HOW TO DRAFT A GOOD BUSINESS PLAN?

Drafting a Business Plan (“Plan d’affaire”) is a major step in the creation of a business.
A good business plan allows verifying that your project is viable and durable.

   You will find below some tips in order to help you to elaborate your business plan.

HOW TO PRESENT YOUR BUSINESS PLAN?

The presentation of your business plan must be dynamic and clear.

There are some obvious but necessary elements to keep in mind, such as:

• Numbering the pages of your business plan;
• Writing concise and precise titles;
• Having an homogenous font;
• Illustrating your business plan.

These elements will allow you to attract the attention of your readers.
Most of the time a business plan is a 10 – 20 page-document. Its two main strands are:

1. The presentation of your professional project (introduction of the strategies and action plan); and

2. The presentation of your prospective figures resulting from your strategies and action plan.

THE PRESENTATION OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL PROJECT

Your business plan shall contain the aims of your project and the different tools and means to reach them.
There are a couple of questions you should ask yourself and develop with details in order to present your professional project: 

1. What type of business do you have?

2. What is the purpose of this business?

3. What is the key message or phrase to describe your business in one sentence?

4. What is your reason for starting your own business?

5. What is your product or service?

6. Can you list three unique benefits of your product?

7. Do you have datasheets, brochures, diagrams, sketches, photographs, related press releases or other documentation about your product/service?

8. What is the product application?

9. What led you to develop your product?

10. Is this product or service used in connection with other products?

11. List the top three objections to buying your product/service?

12. When will your product be available?

THE PRESENTATION OF YOUR PROSPECTIVE FIGURES RESULTING FROM YOUR STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLAN

After having presented your functional strategies and your action plans, your business plan shall present the financial profitability of your activity. In this part you shall ask yourself different questions:

1.       Who is your competition?

2.       How is your product different from that of your competition?

3.       What is the pricing of your product versus your competition?

4.       Are you making any special offers/promotions?

5.       How will you finance the company

6.       What is the structure of your management team?

7.       What plans do you have for advertising?

You shall draft a chart summing up your financing plan for the next three years. For each year your chart must have two main strands:

1.       A part identifying the new durable financial needs of your business for the 1st fiscal year; and

2.       A part identifying al the new stable financial resources which intervene on this same fiscal year.

Pitfalls to avoid in your business plan

•  Do not be too optimistic regarding the assessment of your sales revenue. It is preferable to take into consideration the most unfavorable scenarios.

•  Do not forget to mention the risks of your professional activity in order to give more credibility to your business plan. It shows that you have a complete  knowledge of your activity and that you know how to remedy to complex situations.