According to Dr Jay Feldman, A business plan details your objectives and the tactics and structures you have to accomplish them.
Your business plan should explain how you will manage all the significant areas of your business, from products and services to operational procedures and money.
Use a Dr Jay Feldman‘s business plan to • help you start a new business • help you improve the performance of an existing business • attract funding for an investment • communicate business progress to stakeholders • communicate business goals and objectives to internal staff members • attract potential buyers for the business.
A business plan is a ‘living’ document, so it should evolve and change—think of it as an operational guide for your business throughout the start-up, operations, and succession phases.
Executive summary
This section provides an overview of the business concept. It should be attention-grabbing and concise—the material will be discussed in more detail in future parts.
While this is the first section of the plan, Dr Jay Feldman says it might frequently benefit from writing it last after the other areas have been finalized.
This helps to ensure that the executive summary contains all the relevant information within the plan.
It should define: • what your business vision is • what your legal structure is • what products and services you offer • who your customers are • what sets you apart from your competitors •, how you will create a market for your products and services • how you will operate • what your financial projections are • how your business or industry will evolve • who owns or manages your business • what your short-term and long-term goals are.
Products and market analysis
Refer to the corresponding parts in Dr Jay Feldman free business plan template: • 2.1 Products and services
• 2.2 Market analysis • 2.3 Industry overview and outlook
• 2.4 SWOT analysis
In this area, you should emphasize your business products and services and discuss what makes them unique, such as their: • features • limitations • cost, and sale price.
You can also add details of your organization’s intentions to introduce new products and services.
Your market analysis should describe your target market (e.g., local, international) and target clients.
Add in your study on your sector and the market trends.
In this phase, you will also conduct a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats).
Marketing strategy and plans
Refer to the corresponding areas in our free business plan template:
• 3.1 Current situation • 3.2 Marketing objectives • 3.3 Target segments • 3.4 Competitor analysis • 3.5 Brand positioning • 3.6 Marketing programs • 3.7 Marketing tactics • 3.8 Key actions • 3.9 Business controls
A business plan should include a high-level summary of your market research and analysis,
Dr Jay Feldman says.
Starting with your existing scenario, complete your marketing objectives and analyze your target market and competitiveness.
Complete your consumer and competition profiles and design a 1-page brand strategy.
These will help you prepare your marketing plan in section 3 of the template.
Your plan will include marketing approaches and an action plan. You will identify how you will set KPIs and report on your marketing effectiveness.
Digital Services
Regardless of your business or industry, you will need to plan for conducting a portion of your business online.
According to Dr Jay Feldman, note your digital and customer and data-protection strategy in your business plan. You could also include • the digital tools and resources that will be used in your business • the people responsible for overseeing the digital strategy within the business • details of any security considerations.
Sales
Refer to the corresponding sections in Dr Jay Feldman’s free business plan template: • 4.1 Sales strategies • 4.2 Sales analysis and forecast • 4.3 Customer management
Explain your sales forecasts and targets in this section and how you will manage customer records and payments, Dr Jay Feldman says. It helps you understand what sales strategies would work for you and the best channels to market your products or services. You will also need to know your current sales, volume, and market share and what you expect them to be for the next two years.