After writing over 350 business plans for clients around the world, I have learned a thing or two. The most important being that business planning is not a one-time event. It is a daily event. People should think of a business plan as a working document that is updated as new data comes in. This allows entrepreneurs to be ahead of the curve when planning their business. Most business plans follow a general outline. First comes the executive summary followed by the company description. Then comes the market research and Industry analysis which sometimes includes a SWOT analysis of the companies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. After this comes to management and organizational plan, we're all human resources are delineate it and put in an organizable fashion. Then comes to marketing plan which showcases the company's marketing objectives and their marketing channels. The marketing plan size into the distribution plan for the product or service. After the marketing plan, the business plan finishes off with the financial projections and the conclusion. Daily, many of the section should be revised. For example, as more information comes in about your competitors or the market itself, the market research and Industry analysis section will change. If you have a new competitor pop up in the industry or the prices have changed for some reason, this is your market research and Industry analysis section.
Having up-to-date market research is important to be able to compete effectively.
The management and organizational plan should change as well as new human resources are brought onto the project or eliminated from the business. If you are start a business, you should develop an organizational plan for what you want your company to look like and then go out seeking the right human resources. This is another reason to revisit the management and organizational plan within your plan.
Most importantly I believe that the marketing plan needs to be adjusted daily. If you are startup you will test several marketing aspects until you find something that works. When you find something that works double down on it and test it again. If you are an established business, you should already know what works. Make sure you are doubling down on your marketing efforts as well as testing new methods of marketing to bring in more customers, which brings in more Revenue.
Based on all of the above changes to the business plan, you will be able to project your financials. Your financial projections should be directly correlated to your marketing efforts. For example, if $1,000 of marketing dollars brings in $10,000, because you put up five billboards, and then you try it again and put $2,000 into marketing which buys you ten Billboards and you make $20,000, you might have a business model in the works. The return on investment for your marketing budget will be the basis of your assumption for your financial projections. If you already start a business, you will guess based off of information you researched on your competitors and what they are doing to get customers.
Regardless, your business plan should be updated daily. This is not mean sitting down in front of a computer and spending 5 hours a day revising your business plan. This means thinking of the things that worked, continuously looking at data and adjusting to improve. Hope this helps. -Nick NicholasCoriano.com
Having up-to-date market research is important to be able to compete effectively.
The management and organizational plan should change as well as new human resources are brought onto the project or eliminated from the business. If you are start a business, you should develop an organizational plan for what you want your company to look like and then go out seeking the right human resources. This is another reason to revisit the management and organizational plan within your plan.
Most importantly I believe that the marketing plan needs to be adjusted daily. If you are startup you will test several marketing aspects until you find something that works. When you find something that works double down on it and test it again. If you are an established business, you should already know what works. Make sure you are doubling down on your marketing efforts as well as testing new methods of marketing to bring in more customers, which brings in more Revenue.
Based on all of the above changes to the business plan, you will be able to project your financials. Your financial projections should be directly correlated to your marketing efforts. For example, if $1,000 of marketing dollars brings in $10,000, because you put up five billboards, and then you try it again and put $2,000 into marketing which buys you ten Billboards and you make $20,000, you might have a business model in the works. The return on investment for your marketing budget will be the basis of your assumption for your financial projections. If you already start a business, you will guess based off of information you researched on your competitors and what they are doing to get customers.
Regardless, your business plan should be updated daily. This is not mean sitting down in front of a computer and spending 5 hours a day revising your business plan. This means thinking of the things that worked, continuously looking at data and adjusting to improve. Hope this helps. -Nick NicholasCoriano.com
All of my videos on PushYourRank's YouTube Channel as soon as I post them. I repost the videos here to give you more context into what I was thinking and maybe what I was going through that day that might be relevant. Again my goal with these videos is to document what I have learned from entrepreneurship. Follow me on twitter @NicholasCoriano or connect with me on LinkedIn. Buy my book on Amazon: Rules To Entrepreneurship All of my videos on PushYourRank's YouTube Channel as soon as I post them. I repost the videos here to give you more context into what I was thinking and maybe what I was going through that day that might be relevant. Again my goal with these videos is to document what I have learned from entrepreneurship. Follow me on twitter @NicholasCoriano or connect with me on LinkedIn. Buy my book on Amazon: Rules To Entrepreneurship