business plan.pptx

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
A business plan is a written document that details what a
business is, what direction it will take, and how you’ll get it
there.
Practically speaking, the business plan evaluates your
business’ viability. As the Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) puts it, the document allows entrepreneurs to
find out whether or not their business idea will bring in
more money than how much it costs to start and run it.

Your best quote that reflects your
approach… “It’s one small step for
man, one giant leap for mankind.”
- NEIL ARMSTRONG
More than just a document, the business plan helps business owners
to figure out the key aspects of an enterprise, including the
following:
 Business goals and strategies to meet them
 Competitive edge and how to leverage it
 Potential problems and how to solve them
 Funding required to start the business
 Equipment, facilities, and manpower needed for operations

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
Who Needs a Business Plan and What Is It Used For?
Every aspiring entrepreneur who will spend a great amount of
money, time, and energy to earn a profit needs a business plan.
Business planning is a crucial part of starting an
entrepreneurial journey, no matter how small or big a business
is. Never skip this step—as they say, failing to plan is planning
to fail.

Here are some examples of business types that benefit much from
business planning:
Startups
Founders of startup businesses seek funds to begin their new venture.
Business plans help them persuade investors and lenders to provide the
funding they need.
For startups, a business plan explains the nature of the new venture, how
it will achieve its goals, and why the founders are the best people to lead
the company. The startup business plan should also specify the capital
needed to jumpstart the new business.

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
Existing Businesses
Not only do startups gain advantage from a business plan—existing
enterprises need it, too.
But business plans for growing businesses serve a different purpose.
Usually, a business plan helps a middle-stage business raise funds for
additional facilities, equipment, manpower, and others needed for
expansion. This document also defines strategies for growth and
allocates resources based on strategic priorities.
Growing businesses also use business plans to communicate their vision
to various stakeholders such as customers, business partners,
potential investors and lenders, employees, and suppliers.
For such needs, a business plan for existing businesses lays out the
goals, strategies, metrics to evaluate success, responsibilities, and
resource allocation.

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
Social Enterprises
Social enterprises may not be as profit-driven as other business
types, but that doesn’t mean they need business planning any
less.
A social enterprise needs to prepare a business plan to achieve its
social objectives and keep empowering the communities it’s
supporting. This document is what government agencies and
donor agencies require and evaluate when approving grants for
funding a social project.
A social enterprise business plan determines the social issue that
a business idea will solve, its beneficiaries, products or services,
target market, and sales projections, among many others.

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
Non-Profit Organizations/NGOs
Like social enterprises, non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
can also use business plans to source funds for their campaigns
and projects.
A nonprofit business plan discusses the problems an NGO is
trying to solve through a certain project, as well as how it will do
that and how much resources are needed.
It also helps the organization and its board members to prepare for
risks by making projections on how likely the activities will push
through and how the current sources of funds will continue to
yield a certain level of revenue. Most importantly, the business
plan defines the Plan B if the original plan ends up failing.

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
Business Plan Format and Its Components
How does a business plan exactly look like? There’s no recommended
universal format for business plans. Ideally, yours is customized
according to the nature of your business and what you’re going to use
the plan for.
However, all business plans have sections in common. Here’s a quick
walkthrough of the six components that make up a business plan.

Writing a business plan can be a daunting task, but it is an essential step in starting a successful
business. Here are some steps to help you get started:
1. Executive Summary: This section should provide a brief overview of your business idea, including
your mission statement, target market, and unique selling proposition.
2. Company Description: This section should describe your company in more detail, including its
history, legal structure, and management team.
3. Market Analysis: This section should describe your target market and competitors, as well as any
trends or opportunities in the industry.
4. Products and Services: This section should describe your products or services in detail, including
how they will be produced or delivered.
5. Marketing and Sales: This section should outline your sales and marketing strategies, including
how you plan to reach your target audience and generate revenue.
6. Operations: This section should describe how your business will operate on a day-to-day basis,
including staffing, logistics, and other operational details.
7. Financial Plan: This section should include financial projections for your business, such as revenue,
expenses, and cash flow.
To write a business plan, you should use clear, concise language and avoid jargon. You should also
back up your plan with supporting documents, such as market research, financial statements, and
legal documents.

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
How To Write an Effective Business Plan
Whether you need a quick-launch overview or an in-depth plan for investors, any
business plan should cover the six key elements outlined in our free template and
explained below. The main difference in starting a small business versus an investor-
funded business is the market research and operational and financial details
needed to support the concept.

Your Mission or Vision
Start by declaring a “dream statement” for your business. You can call this your executive summary,
vision statement or mission. Whatever the name, the first part of your business plan summarizes your
idea by answering five questions. Keep it brief, such as an elevator pitch. You’ll expand these answers
in the following sections of the simple business plan template.
 What does your business do? Are you selling products, services, information or a combination?
 Where does this happen? Will you conduct business online, in-store, via mobile means or in a
specific location or environment?
 Who does your business benefit? Who is your target market and ideal customer for your
concept?
 Why would potential customers care? What would make your ideal customers take notice of
your business?
 How do your products and/or services outshine the competition? What would make your
ideal customers choose you over a competitor?
These answers come easily if you have a solid concept for your business, but don’t worry if you get
stuck. Use the rest of your plan template to brainstorm ideas and tactics. You’ll quickly find these
answers and possibly new directions as you explore your ideas and options.

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
Offer and Value Proposition
This is where you detail your offer, such as selling products, providing services or
both, and why anyone would care. That’s the value proposition. Specifically, you’ll
expand on your answers to the first and fourth bullets from your mission/vision.
As you complete this section, you might find that exploring value propositions
uncovers marketable business opportunities that you hadn’t yet considered. So
spend some time brainstorming the possibilities in this section.
For example, a cottage baker startup specializing in gluten-free or keto-friendly
products might be a value proposition that certain audiences care deeply about.
Plus, you could expand on that value proposition by offering wedding and other
special-occasion cakes that incorporate gluten-free, keto-friendly and traditional
cake elements that all guests can enjoy.

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
3. Audience and Ideal Customer
Here is where you explore bullet point number three, who your business will benefit. Identifying
your ideal customer and exploring a broader audience for your goods or services is essential in
defining your sales and marketing strategies, plus it helps fine-tune what you offer.
There are many ways to research potential audiences, but a shortcut is to simply identify a problem
that people have that your product or service can solve. If you start from the position of being a
problem solver, it’s easy to define your audience and describe the wants and needs of your ideal
customer for marketing efforts.
Using the cottage baker startup example, a problem people might have is finding fresh-baked gluten-
free or keto-friendly sweets. Examining the wants and needs of these people might reveal a target
audience that is health-conscious or possibly dealing with health issues and willing to spend more for
hard-to-find items.
However, it’s essential to have a customer base that can support your business. You can be too
specialized. For example, our baker startup can attract a broader audience and boost revenue by
offering a wider selection of traditional baked goods alongside its gluten-free and keto-focused
specialties.

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
4. Revenue Streams, Sales Channels and Marketing
Thanks to our internet-driven economy, startups have many revenue
opportunities and can connect with target audiences through various channels.
Revenue streams and sales channels also serve as marketing vehicles, so you can
cover all three in this section.
Revenue Streams
Revenue streams are the many ways you can make money in your business. In your plan
template, list how you’ll make money upon launch, plus include ideas for future expansion.
The income possibilities just might surprise you.

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
For example, our cottage baker startup might consider these revenue streams:
 Product sales: Online, pop-up shops, wholesale and (future) in-store sales
 Affiliate income: Monetize blog and social media posts with affiliate links
 Advertising income: Reserve website space for advertising
 E-book sales: (future) Publish recipe e-books targeting gluten-free and keto-friendly
dessert niches
 Video income: (future) Monetize a YouTube channel featuring how-to videos for the
gluten-free and keto-friendly dessert niches
 Webinars and online classes: (future) Monetize coaching-style webinars and online
classes covering specialty baking tips and techniques
 Members-only content: (future) Monetize a members-only section of the website for
specialty content to complement webinars and online classes
 Franchise: (future) Monetize a specialty cottage bakery concept and sell to franchise
entrepreneurs

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
Sales Channels
Sales channels put your revenue streams into action. This section also answers the “where will this happen”
question in the second bullet of your vision.
The product sales channels for our cottage bakery example can include:
 Mobile point-of-sale (POS): A mobile platform such as Shopify or Square POS for managing in-person
sales at local farmers’ markets, fairs and festivals
 E-commerce platform: An online store such as Shopify, Square or WooCommerce for online retail sales
and wholesale sales orders
 Social media channels: Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest shoppable posts and pins for online sales
via social media channels
 Brick-and-mortar location: For in-store sales, once the business has grown to a point that it can
support a physical location

Channels that support other income streams might include:
 Affiliate income: Blog section on the e-commerce website and affiliate partner accounts
 Advertising income: Reserved advertising spaces on the e-commerce website
 E-book sales: Amazon e-book sales via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
 Video income: YouTube channel with ad monetization
 Webinars and online classes: Online class and webinar platforms that support member
accounts, recordings and playback
 Members-only content: Password-protected website content using membership apps
such as MemberPress

Marketing
Nowadays, the line between marketing and sales channels is blurred. Social media outlets, e-books,
websites, blogs and videos serve as both marketing tools and income opportunities. Since most are
free and those with advertising options are extremely economical, these are ideal marketing outlets
for lean startups.
However, many businesses still find value in traditional advertising such as local radio, television,
direct mail, newspapers and magazines. You can include these advertising costs in your simple
business plan template to help build a marketing plan and budget.

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
Structure, Suppliers and Operations
This section of your simple business plan template explores how to structure and operate your business.
Details include the type of business organization your startup will take, roles and responsibilities, supplier
logistics and day-to-day operations. Also, include any certifications or permits needed to launch your
enterprise in this section.
Our cottage baker example might use a structure and startup plan such as this:
 Business structure: Sole proprietorship with a “doing business as” (DBA).
 Permits and certifications: County-issued food handling permit and state cottage food certification for
home-based food production. Option, check into certified commercial kitchen rentals.
 Roles and responsibilities: Solopreneur, all roles and responsibilities with the owner.
 Supply chain: Bulk ingredients and food packaging via Sam’s Club, Costco, Amazon Prime with annual
membership costs. Uline for shipping supplies; no membership needed.
 Day-to-day operations: Source ingredients and bake three days per week to fulfill local and online
orders. Reserve time for specialty sales, wholesale partner orders and market events as needed. Ship
online orders on alternating days. Update website and create marketing and affiliate blog posts on non-
shipping days.

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
Financial Forecasts
Your final task is to list forecasted business startup and ongoing costs and profit projections in
your simple business plan template. Thanks to free business tools such as Square and free
marketing on social media, lean startups can launch with few upfront costs. In many cases, cost of
goods, shipping and packaging, business permits and printing for business cards are your only
out-of-pocket expenses.

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
Gross Profit Projections
This helps you determine the retail prices and sales volume required to keep your business
running and, hopefully, earn income for yourself. Use product research to spot target retail prices
for your goods, then subtract your cost of goods, such as hourly rate, raw goods and supplier
costs. The total amount is your gross profit per item or service.
Bottom Line
Putting careful thought and detail in a business plan is always beneficial, but don’t get so bogged
down in planning that you never hit the start button to launch your business. Also, remember
that business plans aren’t set in stone. Markets, audiences and technologies change, and so will
your goals and means of achieving them. Think of your business plan as a living document and
regularly revisit, expand and restructure it as market opportunities and business growth demand.

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