A bankable business plan is the foundation and soul of every business. It is the bedrock on which quality is built. Without a bankable business plan, an enterprise has no future as well as an exit point. A bankable business plan helps individuals and business managers understand the peculiarities of their business finances.
With a business plan, it is easy for a business to look into the future and forecast what they are expecting for one year or more. Also, a business determines and defines its market and focuses on it with the help of a bankable business plan. Most businesses forget that everyone is not their customer so they market to everyone and thereafter waste too much cash along the line.
With a bankable business plan in sight, you will be able to streamline your customer service even before you start up which will help you save cost and thereby boost your profit margin in the long run. A bankable business plan has many things within it which I cannot fully break down article, article but the little I can give in this article should give you a clear picture of what is obtainable. Below are things a bankable business plan should have:
- Executive summary: the first page every investor checks when they pick up any business plan is the executive summary because this contains a summary of your business: your business name, the type of business you offer, your products and services, who your customer segment are, the details of the business owner, number of staffs, the amount your business requires and sources of capital.
- Introduction: this is the page you come in contact with immediately after your executive summary. On this page, you are expected to introduce your business to whoever picks up the business plan. The introduction should tell the reader who you are, what your business goals are, what you have accomplished thus far if your business is an existing one, and when your other set goals will be accomplished.
Also, you need to make it clear where your start-up fund comes from, whether it is personal savings or support from family members. You need to clearly state the amount you want to take from the bank and what you intend to use it for.
Your introduction should be clear and digestible by anyone who picks up your business plan, even if it’s for your personal use because this could be used to monitor your business growth over time.
- SWOT Analysis: SWOT simply means strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This portion is subdivided into two portions, which include the following: the company and the environment. The company entails your company’s strengths and weaknesses. The second, which is the environment, entails the opportunities your company has and its threats.
Your strength has to do with what your organization can do without having much trouble. What you can do better than your competition. Your strength puts you at an advantage over your competition.
Your weakness is what might serve as impediments to your business now as well as the future. Your business’s weaknesses might be a lack of financial capacity, poor human capacity and resource management, company workflow, organizational culture, and the company’s reputation, among many other things.
Opportunities: this has to do with environmental elements that the business can exploit for its growth. This can be a physical location, human resources, closeness to a source of raw materials, and more. These are a few of the several opportunities that a business can exploit to move its enterprise ahead.
Threats: these are physical elements that could impede the growth, and success of the organization and wreak havoc on its development either in the short term or in the long term. The essence of this analysis is to enable you to see these threats and find a way to prevent them from ruining your business.
- Product: in writing your bankable business plan, you also need to analyze your product, which includes: the description of the product and service, the needs and problems it solves, and similar products and services available in the marketplace. In the analysis of your product, you need to identify the advantages and disadvantages of your service or products as compared to those of your competition, which is probably a substitute product.
- Customer: You will need to describe your business’s present customers if you are an existing business, while you will need to define who your potential customers are, especially if you are just a brewing business. To achieve this, you will need to identify your customers as well as your target customers.
- Competition: Your competition can either be a threat or a standard to measure your business progress from time to time. Once there is healthy competition, it will help your business grow. To analyze your competition, you need to know who your major competitors are, and their strengths and weaknesses
- Pricing: this is the price at which you wish to sell your products or render your service. You need to first determine the factors that encourage the cost of your finished goods and services,s because this will determine the sales price. To determine your price, you need to know your fixed cost per unit as well as the variable cost per unit of the product.
A fixed cost per unit plus a variable cost per unit will give you the total cost per unit of each of your products as well as your services. Once the total cost per unit is determined, you determine your desired margin. Your total cost per unit plus your desired margin will give you the sales price of your products.
Another thing you need to consider while putting together a marketable business plan is the market available for your products and services. Secondly, you need to identify the elements of the commercialization process and design a strategy to market the product and service to reach your desired audiences. In doing all these you must also put into consideration the kind of message you want to pass across.
Another thing you must consider is the sales forecast. This will help you assess the company’s present situation, and it will help the company identify parameters critical in the development of a solid sales plan, cost plan, financial forecast, and cash flow.
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