Writing A Business Plan
Social Enterprise Business Plan Guide
Constructing A Business Plan Exercise
4.1
CONTENTS OF A BUSINESS
PLAN; WHAT MAKES A GOOD
BUSINESS PLAN
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THE BUSINESS PLAN 4P 138
At this stage, you have the idea for a business and have thought
a little about how it might actually operate. Now you have to
describe the business in much more detail and be able to show
that it is feasible and properly planned. You will have to write the
business plan.
WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
CONTENTS OF A BUSINESS PLAN; WHAT MAKES A GOOD BUSINESS PLAN 4.1P 139
Test assumptions, especially if the idea
is realistic;
Identify strengths and weaknesses.
A business plan has two purposes: firstly,
to bring in extra resources; and secondly,
to help us manage resources better.
It is designed therefore to influence the
external environment and the internal
environment. It is both outward-looking
and inward-looking. A business plan is used
to review the operations of an organisation,
to draw up a list of necessary changes in
a coherent and easily understood form,
and to get the agreement and support of
everybody required to bring about or live
with those changes.
Proving The Feasibility
/Making The Case
At the ’ideas stage’ you probably chose the
most feasible idea. Now you have to prove
exactly how viable the business will be. This
is the most important part of the business
plan. The first stages of any feasibility study
are straightforward and common-sense. It
is only later that you may need to bring in
the experts.
The business plan is a planning tool. It
is written for a purpose and describes an
actual or intended organisation, what the
organisation is trying to achieve or become
and how it will achieve its objectives,
including both timing and how tasks will
be allocated.
What Do We Use
A Business Plan For?
Drawing up a business plan helps
an organisation to:
Control finance, to get a realistic idea
of the financial implications of a business
idea and future finance needs;
Establish objectives, espec