Helpful Tips for Writing a Business Plan for a Startup Company
Most of the business ventures go down the first year. It is sad statistics, but for many businessmen, failure is inevitable — they launch a startup without sufficient preparation.
Writing a business plan sounds too time-consuming and even scary. The minute you hear about the business plan, you imagine a big pile of documents and some PP presentation performed by a serious man in a suit. This image is partially true, but it is far from obligatory.
Virtues of the Business Plan
A business plan for a startup company should be accurate but not overloaded with numbers. It is impossible to accurately predict the results of introducing a new product to the market, even for a year. It is more appropriate to look for a few months and strengthen the predictions later.
If you want to launch a small startup company and see what happens, you still need a business plan written according to the fundamental requirements. However, if you are not aiming to launch a plan with 12 thousand workers all at once, you may find writing a business plan, not that complex. It will take time, but it will also help you not to go out of business in the first year.
Any worthy investor would like to see a business plan before even thinking of giving you money. It was always said the idea is key, but in a business environment, you can’t go far without numbers. So, let’s face it. Without a convincing business plan, your idea hardly has chances to earn you a living.
Here we present you with the simplified version of the business plan writing manually. After reading it, you will know for sure in what direction to move, which documents you may need and which specialists to consult if necessary. Let’s start!
Startup Company Business Plan Structure
The initial stage. This stage (from idea to concept) is characterized by the greatest attention to the following blocks: market niche analysis and market research, development of the basic concept, description of future product/service, team formation (development of organizational plan). The interconnectedness and integrity of these components, as well as the right approach to finding a business model, are both necessary and sufficient conditions to answer:
- whether the required product/service is on the market;
- what is the target market;
- whether a successful implementation is possible;
- what technologies you need to use.
At this stage, it will not be appropriate to make a detailed description of the other sections of the plan and to draw up schedules. If at this stage, you feel like writing a business plan for a startup company will take too much of your time, you can address a professional writing company with “write my business plan” request. You can rest assured that your business plan will be written not by the same guys writing essays for students, but by the experienced business field specialists.
The Prototype of the Service or Product
If there are similar products in the market, but they are of less quality or less technological, then the project is at a pre-launch stage. That is, the idea is formed in the form of a concept, the main competitive properties of the product/service are identified, the presence of the market is confirmed, and the business plan outlines the need for financing in order to launch and further scale up the project.
The production plan and financial plan are only drawn up for the first months of the project. The marketing plan reflects the dynamics of implementation during the first stage and partially outlines the schemes for which sales will be carried out in the next stages. It should be noted that having several different sales schemes will be an advantage, as this is characterized by flexibility and diversification of risks that were not initially included in the model. At this stage, you should answer:
- whether there is a possibility of implementation;
- whether the business model is validated;
- is it possible to scale up;
- whether baseline risk data have been calculated.
Marketing Plan and Channels of Implementation
A marketing plan is an important part of planning. It shows how and by what means you will withdraw the product to your chosen market niche and win it. Having a compelling concept and a thoughtful implementation plan will turn your business plan into a serious business startup. In the eyes of investors, the businessman will act as a serious and visionary businessman. The marketing plan indicates:
- target market segment (the place that the product will occupy when the startup is launched);
- definition of the consumer (reasonable demand and advantages that the product has in relation to competitors);
- channels of implementation.
Beginner business people who want to succeed in a new segment need to have a high-quality, well-structured, and step-by-step scheme. Initially, it is necessary to determine the appropriateness of the appearance of a novelty on the market (whether there is a target audience that requires the appearance of the product), or are there currently products on the market that meet the same needs of consumers for whom the novelty is intended, or whether the product has advantages relative to competitors’ positions, and also the volume of technology involvement. When you are done with these, you will be able to present your business plan and expect the launch of your business plan to go smoothly.