Are you starting a business?

Or are you planning to expand your existing business?

To start or expand a business, you need a source of money or funding, this is where the key question arises.

Kako uvjeriti investitore i banke da financiraju vaše poslovanje?

Answer: You need a top business plan.

A business plan should convince them that financing (giving money) to your company is a really good idea.

A business plan is like a map. Shows instructions for achieving the future of your business. It describes what your company will do and how it plans to succeed and profit (make money). After all, business is about making money, right?

Summary - Business Plan for Impressing Investors

How to prepare your business plan

Writing a business plan sounds simple, but it takes thinking and planning. Writing a truly impressive plan requires time and a lot of effort. Don’t be surprised if writing your plan also requires a lot of editing and rewriting.

In fact, it is common practice to hire a professional editor to proofread and strengthen your writing. A business plan is a very important document, and for investors you will need it in a perfect and polished edition.

When your business plan is fully written and ready for editing, we strongly recommend that you contact a proofreading service or use a proofreading tool in Microsoft Word, and online tools such as ispravi.me.

If you are still preparing to write your business plan, you need to start some research. There are many styles and formats of business plans on the Internet.

When you’re ready to write, you can also follow a detailed guide to writing a business plan that includes all the key components, like this simple guide from HBOR-a or from HAMAG BICRO-a

20 key items of an impressive business plan that you need to know

Today I will introduce you to the most basic elements of a quality business plan.

Svaka je glavna riječ ili izraz na ovom popisu vrlo važna za znati, bez obzira planirate li napisati impresivan poslovni plan ili jednostavno želite saznati više o poslovnim planovima općenito.

1. Business vision

A business vision refers to the direction in which you want your business to grow in the long run. Answer these questions in your business plan:

What kind of job do you want to have in the future?
What are the goals of this business?
What will success look like?
You need to write a statement of your business vision in any business plan.

2. Action plan

To support your business vision, you need to have a powerful action plan. You need to write a great description of your action plan within your business plan.

A good action plan consists of goals and strategies on how to achieve the goals.

"SMART" goals Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Relevant-Timely) are the key to success. When setting goals that are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Defined; in some parts of the "SMART" goals will form the basis for a strategy that will lead you to success.

3. Management team

If possible, involve your management team.

Who is part of your management team? Your executives, senior employees and / or board of directors are people with ideas and experience to contribute to your business plan.

You’ll also need to include a strong section about your management team in your business plan so investors know who runs your business.

4. Executive Summary

An executive summary is a comprehensive (complete) explanation of what your company does and what puts it in a unique position to succeed.

The executive summary must be the top of the business plan, so that’s the first thing your investors will see. It is usually one or two pages long. Reading these first pages will help investors decide if they want to continue reading and seriously consider investing in your business. So you can be sure that this section is written to get their attention and interest them in financing your business. Highlight the qualities that are in their interest to achieve this goal.

The summary of the paper presented in the first section of the business plan, it is best to write the last, after the other parts have been written. So it’s simpler, because the executive summary is a summary of all the other sections.

5. Target market

Your target market will include people to whom you intend to sell things.

When thinking about the target market keep your ideal customer in mind. define his demographics and psychography, and determine a couple of types / avatars of the ideal client.

6. Market analysis

Market analysis is basically the way you plan to place (sell, advertise) your products and services on the target market. You can do it yourself or hire an expert to do it for you, and give you suggestions and instruct you on how best to access a particular market.

7. Market share

In the market analysis of your business plan, be sure to discuss how much market share you expect.

Market share refers to the part of the market that your company controls. For example, according to statistics, Coca-Cola had a market share of 48.6% in the soft drinks market in 2015.

8. Competitive advantage

In the market analysis section, you also need to think about your competitive advantage. This refers to the advantages of your products or services over those offered by competitors.

Here are some questions to ask:
What makes my product better, stronger or healthier than product X?
Why would a customer choose my product over product Y?

That is to do benchmarking of other companies in your or related industry.

9. Sales and marketing strategies

Think of this strategy as a master plan, a plan that combines all your best, brightest, and most important ideas and shows how you will achieve success.

So, a sales and marketing strategy combines all your sales and marketing goals and market research into a master plan that will bring maximum profit.

Your sales and marketing strategy needs to be quite detailed. You should include information about products, pricing, branding, competitors, and distribution channels. Here it is best to hire an expert who will know exactly what and how to display.

10. Distribution channels

This refers to the path that a product goes through intermediaries or other distribution companies before it reaches the consumer.

Here you also need to think about logistics, and about the distribution channels of information about your product or service.

11. Sales forecasting

Koliko će se dobro prodavati vaš proizvod/usluga? Koliko novca očekujete? Vaši će ulagači biti jako zainteresirani za te informacije.

It is important to include a sales forecast that explains the expected sales you plan to achieve for your product using a business strategy.

12. Operational plan

To run a business means to manage (direct, manage) a company. So, your operational plan will discuss the ways you plan to run your business. Note that the plural form of the word “operations” is used in a business context.

13. Everyday business

U ovom ćete odjeljku morati detaljno opisivati ​​svoje svakodnevne poslovne operacije, a odnosi se na svakodnevno izvršavanje poslovnih funkcija.

The way you run your day-to-day business can affect how smoothly your business runs, as well as whether you can pay your bills and be profitable.

14. Research and development

If your company is going to grow, you need to conduct research and development. Eventually you will need to develop new products and explore new ways to improve existing products.

Your potential investors will want to know what research and development efforts you have put in for your company and products, how you keep up with the times, trends and technology. Be sure to make a good plan and strategy on this topic.

15. Management Summary

The Management Summary Business Plan section talks about the current members of your management team, as well as their professional background and role in the company.

16. Organizational structure

The organizational structure of your company should clearly show the hierarchy (levels) of work and supervisory functions. You usually see the organizational structure of the company in the form of a chart showing photos of staff, their positions and reporting levels.

In Start-ups (newly established companies), it is common to find gaps in the organizational structure for positions that have yet to be filled. Therefore, you will need a human resources plan.

17. Human Resources Plan

The human resources plan will map the workforce (staff) you plan to hire in the future.
Ask yourself:

Who do you plan to hire?
What will be their roles in the business?
How can professionals with certain skills help your business in the future?

18. Financial plan

The financial plan is the last and most important part of the business plan. It describes in detail how you plan to achieve business goals, generate revenue and make a profit.

This part of the plan will be reviewed in detail by investors and assessed whether they want to invest in your company or not.

19. Income model

Your investors will be interested to see your revenue model. Show them your sources of revenue or ways you plan to generate revenue for your business. Where will the revenue come from?
Here are some questions to ask:

Are you selling a product or service?
How do they value their product?
Koji je potencijal vašeg proizvoda za zaradu?

20. Request for funding

Last but not least, you want to state your funding request. This refers to the amount of money or funding you will need based on what you have listed in the sections above. Most importantly, you want to inform your investors how you plan to use the invested money wisely, in order to give them a return on investment.

Conclusion - Business Plan for Impressing Investors

Although a business plan is often used to persuade investors and lenders (such as banks) to finance your business, it is also a tool you can use to improve your business.

As you build and expand your business, always look at your original business plan and remember your strategies. He will take you back to the direction you set out.

I hope these essential business conditions we have just discussed will help you write a simple but impressive business plan.

Good luck!

In case you have questions or want help in creating a business plan

We believe that these tips will make your business easier and impress investors. If something is not clear to you or you want to know more, feel free to contact us as well book your 30 minute strategy development session (in the value of HRK 1,000.00) completely free. To book an appointment, click the button below and fill out the contact form, and we will be happy to help you.