Business Plan: How to Develop An Effective Business Plan
Can you imagine taking a 6 month holiday – the holiday of your life – without first giving thought to where you would like to go, where you would like to stay, and what attractions you would like to visit? Whilst it may be fun and exciting at first to just set off into the sunset without a plan or care in the world, it would begin to wear a little thin when you get lost and don’t enjoy the towns or cities you’re visiting.
This is why it is important to plan first.
Your business plan gives you the opportunity to objectively look at your options, analyse your market and competitors, devise appropriate strategies, and set your goals so you can hit your targets and have success in your business.
With thousands of people starting and failing in business each year, your business plan will be your blueprint to staying on track and, importantly, saving yourself time and money in the long run.
Why Research Is The Backbone To Your Business Plan:
Consider your research as the backbone to your business plan. The research you conduct now will form the basis of your plan and allow you to objectively analyse each key component of your business plan, namely: the industry; your target market; your competitors; and your operational requirements.
Once you have researched and defined these areas, you can then begin to develop your business plan.
But before your begin your research, take time in thinking about the questions you would like answers to; in alignment with the industry, target market, competitors and operational requirements.
- What do you need to know?
- What problems must be solved in each area?
- Who are your customers? Dependable on the what you wish to be involved with and how you intend to market, there will be certain customer characteristics that need defining such as: geographics, lifestyle, age, gender, customer requirements, motivations, brand loyalties, and so on.
- What type of people would you like to attract
- What type of marketing channels will work best for you?
- What type of product do your customers buy and why?
- What do your competitors do to attract those customers?
- What have been the trends in the industry; and what are the forecasted trends?
- What are the legal or regulatory requirements in your industry / niche?
- What are the costs to starting your business?
- How should you structure your business (i.e. sole trader / company / trust / etc)?
Prepare your questions beforehand so you don’t waste valuable time in re-visiting your research sources to gain additional information.
Your research can be conducted via a number of different methods, including (amongst others):
- Reviewing the competitor websites and marketing material.
- Reading third-party reviews.
- Accessing statistical data by Government agencies and other independent bodies. This is also important to define industry trends.
- Gathering information from trade or industry associations associated with your niche.
- Contacting educational institutions to access research projects.
- Examining the competition: opt in to lists, talk to leaders from competitor companies, and research competitor websites.
- Consulting with a qualified accountant.
- Networking with other people and leaders who are already involved in your industry.
The 6 Key Parts (or Elements) In Your Business Plan:
- Executive Summary: This is an outline that may describe such matters as your background, goals, assets, financial returns, vision / mission, and so on.
- Business Description: Outline your business name and structure and describe your product (or service), industry, your market, customers and so on.
- Competitor Analysis: Outline your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) in accordance with your own business and competitor analysis.
- Sales & Marketing Plan: Outline your sales and marketing strategies, which should also link to your financial plan.
- Financial Analysis: Include an income statement, cash flow statement and balance sheet which also provides a break-even analysis and ratio analyses to determine stability of certain aspects of your business.
- Appendices: Include references, examples, case studies, spreadsheets, etc.
FREE RESOURCES:
- SWOT Analysis Template, including methods and examples.
- The Game of Business and How To Play It by Paul Gorman: free eBook
Defining Your Wants & Needs For Business Success
Part 2: How to define your values, wants and needs so you can create a road-map and mindset that is crucial to defining who you are, where you want to go, and the Entrepreneurial vision to succeed.
Once you’ve clearly Defined Your Values For Business Success (Part 1) you’ll then want to work out what your wants and needs are in alignment with your Values.
Now you know what truly matters to you and makes you fulfilled (aka your values), how does that fit into the whole business plan? How can you fit that into your business life?
Next step is in defining your strengths; what you love doing and that makes your heart sing with joy… incidentally, can you see how this is starting to fit with your Values? Think of it like a jigsaw puzzle 
The first piece of the jigsaw puzzle is your Values, the next piece is listing out what you’re good at or love doing. Everything can be learned, so don’t be concerned if you’re not a ‘master’ of something you love doing or would love to do… when you consistently apply that skill and continuously upgrade your knowledge, you WILL become a master and leader.
Below is a Worksheet to help you out, but hang on to your horses… don’t open it yet. Because there’s another piece of the jigsaw that makes it all fit together.
And that is your Needs.
When you’ve identified what you love doing and of which speaks to your heart, the next piece of the jigsaw puzzle is to define what your needs are at this point in time. For instance, given that you want to find or start a home based business, one of these needs may be flexibility and freedom to work the hours you want. Complete this part of the Worksheet and jot down all the reasons you are starting a home based business; and I mean EVERYTHING, no matter if you feel something is trivial – jot it down.
You’re nearly there…
Final step of the jigsaw puzzle is to define your Wants.
And I want you to dream BIG here. What do you REALLY want out of life, out of your business? Your home based business will determine the QUALITY of life you have, so consider your personal life as well, not just your business wants.
As an example, one of your wants for a home based business may be to earn $250k annually; so this would affect your personal life too in what you want for yourself and your family. DREAM BIG. Imagine this part of your Worksheet as your Life & Business Canvas; here you can design the life and business that you REALLY want – not just need.
Once you’re done defining your Values, Strengths, Needs and Wants, you will start to see an emerging pattern of what really matters to you.
Only then can you can start to put all the jigsaw pieces together to map out your future life and identify a business that is in alignment with all four areas.
Once you do, and once you find or start that home based business which is in alignment with all four areas, then you will truly step out with passion and purpose and enjoy the LIFE you created for yourself.
Have fun piecing it together! 
Defining your values for business success
Part 1: How to define your values, wants and needs so you can create a road-map and mindset that is crucial to defining who you are, where you want to go, and the Entrepreneurial vision to succeed.
“Values are who we are. Not who we would like to be, not who we think we should be, but who we are in our lives, right now. Another way to put it is that values represent our unique and individual essence, our ultimate and most fulfilling form of expressing and relating. Our values serve as a compass pointing out what it means to be true to oneself. When we honour our values on a regular and consistent basis, life is good and fulfilling.” (Ref: Co-Active Coaching, 2nd Ed.)
Your Values will resonate deeply within you and define who you are, as a person. They are your anchor, your sail, and your rudder as your traverse the seas in your life and business journey.
Your Values will also change over time – or their order of relevance will alter. This is normal as life never remains the same and you are not standing still. It’s therefore important that you check in from time to time to see if the path you continue on is still aligned with who you are.
Your Values also play a huge impact on your business endeavours; whether you are currently in a home based business or considering starting a home based business.
Why? Because your values are what make you jump out of bed with vigour and excitement! Think about it. If you are in a home business (or if you are currently in a job) where your heart just isn’t in it, then it’s hard to jump out of bed, excited to start the day, wouldn’t you agree?
When we lose passion for what we are doing in our life, then it usually comes back to a misalignment with what we believe in and what we hold close to our hearts – which in turn, equates to our Values.
Only once you have defined your Values can you then identify your wants and needs – what matters to you, what motivates you both in your personal and work life. Once defined, you can then create your roadmap based on your wants and needs and identify the business route which closely matches your Values.
Choosing your business route first without defining your values, wants and needs is akin to embarking on the holiday of your life without a map and without first giving consideration to where you want to go, how you’re going to get there, and the “style” of holiday you would like to enjoy.
It might be exciting at first to be on a trip with no itinerary or map, but after awhile it would wear a little thin when you get lost all the time and end up in places you don’t really like. The holiday of a lifetime may turn into the holiday of disasters and you would be miserable!
Well, your business route or journey is just the same. Once you have discovered your Values and what matters to you, then you can step out with a vision to find or start a home based business that is aligned with who you are so you can then truly live life with passion and purpose and embark on a business journey that sets you up for success.
I’d like to challenge you in spending some time in evaluating who you are and what matters to you. Download the Values Worksheet to help you in defining your Values. I recommend you print it out so you can work on it.
Remember, you are not standing still; you are always evolving, so take the time now to go through the Worksheet, even if you feel you know your Values well. You may be delighted at what you discover.
To your success!
Download Your Values Worksheet (PDF file)
Go To Part 2: Defining Your Strengths, Wants & Needs For Business Success
