What Is A Business Plan?

A business plan is a document that outlines your business idea, your objectives and how you plan to achieve them. It acts as a road map for your business.

Why Do I Need A Business Plan?

Your business plan communicates the advantages of your business to others e.g. bank managers, investors and funding agencies. Therefore, it is essential in securing finance. It also organises your plans for the business and provides a set of goals against which progress can be measured.

Useful Tips

Prepare the plan yourself:

• You know your business idea better than anyone else. Therefore, you are the best person to explain it in your business plan.
• Writing your own business plan gives you the chance to anticipate problems that may arise and consider how you will deal with them.
• If you have a partner in the business you should work on the plan together.

 Be clear & stick to the point:

• Keep the document as brief as possible. The overall length will depend on the complexity of the project.
• Clearly state your goals and ensure that they are realistic and achievable.
• You obviously know your idea inside out – but don’t presume that your reader does. Explain your ideas clearly and logically so that they can be easily understood by others.

 Be realistic:

• Don’t promise what you can’t deliver! This is particularly important when it comes to your financial projections. Being over optimistic will put your investment at risk.                                                                                                                               

Guidelines & Template

The following documents are available on this site to help you when writing your business plan:

Guidelines for writing a business plan

Business plan template