Written on the 8 February 2014 by National Australia Bank
How to write a business plan by Nab
13 May 2013
Part 1
Posted in Business finance, Business planning, Business tips, Growing a business, Running a business, Starting a business
A business plan outlines your strategy for the next couple of years. It may be used to help support an application for business finance or business grants, or it could be just for your own use as a roadmap for the growth of your business. It explains your objectives and the actions required to get your small business from where it is now, to where you want it to be.
The process of writing your plan will help you focus, crystallise your ideas and identify priorities, saving both time and effort. Your business plan will give you a clear sense of direction and a benchmark enabling you to measure progress.
Preparing content for your plan
Keep your plan as short as possible as overly detailed business plans can be too cumbersome to use. Focus on the information the reader needs to know. Leave the finer detail for operational or marketing plans or attach information such as technical details of a product in an appendix.
Involve your team
Involve your employees in the planning process to gain both their insights and their buy-in to the plan. This will help you build a successful, committed team. Planning together will also identify priorities that provide useful benchmarks to measure performance.
Be realistic
Keep your business plan realistic. For example, unrealistic sales forecasts could lead to increased overheads followed by a damaging cash flow crisis and drastic cost cutting. It could also damage your credibility, because lenders and other interested parties will quickly see through optimistic plans that ignore weaknesses or threats.
