The first step in having a successful business is have a proper plan before commencing things.
Planning enables you to identify both risks and opportunity and keep you prepared to face both.
An article in success.com lists out a few basic elements that should be implemented in any plan.
Have a executive summary of who you are. If you are a new startup, make sure that you list out the background experience and as well as that of any partners. If you are an already established company, add details of when your company was started and the name of the founders and their roles. This will give the readers an interest of what they can expect from the organisation.
The next aspect is explaining what your company does and how different you are from the others in the same field. List out your future plans and your advantage over others.
Before stepping in to the market, analyse the field that you are targeting. Learn the recent technologies and the latest developments in the industry. Always ensure that you have enough cash flow and even to operate at a loss of 11 months a year.
List out the details of ownership and show the organisation chart. In the long run of business sustainability, it is important to clarify the customers on what you are selling and how often they have to replace it.
You have to let the customers know what you have and for that marketing becomes very important. A suitable strategy should be formed according to your business and your point of sale.
A proper plan to repay the borrowed money should also be sorted out. This will ease of lot of nerves including yours and the investors.
In case if you are looking for funds, it is best to tell a realistic forecast of what you are going to do. Show your recent financial statements and base your projections on those. This will give a clear ideas to your investors.
