How to make a Business Plan? The complete guide of Corpseed

1. Get started How to make a Business Plan? The complete guide of Corpseed onlineservice Feb 21 · 11 min read Follow What is a Business Plan and what is it for? For any business initiative, not only if it belongs to an innovative sector, the Business Plan is a fundamental management tool, a programmatic, strategic and analytical document with many and different purposes: Provide strategic guidance, a list of steps that will be followed and objectives that are expected to be achieved. Navigating aimlessly and without a route can be highly counterproductive, especially in stormy economic waters such as these days, it is therefore essential to set intermediate short and medium term objectives that allow you to better identify the path to more ambitious destinations.

2. Help to identify and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the project and thus identify the feasible alternative strategies. Get started Establish benchmarks (a reference point for a measurement) on the basis of which you can evaluate future business decisions and results. Essentially placing an imaginary rod with which to measure ourselves. Provide the basic information to build the financial structure , then make detailed information available to quantify the net financial requirement. Furthermore, the business plan is indispensable to indicate the choice of the sources of financing necessary to cover the needs. All this serves as a basis for identifying financial strategies intended to increase the economic value of corporate capital. Promote relationships with possible joint venture partners and with customers, suppliers and distributors. The Business Plan therefore represents a process and a fundamental management document for all businesses. However, there are so many possible sectors, so many possible businesses and so many possible variables that it is not possible to propose a standard Business Plan model. What can be done is to identify which characteristics are fundamental for its drafting and which are the essential parts for a good drafting of the plan. Before continuing and deepening the rules of how to make a business plan, we must specify that the Business Plan is not a static document which, once drawn up, will be set aside and never looked at again. Each company tends to go through 3 phases in its life: startup also called start-up, development and maturity. In general, the transition to each new phase of a company’s life corresponds to an increase in revenues and in the number of employees (perhaps of product lines, company assets, investment sectors, etc.) and a greater delegation of management tasks. These steps will necessarily require an update of the Business Plan, making it a dynamic document and an essential reference point for business management. The Executive Summary in the Business Plan If you want to learn how to make an effective business plan, you must absolutely become an Executive Summary black belt. The Executive Summary is in fact the most important part of a business plan , the section that introduces the document itself, allowing the reader to get an idea of the project. Its fundamental value lies in

3. being the first element examined by a potential investor. It could be compared, diminishing, to the exegesis or introduction of a novel that must be written in order to be able to catch the attention of the reader who, if not satisfied, could decide not to complete the reading. It is therefore important to be clear, direct and compelling, immediately getting to the point. Get started The Executive Summary will contain the most relevant elements of the plan and will have to show its uniqueness and validity in a few pages. The executive summary must therefore: Clarify the foundation of the plan. Clearly indicate products or services to be developed and the markets to which the company addresses. It is important to be clear and never ambiguous in these descriptions that define who you are, what you do and in which sector you will work. Furthermore, in preparing the Business Plan never forget to carefully dose the ambition of the objectives set! The perfect way to ruin everything is to think of conquering an extremely competitive market in record time and with rich resources.

4. Explain changes in growth trends. Get started Especially if the company in question comes from very static markets or periods, an accurate analysis of these trends must be provided. It will be essential to describe the changes in the market or company clearly and precisely and the reasons for these changes. Avoid slogans. A business plan is not an advertising campaign. If you believe that the product presented will be the best on the market, you will have to explain the reason in detail with objective and factual analyzes. Bear in mind that the first impression is what matters. Often people are influenced by the first impression, so be careful not to make statements not supported by data, use a professional and punctual writing style, check that the numbers presented square and leave no doubt, organize the text in a clear, consequential and linear way , beware of spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors. Remember that “flashy” plans are counterproductive. Too “flashy” business plans are often perceived as “all form and no substance”, something futile, a waste of financial resources. In the last instance, he reminds that it is advisable to cite external, reliable and independent sources to support what is stated in the plan. Above all, the declarations relating to the target market and to the competition must be supported, as far as possible, by information from independent third parties, giving greater credibility to the forecasts. In any case, avoid using ambiguous language. Vague terms such as “may be”, “probably”, “maybe” in business have no place and may also have a negative effect on a potential investor or partner who reads. Always prefer a positive and decisive tone. The description of the company This is the section dedicated to the more detailed description of the company, section with which the true heart of the business plan opens; this aims to illustrate in a timely manner the nature of the company and describe its fundamental

5. characteristics starting from the mission (which is never simply making money) and passing from the exposure of short, medium and long-term objectives, strengths and weaknesses and success factors; up to, if necessary and present, general information such as: the type of company and date of incorporation, past and / or expected changes in the company’s legal form, investors and directors and the organization chart. Get started In this section it must emerge, for example, whether the company is an industrial, a retailer or a service company, what is its reference market, where is it located within the market, what is the offer it puts in place , it is local or multinational, which level of development has so far been achieved. It is in this part of the business plan that the objectives to be achieved are explained, which of course must be realistic, achievable and at the same time capable of attracting the attention of potential financiers. For simplicity, we list below the points that this chapter of the business plan must satisfy: In which sector does the company operate? An introductory general description followed by the details. A certain originality is always recommended for the exhibition, which helps to fully convey the competitive scenario in which the company operates. What are the company’s goals? Goals should be listed as explicitly as possible including financial goals and all available details such as: revenues, gross and net profits, return on investment (ROI). Fundamental on this issue is also the definition and illustration of the so- called KPI (key performance indicators) typical of the sector or of the company. What are the company’s critical success factors? The critical factors are not the corporate objectives, but are the factors that allow them to be achieved. In this section it is necessary to indicate the specific characteristics of the management, the company organization and its products that have contributed, or are expected to contribute, to its success. What are the successes already achieved and the strengths of the company?

6. Explain if you intend to capitalize and invest on what has been a success factor of the company in the past or if you want to start new alternative or complementary initiatives based on new skills or on a different use of those already matured. Get started What are the difficulties and weaknesses? This is a very delicate and not secondary part of the document. Indeed, difficulties and weaknesses that threaten the success of the company must be drawn up. Criticalities that must be monitored to be contained or eliminated. Obviously, not every weakness can be eliminated! It is up to the entrepreneur to decide the priorities, which points are to be addressed and which points instead constitute a necessary strategic compromise. The form usually adopted for this examination is that operated on the basis of a cost / benefit calculation. The analysis of the sector Carrying out a sector analysis allows you to decide in which sectors the company will operate and how it will allocate resources . The sector analysis also allows to draw the scenario in which the company operates and to define the competitive advantages, the critical success factors and the main threats . Market analysis Consequent to the analysis of the sector is the market analysis which consists in the acquisition and deep processing of data useful to design the environment in which the company will place itself with its offer. The market analysis puts under the magnifying glass key factors such as the key decision factors that convey the purchase choice of potential customers and many other details that change depending on the time and budget available for the study. The marketing strategy The marketing strategy is nothing more than the set of guidelines along which the company, in the medium-long term, wants and must proceed to achieve and achieve the goals it has set itself. So, how to make a business plan without delving into the guidelines that will dictate the course of our work?

7. To define the strategies that will guide the company choices, it will obviously be necessary to take into account sector and market analyzes and then goes on to define the so-called levers of the Marketing Mix: Get started 1. Product : not only the product / service in a physical and concrete sense, but its qualities, the line of belonging, the after-sales service, the guarantee, etc; 2. Price : the sale price of the product / service must take into account the company costs, the prices charged by the competitors, the pricing policies, the discounts, the methods and times of payment; 3. Point of sale (distribution): how to distribute your product. If there are direct sales outlets, if there are intermediaries (for example a wholesaler), if distribution also takes place online and how; 4. Promotion : all advertising, communication and public relations activities aimed at making your product / service known to the market. The management structure Whatever the company, regardless of the sector to which it belongs or its size, it is the people who make the difference . The best business idea can be totally bankrupt if managed by managers who are not up to par. Equally, the presence of a solid and prepared management is absolutely fundamental also in the eyes of potential investors who often evaluate the proposals they receive not on the idea or product, but on the qualities and skills of the team that must develop them. The requirements that the team must possess in order for the series of interrelationships that distinguish it to be efficient for achieving the objectives are: 1. The common purpose and a harmonious vision towards the set goal; 2. the number, type and characteristics of the individual members must be functional to the objective in terms of adequacy; 3. They must have precisely defined tasks and competences, be hierarchically framed and have a clear rule for maintaining all the relationships established. That’s why this section of the business plan needs some attention in its compilation.

8. The three phases that lead to the composition of the chapter dedicated to the management structure are: Get started 1. Identification of functions; 2. Indication of characteristics and skills; 3. Presentation of people. The definition of organization and structure are useful for identifying the functions performed by the various collaborators with their respective responsibilities. Compared to this, the part concerning the personal part, or the management with the related CVs, will be detailed, identifying the right person for each individual role. The first phase of the work concerns the identification of the company functions on the basis of the activity we want to carry out; for example: 1. Production: deals with the identification of the most suitable technology and, for example, controls the machines and the guarantor structure of the manufacturing process; 2. Procurement: guarantees the security of purchases of raw materials and all that is necessary for production, defining stocks and purchase times; 3. Marketing: defines and illustrates the company’s strategies and connects products / services with the market, identifying the opportunities, studying and applying the necessary moves to seize them; 4. Sale: not limited to the mere commercial and distribution issue but including the part of customer assistance in the post-sale phase; 5. Research and development: the assurance of continuous competitive advantage through the periodic identification of new processes and new products; The implementation plan or operational plan The implementation plan or operational plan expresses in detail the systems and methods of creating its products or providing its services. In practice it is the point where we try to define the transition from theory to practice by demonstrating that we have the skills to bring the idea and vision to their effective realization.

9. Get started The operational plan takes into consideration the daily processes or rather all the processes that can be defined in the short term and the general objectives or the “milestones” that are aimed at in the medium and long term which will be used as a benchmark for checking success of the business idea. Essential in this part of the business plan is to provide with due detail a description of problems and solutions relating to: 1. Practical and procedural organization of work 2. Practical and procedural organization of the capital invested in the production processes 3. Practical and procedural organization of raw material supplies 4. Production and supply techniques used 5. Policies adopted with the sales force 6. Policies adopted with suppliers As for the whole business plan, also in this section we will try to be clear, logical and accurate in the description, without however falling too much in the technicality. The business plan, we must never forget, is a document with a strategic-managerial and non-technical function.

10. The contents listed above can be ordered and displayed according to 4 key points: Get started Product development A significant summary of research and development policies; Production Paragraph dedicated to resources and processes that lead to the final result: product or service that is; After-sales assistance More and more central in every activity, the organization dedicated to customer support and loyalty is now the real core of the competitiveness of many sectors; External influencing factors Extremely variable content from sector to sector, as well as many other factors. However, it is fundamental for a significant estimate of how external factors could modify the production or supply activity. Business Plan Business Idea WRITTEN BY onlineservice Corpseed | Pollution Advisory | Virtual CFO | Audit | Risk & Assurance | Legal Advisory | Fin-tech Advisory Follow

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