Business Plan
Article published in E-Class with my part. Hope you like ….
a business plan is not just a document with the result of a series of studies such as assessing the feasibility of an initiative, technical components, organizational, legal factors, environmental, etc.. it should be clear that a business plan is the ultimate end for which it must perform all these activities to shape a business.
but in practice, what is a business plan? it is the tangible form that shows the realization of when, how, what and how much of a business. it is a document in an orderly, structured and systematic detailing the commercial, operational and financial aspects of running a business initiative or function. we could say it’s like the map to a traveler.
this “map” must necessarily have a focus or a goal to meet. this objective largely determines even how it should be structured, because the same business may have more than one way to present it. for instance, a business can have a single plan, but with an approach that: encourage a potential investor to finance the initiative will help the manager to clarify and focus on a particular business, an entrepreneur east in his business venture, or provide for a structure of logic that can help create and design the routes to generate future strategies for a company currently in operation.
once the objective and before going to write, you need to think about who will read it. and we all perceive and interpret things differently and, therefore, is necessary to focus. many professionals and entrepreneurs create a unique business plan and, without much care or concern, not oriented according to the person who will have on their hands. if no one goes to a job interview in shorts, the business plan must also be dressed for it accordingly.
in many cases begins with an outline or skeleton of what you want and it is very good, but with due flexibility. remember that like businesses, business plans are modified over time, ie, lack of linearity. therefore, you should consider that more than one occasion is forced to modify it substantially, as they also develop in a changing environment. like all things, have a certain lifespan. some even say, perhaps exaggerated, that business plans are obsolete from the moment they are printed.
Neither cable nor will
overall, there are basically three types of business plans:
or summary : (less than 20 pages) is for young companies or star ups , credit applications, etc.. some say that the shorter, more profitable.
or standard : (20 to 40 pages) is generally aimed at seeking funds to expand projects already underway or lines. is orthodox and should be evaluated by similar. is also presented to other companies in mergers, joint ventures, etc..
or strategic : also called manuals and generally have long-loop systems protocolized used in the control of management levels.
note that business plans need not be designed as large documents full of information. should be as concise, specific and seductive as far as possible. to this we must start thinking, once again, on who will read it. for example, when the counterparty is an investor or manager, usually do not have much time, therefore an extremely long document will be boring and you can even run the risk of not fully read it. now, when they are very brief and summarized, also may not give all the necessary information is not entirely clear business opportunity, losing its appeal. therefore it is necessary to maintain an appropriate balance.
while it is true that writing it means investing time and this may represent a cost to do a good business plan, well written, structured and seductive, you avoid problems in the future. will be a tool that allows you to achieve goals more clearly and even avoid costs and setbacks.
finally, remember that the paper take a lot. you can make perhaps the best business plan in word version, but still, this document was created with who is behind its development, lives within his authority and this is most important to carry out a good deal.