What you should know when starting up a business

When you define your plan, make sure you have also defined your goals clearly. FILE PHOTO  

In Summary

Whether it’s to provide direction or to attract investors, a business plan is vital for the success of every business or organisation, Annet Katusiime shares.

By Annet Katusiime

It is very satisfying to have your own idea being implemented. However, that kind of satisfaction can only be sustained if one has developed and written a business plan. A business plan as defined in
entrepreneurship is: “A written document describing the nature of the business, sales and marketing strategy, the financial background, and contains projected profit and loss statement.”

Whether it is to provide direction or to attract investors, a business plan is vital for the success of every business or organisation. A good business plan guides you through each stage of starting and managing your business. You will use your business plan as a road map for how to structure, run and grow your new business. The question, however, that is faced by many entrepreneurs is how to get started on writing a business plan.

It is important that your plan meets your needs. You can consider the following steps in writing a captivating business plan.

Research and analyse your product, market, objective and expertise. It is your responsibility to know everything you can about your business and the industry you are entering. Read everything you can about the industry you are venturing into and talk to your audience to understand the dimensions of the business.

Determine purpose
When you define your plan, make sure you have also defined your goals clearly. The business plan guides and directs one about the road map of your business journey.
If you want to attract investors, your plan will have a different purpose. This means you will have to write your plan clearly to target them.

Company profile
Your profile can be used to describe your company. It’s not only an essential component of your business plan, but it is also one of the first written parts of the plan. Your company profile includes the history of your organisation, what products or services you offer, your target market and audience, your resources, how you are going to solve a problem and what makes your business unique.

Marketing plan
A marketing plan is a platform that helps you adventure and discover more of what you can do with your products and services; for example, you can consider introducing new products, cross sell one product with another or enter into long term contracts with desirable clients. Basically, a strategic plan guides the company to make more informed decisions about their products and services.

Document all aspects of your business; from your expenses, cash flow and industry projections to less seemingly minor details like your location and licensing agreements. Because investors want to make sure that your business is worth injecting their resources into and it will make money. They would want to know everything about your business to avoid any loss. For example, if you are planning to acquire a loan, bankers will be more interested in your statements of financial position and statements of comprehensive income while the manager on your team will be using the plan as a reminder of the objective.

In conclusion, make your business plan talk for itself. Show your passion and the motive for starting the business; remember you need to connect with all stake holders from investors to the final consumers of your products that you intend to produce.

Ms Annet Katusiime is a financial literacy trainer and consultant at Be Money Wiser co. Ltd.