If you have made the brave decision to forfeit your regular income, promotion prospects, pension and annual leave, you may be wondering what on Earth possessed you to take such a crazy step. Although you may be relinquishing many benefits of having a full time employed position, you will be gaining so much more when you take your first tentative steps onto the road of entrepreneurship. Working for yourself and following a passion that you might be able to turn into a money making venture is thrilling, exciting and will force you to rely on a whole new set of skills you never thought you possessed. However, as with anything, the devil is in the detail and the preparation stages. It’s vital that you have a plan. This doesn’t mean a quickly sketched out brainstorming spider diagram on a piece of A4 paper. Take a look at the sorts of things you need to include in your well constructed and bespoke business plan.
Vision Statement
Although the shortest few lines you will write in your business plan, trying to conceptualise the vision for your venture is difficult. You can talk about your business ideas and grand schemes for expansion for hours, but can you capture the heart and soul of your business and the direction you want it to take in one short paragraph? By doing this, you will develop an even more nuanced understanding of your startup.
Financial Information
It’s imperative that your business plan is heavily dominated by the financial aspects of your venture. You need to detail where your funding is coming from, how you need to repay this if you are relying on loans and your revenue and profit projections. You must also consider your strategy for attracting new business. If you’re in the building trade, you may wish to consider construction bonds to assure investors of your ability to complete a project on time. Filling investors and consumers with confidence is vital if you will attract new sources of money.
You may have secured the investment of a business angel. If this is the case, pick their brains as to what makes the most effective sort of business plan for your industry. A business angel will have many years of experience in your sector and will lend their advice as well as their money to see you succeed.
Mitigating Lulls
Every startup will have quieter periods as they try to establish themselves on the industry stage. It’s vital that you understand that these lulls in business may occur and that you have a detailed plan of how to mitigate them. You may need to look at new avenues for potential customers, diversify your product range or offer alternative services. Being prepared means you won’t have the financial shock of a downturn in business should it occur.
80 percent of startups fail within their first eighteen months of trading. Ensure that yours isn’t one of them by taking the sufficient time to prepare and develop a thoughtful and workable business plan.