A business is exactly that: business. That means if you don’t take things seriously, the chunk of cash you are envisioning will disappear like mist. In other words, if you fail to plan, you’ll have planned to fail. No serious entrepreneur will sweat to get his or her hands on a good amount of money only to waste it within a few months in the name of starting a business. That’s why a business plan is crucial; if your business is to succeed. But how do you ensure that you come up with a business plan that will guarantee the success of your enterprise? That’s a good question; let’s find out.

1. Do Your Homework

A business plan is a blueprint for your business. It acts as a guide, and a reference point on where your business is coming from, where it is, and where it’s going. The homework or research being referred to here is in the business you intend to start or fund.

If you are starting a new business, it’ll be of great importance that you be aware of its chances of success. If you are launching a new product, then you should know whether another product of a similar nature exists or the new product is in a class of its own. You should know whether the new product will sell and possibly to what degree. The research or homework is to help you gather data that will enable you to figure all these out so that you can come up with the best plan possible to ensure your business is a success.

Of course, if you are writing a business plan, it means there’s a problem in the society you intend to take care of with your products or services. The research will enable you to understand the extent of this problem and how effective your solution may be at solving it.

Something else you may overlook is the law in your state and how it may affect your business. Your business plan must indicate the nature or type of business you intend to start. Will it be a sole proprietorship or partnership or something else? Whatever type of business you intend to start, you must consider how the laws of your state will impact the starting process and what will be involved in successfully starting the business.

Ultimately, you have to consider whether you’ll be funding the business yourself or whether you’ll need funding from, perhaps, investors or even family and friends. Doing your homework will enable you to know how to approach either case. If you’ll be funding the business yourself, then you won’t have to go to great lengths while formulating your business plan. But if you’ll be needing funding from other parties, then your business plan has to be so juicy and promising that they will have no choice but to want a piece of the cake. Your business plan will have to be convincing enough to make the third parties want to invest in you and your business.

2. Customization

What makes you different from other businesses? What makes you stand out from the rest? What’s so special about you? That’s what customization is all about. It’s true that there is a standard format that a business plan should conform to and there are things that business plans should contain. But that does not mean that every business plan should be like that. You should consider the nature of the products or services your business will be bringing to the market. You should also consider the kind of spirit your business is going to have. Then structure your business plan with all these things considered. Come up with a business plan that will make you stand out and also one that will make either the investors or your employees and customers believe in your business enough to want to support you by either buying whatever you are selling or ensuring that whatever you are selling, sells.

3. Financial Plan

Please don’t start writing a business plan without a financial plan. Capital is fundamental to any business. Most startups fail within the first six to seven months in business due to financial challenges; either lack of capital or poor financial plans. I don’t think you want to be a part of this statistic.

If it’s tough for you to come up with a good financial plan, it’s better you consider consulting a business plan writing service. Yes, it’s better you get help and end up with a business plan that will make you as financially independent as you aspire than a business plan that will make you hate yourself six months down the road. Remember that if you’ll be writing a business plan that’s intended to attract investors, you’ll have to work a bit harder than if you were financing the business yourself. A financial plan is crucial and you must have one even before you start writing your business plan. In fact, start with it, then do the other things.

4. Be Brief

Go straight to the point. Keep it simple. Business plans are usually long, around 30 to 50 pages, depending on what needs to be covered. If you are targeting investors, you don’t want to waste their time on matters that don’t matter. That will only reflect poorly on you and they’ll lose confidence in you even before they finish going through it. Include only things that are essential to the business plan, the business, and the investors. Your financial plan is a must in this aspect. Other important things are your products/ services, vision, mission, marketing strategy, business description, among others. These are things that will make anyone reading the business plan see the significance of your business. Go straight to the point because the sooner you convince your audience; the sooner you’ll receive their support.

5. Flexibility

A good business plan is not rigid unless that’s the nature of your business; I hope not. Consider writing a business plan that will grow with your business. You may not see that far into the future yet, but you must expect your business to grow beyond where you see it going at the moment. Create a business plan that will adapt and flex with the changes of time. Remember, when you stop growing, you die. It is law. So keep growing. Just consider companies like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Apple, or Kodak. Think how long they’ve been around, what they’ve been through, and what they’ve been doing to stay alive, and you’ll see the essence of this point.

6. Format

This point agrees with the one on customization and being brief. You can come up with a format that’s your own. But whatever you come up with, ensure that it covers the most important things you want it to cover and that it’s something your audience will find easy to flip through and understand.

Observe the above and you can’t go wrong. I wish you only the best.