“By failing to plan, you are planning to fail.’’ (Benjamin Franklin, Inventor, and Businessman)

As a budding entrepreneur, the need for a well-written plan that communicates your intentions to internal and external stakeholders cannot be over-emphasized.

The purposes of a business plan include:

• A business plan describes the venture you will create to exploit an idea or concept.
• A business plan is a written document that describes in detail how the business is going to achieve its goals.
• A business plan lays out a written plan from an operational, marketing, and financial viewpoint.
• It serves as an action plan, road map, fundraising, and sales tool.

Common mistakes in writing a business plan include:

• Vague value proposition – mostly existing ideas
• Difficulty laying out the operationalization of idea
• Extremely optimistic financial projections – no sensitivity analysis
• Improper definition of your market
• Inability to identify risks and possible mitigation

A bankable business plan should have the following critical elements:

• The Company Overview
• The Marketing Plan
• The Operations Plan
• The Financial Plan

In our next post, we will explore each of these critical elements in further detail.