Business Plan: A model...

There are different types of business plans, but a good one should include the following items.

8Points to consider:

aWhere am I now?
aWhere do I want to get to?
aIn how long?
aDoes a similar product to mine exists or does a real possibility of appearance exist in the short, half or long term?
aWhich are my clients (real and/or potentials)?
aWhich is my competition (real and/or potential)?
aWhich are the tools that I have in order to move forward?
aFinancial availability (own and/or of third)
aQuantity of involved people
aAnalysis F.O.D.A. (Strengths / Weaknesses ; Opportunities / Threats)

8How the plan should be:

aAppraisable and quantifiable in short, half and long term
aFlexible (the strict objectives don't serve more)
aClear
aAble to reach (Pharaonic objectives are not viable and this makes that everything ends collapsing)

8Where I am now:

aAm I at the moment inside the market or do I aspire to enter in the same one?
aIf I am already inside, which is the reception that has my product in the same one?
aWhich are my objectives of short, half and long term?
aAm I satisfied with what was achieved up to now?
aWhich are the flaws that I see to the project?

8Where I want to arrive:

aWhich is my new objective layout?
aWhat advantages do I see of arriving to the same one? Are these real or mere illusions?
aWhat expects me when achieving that goal? (hostile / pleasing territory / it fights disloyal / others)

8Time:

aWhich are my time limitations?
aAre these acceptable ones in connection with my current situation?
aThe potential clients and the market, do they manage my same times?
aDo I possess another activity that allows me to have a wait mattress?

8Competition:

aDo I know to my competition?
aHave I carried out or do I have planned to make a market research investigation?
aHow long will I dedicate to the same one?
aWhich will my populational sample be?
aWhy is this?
aDoes a great of significant width exist in the chosen sample?
aAccording to what approaches do I carry out this selection? (Age, formal education, sex, religion, labor or social position, purcahsing power, accessibility to technology, others)

8Tools for the advance:

aDo I possess tools that allow me a real advance at the present time or is a planning of potentialities so alone?
aWould my organizational current structure, support this expansion?
aIndependently of the product, do I possess the human and/or technological appropriate capital to expand?
aHave I analyzed potentially with people involved if they are interested in this expansion?

8Financial availability:

aWhich is the necessary capital to invest under all concept? (I should carry out a sampling of total costs to determine it)
aThe value obtained in the previous point, condice with my budget?
aIs the capital of which I prepare own, of third or do I depend on a loan of financial institution? (I have to analyze the cost of the lending of the money)
aWhich is the rate of return of the investment?
aCompared with other investment variables, is mine appropriate or is a very risky project?
DO NOT forget that if I need external financing I should present a very detailed report about the capital necessities, which its destination, real risk of the investment, which is the source of payment of the loan, other)

8Analysis F.O.D.A

This is an indispensable tool when carrying out any analysis of project feasibility since it includes all the endogenous and exogenous variables of an idea / project / etc.

aStrengths & Weaknesses: they are internal, they depend on the idea, product, project or variable that it is analyzed

aOpportunities & Threats: in direct relationship with the environment and how this will affect us. They should be included here not alone the direct ones about our idea, but also the of the situation (regional, national, international, others) ones. Technically knows as externalities: Positives and negatives ones

Until the next one!

Lic. Fernando Julio Silva
June 2008