So, Let’s consider: The business plan from a high level

Undoubtedly you’ve heard the true’ism that “those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” This is just one of the laws of life and business.
Today, we’re going to look at the business side. It’s called a “business plan”. Now, we’re looking at this at a very high level right now and in a future consider we’ll dig in a bit deeper, maybe even take it in parts and look at some of the planning strategies.
The business plan is an organized document where you have spelt out what you plan to do, where you plan to go and how you plan to get there.
We start out with the summary. This is also sometimes referred to as the “executive summary” – depending on how much ego you have on the table. This is a synopsis of the big picture’s entire plan with all the major areas briefly enumerated – including why you think this idea will succeed.
This is follow by the business description. Here you explain your company or endeavor. Included would be things like where do you plan on locating your company or corporate functions(offices, manufacturing, distribution, warehouses, etc.). How biz are you planning your operation to be? What kind of operations are you planning, what are you selling and who are you selling it to?
Next we need to look at the environment you’re going to be operating in – sometimes called industry or market analysis. What are the markets you plan on being in? Who and what are your ompetition and how do they fare vs what you plan on presenting to the market place? How big is the market that you plan on selling in and are there any current trends and directions that you will have to deal with or plan on capitalizing on?
After this section, we need to discuss your products and how you plan on selling and marketing them. What kinds of strategies are you going to use, how will the products be branded and marketed? What is your target market and how are you going to penetrate and succeed in it? Any particular promotional campaign concepts that you plan on using or niche identifying monikers, etc., that will be used to set your products apart from the rest of the market space?
Now, let’s discuss how things are going to happen. Operationally you need to detail what you and your company will be doing on a daily, weekly, monthly basis to be successful. Are there any special raw material sources that are a concern and needed? What kinds of processing take need to take place, how, and where? If you’re dealing internationally there will be transportation and legal logistics as well as currency issues you need to consider.
Finally, there’s the question of who is going to do all this work. How many employees and how are they distributed not only in terms of location but as well as function. If you need specialty talents you need to list them. How many? Where can they be gotten and how much are they going to cost? What resources are they going to need to be productive? And why are these people qualified to be doing what you need to get done?
OK, so in six paragraphs, we’ve over viewed what some companies spend many pages spelling out. How much you need to spell out and in what depth of detail will depend on you and what your plans and ideas are.
Now, it’s time for you to venture forth and be a success.

I’m Don Rima and that’s the view From Where I Stand.