How do you go about creating a business plan?
I am working on web project. I need to create business plan for it. What are the factors I should consider while writing it? Is there a template that I can refer to?
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Jan 21, 2015
There are many websites that are available for learning how to write a business plan as well as templates. For a web project you should consider the goals, product, audience, and industry.
Here is a great link to a template that is very in depth. Not all of this may apply for your current project but this is a excellent template and model structure to follow.
http://www.bplans.co.uk/web_design_business_plan/executive_summary_fc.cfm
Jan 18, 2015
You have gotten some good advice from the respondents.
I have a template I can send you that I know works with investors. I also have a template for an investor presentation.
Go to http://www.paladinandassociates.com/articles/the-ten-keys-to-a-successful-business-plan/ to see the 10 basics for a good business plan.
Bill Warner
Jan 15, 2015
Understand the business need and focus area, identify the Target customer and their level of understanding first before you lay out your plan
Jan 15, 2015
Richard Stern- A Business Plan provides an understanding of the business. The Plan discusse the product, or service, the management who will run the company, the Sales and marketing, the finances and all the specifics of your business. While writing the Plan you will come across sections that will require research as competition. Once done anyone who rads the Plaqn wil understand your journey.
Jan 15, 2015
There are many things that go in preparing a Business plan. It needs to show what are your goals and how you wish to achieve them. It should essentially contain a brief summary, information on company, Management Team, information on Product or service you wish to offer, Demand analysis of the same, How you wish to arrange funds for your company and a financial metrics it needs to have details based on the Target audience. There are lot of templates available on the web which can help you in preparing a generic Business plan but an expert can help you preparing a Business plan as per the Target audience which would be more defined and useful.
Jan 15, 2015
I'm a fan of LeanStack. It helped me visualize and organize my plan, which then helped me indentify areas in which I needed to seek outside expertise. https://leanstack.com/
Jan 15, 2015
I dont have a lot of experience in web projects but basic things to look out can be revenue model, costs expected, expertise required to execute and maintain the project( figure out if expertise can be hired), marketing strateg etc
Jan 14, 2015
In my experience, prior to writing a business plan,I would recommand going through the Business Model exercise. The guidelines can be found in the book Business Model Generation (available on Amazon) and find useful opensource Maps on the net. It's an easy to follow process that will allow you to cover all the required steps for building your business plan.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
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Jan 14, 2015
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Jan 14, 2015
1. Assess project/product offering
a. Is this for a start-up? Flexibility and optimism are key elements here and of course (lack of) available resources. Project approval signature level resides with President/owner, perhaps a briefing to community board members.
b. Existing Small Business? Wanting to move/grow to next level. Cautiously flexible. Project approval signature levels may not be that tedious; just beginning to look at business unit separations.
c. Existing Large/Multinational Business? Cut in stone Corporate Procedures. Minimal room for innovation. Follow the processes, they may even have corporate business plan templates complete with Corporate Logo and Letterhead; which will include departmental signatory authority and project monetary levels
2. Determine target market of project
3. Evaluate company's ability to meet/exceed customers' requirements
4. Establish project's pro forma (projected/expected) Revenues/Return on Investment
a. Develop budget for phased/key implementation points
b. Incorporate graphs/charts
5. Develop project timeline from concept to completion
a. Identify key milestones for periodic project reviews
b. Is there a planned duration for project once implemented/stood up?
c. Incorporate timeline, if complex, large project, include only headers within business plan schedule graph/discussion
6. Obtain 3rd party objective review of your offering
a. Do not forget Non-disclosure/confidentiality agreement
7. Obtain corporate buy-in/acceptance of your creation
a. Validate and verify all tweaks/agendas have been incorporated
b. Remind and follow project timeline with cutoff dates for revisions (to the left of milestones).
c. Major revisions or no value added revisions will impact project implementation date and project resources.
d. Attempt to avoid project scope creep or 'soft' implementation date; understanding you are working for somebody else.
8. Implement
9. Get paid. Perhaps percentage aligned with project percentage completion/acceptance.
10. Project close-out/turnover.
Some of these steps may occur concurrently and you are incorporating them within your business plan. Try to avoid over-thinking or analysis paralysis. "if you wait until everything is perfect, you will never get started...".
There are plenty of templates on the internet (some are 'free' and others will require money). Business plan templates are also available within whatever office software you may be currently using.
Thanks for suggestion. I am reading Business Model Generation book and that is helping out to plan my product strategy.