Of course, you have a business
plan for your startup. This is essential because it serves as the roadmap or
blueprint for your small business. Your business plan is also what you base
your future decisions on.
Despite knowing how important a
business plan is, it's sad to know that many business owners don't take it
seriously. They don't pay enough attention to the crafting of their business
plan so it ends up not meeting its objectives, and what's worse, it
misrepresents their business.
The following are the most
common reasons why a business plan might fail, and what you can do to avoid
making such mistakes in your own business plan.
1. You don't take into
consideration your specific audience.
A business plan that is used
for everyone is an irrelevant plan because it's not going to satisfy any
specific audience group. For a business plan to be an effective one, it has to
be mapped out for a particular audience. This is the only way it can address
their questions and concerns.
What you need to do is be clear
from the very start for whom you are writing the business plan. You should then
enumerate the possible questions they want to be answered, and make sure you
base your business plan on those questions.
2. Your business plan contains
too much information about your business.
You are the one who knows your
business the most, so it will be tempting to show off your knowledge on the
business plan. This isn't always good, however, because you might overdo it and
forget to offer value for the reader.
When writing your business
plan, be sure to limit the information you will provide. Answer each question
briefly and accurately. Think about who's going to read your business plan, and
decide what information they need and need not know about your business.
3. You can't describe your
market using your own words.
Sadly, many entrepreneurs are
now able to describe their market in their own words. What they do instead is
copy from the internet any material that they can use on the market section of
their business plan.
The only way you can
effectively talk about your market is to know your specific market. Make sure
you identify which among your market is relevant and which isn't.
4. You don't discuss your
financials clearly.
It is common for many
entrepreneurs to be unsure about the financials section of their business plan.
This could be because of the complexity of this section, or their own
unfamiliarity with the topic.
When writing the financials
section of your business plan, be sure to discuss what the numbers mean using
simple language. This is a much better approach compared to being technical
about the figures. If you need the help of a business consultant, by all means find one so you can come up with
a good business plan.
