Business Plan

A business plan is a document that is required to obtain a loan. In addition, through the business plan, it is also a document that triggers the company to objectively reconsider its business content. If you have a business plan, anyone can see the details of your business, and you will know what strategies you plan to use to increase profits.

In addition to being used for screening when raising funds, the business plan is also useful as a document to show to a consultant when the business is stuck.

A simple explanation of a business plan is that it summarizes the strategy of the business that you have been thinking about in your head. Even if the plan is ambiguous when you think about it in your head, you can clarify what you need for your business by putting it in a document. Specifically, what kind of business is it and what kind of profit model is it? Also, if you change the content depending on who it is for, the appeal will increase.

Benefits of Business Plan

Many of you may be wondering, “Why do I need a business plan?” A business plan is not only useful to receive a loan that I told you at the beginning, but there are various merits.

By creating a business plan, you can objectively improve your entrepreneurship

Creating a business plan gives you an objective view of your business .

When you are solidifying your business plan, even if you think "This is perfect!", there are actually some imperfections.

There are many uncertainties in starting a business, so there are many things that are not visible. The business plan is always revised according to the current environmental changes before and after the establishment of the company. Also, writing will make it easier to prepare and make it easier to succeed in entrepreneurship.

If you are worried about starting a business, we recommend that you try writing a simple business plan first, or use the business plan format at the end of the founding notebook . It's okay to write down the elements of starting a business on a single page, and using the startup notebook and the loan template of the public corporation will help you realize new things about yourself because there are items that you do not recognize.

Reorganized while verbalizing and visualizing business content

By creating a business plan, you can verbalize and visualize the business content.

I'm going to write down sales goals, business objectives, etc., so I'm going to organize the things that were in my head.

Make a note of any inspiration that comes to you at this time. An inspiration can lead to a new business.

Visualize your startup! Share the direction of the business with everyone in the business plan

If you create a business plan, you can share the direction and the basis for it with the entrepreneur's vision and the people involved in the business, such as business partners, investors, financial institutions, experts, and staff .

The job of top management is to set the direction and to communicate.

Entrepreneurship involves many people, not just you. If the direction is not properly shared at that time, even if the business is started, it may be derailed.

However, if you have a business plan, you can easily share the direction with the people involved and operate the company in step with each other.

It is only by listening to the stories and looking at the materials that people can imagine and believe in the dreams of entrepreneurs.

A business plan will increase the success rate of fundraising and increase the amount of money!?

One area where a business plan is useful is when it comes to fundraising. Loan officers at financial institutions make decisions based on whether they can repay properly when lending money. Even if the borrower just says, "I can pay you back," I don't know if you can trust them. Therefore, the business plan is used as a material for the loan officer to make a decision.

In the business plan for loans, it is seen whether the business plan is well made. If the content is thin or if it cannot be realized, it will be difficult to pass the loan review. Also, in the end, it is not uncommon for the entrepreneur's enthusiasm to be conveyed to determine whether or not it will pass the screening. For the recipient of the loan, the business plan is one of the materials to persuade the loan officer, so please make it so that your passion is conveyed to the other party, regardless of the content.

What you should know before creating a business plan! What is "6W2H"?

Before creating a business plan, it is a good idea to know "6W2H" , which is useful for solidifying the direction and content of the business .

6W2H is a framework used in marketing and consists of eight elements.

When : When to run

Where : Which market are you targeting?

Who : who does

Whom : Which customers are you targeting?

What : What kind of service do you provide?

Why : Why do we do business?

How : how to implement

How much: how much money do you need

By applying 6W2H to the business you are trying to launch, you can solidify your business plan.

Points to note when creating a business plan

There are a few things to keep in mind when creating a business plan. Knowing before you create it will help you create a more accurate business plan.

POINT

7 points to note when creating a business plan!

→ Organize the main points

→ Write down the details

→ Insert diagrams to make it easier to read

→ Write in a standardized format

→ Write research on business competition

→ Include numerical grounds

→ Explain to a third party and get feedback

Keep things organized

Beginners who have never written a business plan tend to write sentences that are lazy.

Even if only you who created it can read and understand it, it is meaningless if other people cannot understand it or if they do not know what is important.

This article also describes the main points in an easy-to-understand manner, such as "POINT". Even if the same thing is written, the readability will change greatly depending on whether the main points are summarized or not.

Make sure to include timely points in your business plan.

Write down the details

Write your business plan down to the smallest detail.

Starting with the history and profile of the representative, which at first glance seem unrelated, writing the number of employees, business model, problems and issues will make it easier to understand the outline of the company.

It also allows funders to see only the finished product and get an overview of the company.

Try to make it easier to read by inserting diagrams, etc.

As I mentioned earlier, it's hard to read and understand even if the sentences are just sloppy.

However, by inserting diagrams, etc., you will be able to understand at a glance. In particular, if you include data such as numerical values in figures, it will be more persuasive, and it will be clear and easy to understand.

A business plan is for visualizing your business. It will take time to create it, so try to make it easy to see, such as including diagrams.

Write in a uniform format

What beginners tend to do is not standardize the character size or use different fonts.

If the format is not unified, the reader will unconsciously feel something is wrong and give a sloppy impression .

You can change the font size depending on the part, but set a rule such as ○pt for the title and ○pt for the text to avoid any variation.

Also, make sure that the font and format of the letters are consistent .

Write a research on business competition

Competition is inevitable in business. Writing the results of competitive research and market research is also an important point of the business plan.

If you say, "I'm going to start a new business!" without doing any research, the people who see it won't understand.

If you can explain your company's strategy and revenue goals in conjunction with research results, the expectations of others will rise.

Include numerical evidence

The numbers listed in the business plan must have a basis.

These are especially required for income and expenditure forecasts such as "increase sales by 0%" and "increase by 00,000 USD".

Explaining the rationale is not straightforward. However, if you have data or grounds for the numbers, include them in your business plan.

Explain to a third party and get feedback

Once your business plan is in shape, explain it to a third party and get their feedback.

Get feedback on things you don't know or don't understand.

Ask someone with specialized knowledge, such as an acquaintance or person in charge of another company in the same industry or financial institution, or a certified public accountant.

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