Business Plans have been the pioneers of getting startups up in the slot to get investments. For decades now, companies have been working hard, round the clock, to create perfect business plans that present the positive potential of their business and can attract investors. But the true question is do you really need a startup business plan in today’s world?
There are pitch decks that have become quite popular and are being looked at by investors very keenly since they are short, animated, and quick to go through. Again, this gives rise to another question, will pitch decks replace business plans? Not necessarily. Pitch decks have their role and business plans have their role.
Although many new-age Silicon Valley investors prefer pitch decks over business plans, there are old-school investors, venture firms too that also ask for business plan documentation. Besides the investment part, if you are looking to get funding from banks or similar financial institutions you would need a business plan as it is a prerequisite.
When do you need a Business Plan?
As of today, you don’t necessarily need a business plan to get investors, pitch decks are more preferred by investors. However, you would need a business plan ppt, if a certain investor asks you to create one, or if you are going to take loans from financial institutions.
Why don’t pitch decks work with financial institutions?
Financial institutions unlike angel investors and venture firms must work on a pre-design workflow. And these workflows are decades old and need a certain amount of documentation which includes business plans as well. A well-drafted business plan with an executive summary attached as a cover increases your chance to get business loans/investments from financial institutions.
How should you create one?
Business plans like pitch decks need to explain the idea, functionality, finance of your business to potential investors. Thus, a business plan also follows certain templates and must-have pages that clearly state the problem you are trying to solve, the company’s vision, its roadmap, its finance goals-projections, and more. Let’s talk more about this in detail:
- Create a set of pages/headings that you must work upon.
When you are about to start your business or when you decide to get funding for it, you must sit down to create a business plan that both you and the investor can look upon and work accordingly. This business plan is supposed to have some key points covered within it; the key points are:
- Executive Summary
- Company Description
- Mission Statement
- Product/Service/Solution
- Industry Analysis
- Market/Growth Analysis
- Competitor Analysis
- Marketing Goals-Plans
- Financial Needs, Projections
- Operations Roadmap
- Management Team
- Break-Even Analysis
- Gather data statistics to support your claim
If you notice the list above, certain key points like market analysis, competitor analysis, etc., would need statistics, data. This data must be accurate and based on in-depth research, you should also mention the credible sources you used to gather the data. The more statistics, data you use, the more votes of confidence you get from the investor.
- Create the initial draft with the thought of it being the final one
Once you have gathered all the data, have rough estimates on projections, start building the first draft. If you are doing it by yourself, start with a simple language that presents your business clearly and the content is in line with the key point it’s written under. You should always create this first draft with the thought that this is the final draft, this thought process will get you on to a great first draft.
- Proofread the first draft from an investor’s perspective
Once completed, set a day or two apart and then read the first draft from an investor’s POV. If you think you are getting biased towards the draft, ask someone who you trust deeply to read it and give their honest opinion.
- Get help from a business plan writing company.
If you’ve tried but aren’t moving ahead with your business plan because of lack of data or improper language or anything else, you can take help in business plan writing. Certain companies help in writing startup business plans with all the key aspects mentioned above. Since these business plans are created by experienced professionals, your chances of getting funding increase massively.
Well, that’s it on creating the perfect business plan for your company. If you need professional help, you can connect with us straight away!
