One of the most important parts of starting your business is creating a professional business plan. A business plan is a crucial step you must take even before starting out in your first year. It will shape all of your decisions as the CEO and help guide your business towards great success. If you are looking to obtain funding or financing through the Government, Banks, or Private Investors, a business plan is a must in order to even apply. A Business Plan should let anyone who reads it understand all there is to know about your business. So if you have never made one before what exactly is in the business plan?

The first part of a business plan is something we like to call the Business Basics. This will start off the entire plan to introduce the reader to your company and what exactly it is you do. Here you will outline the services or products you will be selling and also give an outline about who runs the business and their key roles. Here you can also set a mission statement for the entire company and also set out some objectives for the year. This is the initial stage where your simple idea is now starting to come to life.

The next part of a business plan is the Market Research portion. This is kind of the whole WHY of the plan. It will answer to those reading it why you think your business is needed and why it will be successful. Here you will outline who your intended customer is but also who your main competitor is. This is where you have to lay out what it is your company has to offer, that a main competitor does not, and why you will be successful. It is this portion of the business plan that is integral to be eligible for funding, as any funding source wants to know whether they can trust your business to flourish. This is also a great way for you to access how to make your company distinct and differ from any competition.

Want to learn more? Can a small business in Australia apply for grants?

The third part of the business plan is also the hardest one to put together: the Business Financials section. This is where you provide all the financial information you have about your company including revenues, balance sheets, cash flow analysis, income statements, and all of your operational costs. This is so any investor or funding source can see where their money will be going. This is also a great way for you to plan how many sales you need to get in order to return a profit. If you do not have a budget, your business will definitely suffer because of it.

We offer a fantastic Business Plan Builder Tool that allows you to simply fill in the blanks into a professional looking business plan. It is a great resources to save you time and also help you out if you have never made one before.

Start, Plan and Fund Your Small Business with the Small Business Startup Portal. Click here for more details

Did you know that you may be able to get funding for your small business? Click here for more details