan for you, but it is incumbent upon you to understand what is contained in the proposal. Remember it will be yourself presenting the plan and you should therefore understand the contents.
Among some of the pitfalls of some plans is the lack of detailed information about job responsibilities and operating schedules. This can create an impression that the entrepreneur is not well versed in the chosen field and naturally no investor would want to go into a venture where there is in inadequate know-how.
Presentation of the goals and objectives in transparently clear and easily understandable professional terms will help in communicating with the financiers and potential investors about the vision of the entrepreneur. Mind you, at this point all eyes are on you and it is you who need them most than they need you.
There are others who submit incomplete plans under the mistaken belief that they would not be subjected to an intensive scrutiny. Make no mistake they will fail. Just do the business plan PROPERLY and it will be there for all to see. A detailed business plan should be able to provide a prospective investor or lender with information about your company that is well prepared and persuasive in portraying the potential of your company
I had an interesting intervention from a local businessman who wanted to understand what comes first in business plan, the operations equipment or the market. The straightforward answer to that is you can only equip yourself to produce for a particular market and not vice versa.
However, he brought an even intriguing scenario where he said that his business is caught in a trap whereby it is adequately equipped but is struggling to enter the market due to macro economic factors beyond his control at the behest of the Western-imposed sanctions. Despite his company’s equipment and competencies, his company’s potential customers are prohibited from any business transactions with his firm because of the sanctions regime.
This is a very sad scenario, which has adversely affected the company’s growth potential, and this is through no fault of theirs. If this firm was operating in any other environment devoid of politics, they would by now have reached many milestones, as they possess world-class equipment that can compete effectively.
As always, let’s make money
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