A good business plan is essential for any business to not only establish itself in the market but also to maintain itself in the long run. As a fact, a business entrepreneur needs to consider several factors that influence the plan as well as elements that make up a plan. This itself conveys that it takes much thoughtful approach as well as analysis to prepare a really effective plan. It is vital for a business plan to be precise and effective; otherwise, the entire foundation of your business can be shaken. Patience and research are the keys to successful planning. However, most business owners are always in a hurry to set up their business due to which they tend to rush in making plans. It is like creating a blueprint without due consideration. This makes them end up with plenty of planning errors while creating a business plan. Here are some commonly made mistakes that you need to avoid.
No Specification on Target Audience
A single business is simply not meant for all people across the world. Each business has its own target audience. For example, the target audience of herbal cosmetic company is ladies who prefer natural makeup kits. Now, just imagine what can happen if this is not defined or know while making a plan? Well, your entire plan simply becomes ineffective because it is not known for whom it is made. If you do not define your target audience, your plan is like a train that does not know its destination. So, you need to find out your target audience by doing market research and by attending business seminars.
Unrealistic Assumptions and Forecasts
Any plan that is made in hurry or without proper research is bound to be unrealistic. Your plan is one of the major documents that your stakeholders will require for analysis. It goes without saying that they need realistic picture of what your business aims at, where it wants to be, and how it will operate to meet its goals. So, if your plan shows them overconfident plan without any backing or justification for your projections, it is certainly not going to impress them to aid you financially as well as professionally. As a result, the plan is going to be rejected despite of hard efforts that have now gone in vain.
No Mention of Weaknesses
There is no business in this world, which does not have its own set of weaknesses. If you have conducted Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis, you will know the weak points of your business. What most people do is that they purposely do not reveal their weaknesses in their business plans. This is actually unethical because it is known to all that businesses do have their weaknesses. Therefore, it is vital to reveal your weaknesses in the plan. However, this does not mean that you have to emphasize on them too much. Neither you need to hide them nor need you highlight them excessively. The key here is to just mention them so that your stakeholders know them but are not being put off by too much emphasis. In order to impress the reader, you must try to address the weaknesses by mentioning the strategies to deal with them in detail.
Unknowingly Inviting Inconsistency
A good plan is the one that maintains consistency from all angles, right from writing style to quoting figures. However, some common mistakes with regards to inconsistency are conflicting figures, different target markets, and contradicting strategies. If these errors exist, they simply tell your investors that you are least aware of your market, customers, and business. These errors take place when different people write up the different sections without having full knowledge of these aspects. Therefore, ensure a proper review of the plan before showing it to your stakeholders.
Donna Boerners is a proficient and experienced expert in the fields of marketing and business. She is also a writer who writes very well on controversial figures such as Charles Phillips. You can follow her and stay in touch with her at @DonnaBoerners.
