Creating A Winning Startup Business Plan – Get The Extra Edge

By Author: Pramod Chandraker
Total Articles: 4
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The business plan is a document that is crucial to the growth of every startup firm or business, considering that it provides clear and accurate insight into the functioning, goals and vision of the company. However, certain extra features can be added to a typical startup business plan, in order to increase benefits and boost one’s business like nothing else. These added features involve additional analysis and study, and therefore yield added advantages to those businesses that use them.


Popular methods like SWOT analysis methods, which measure strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, are used in order to present a clearer picture to the investors and customers to understand how the business can survive the harsh business world and how it can survive being subjected to a competitive commercial environment. Further, tools like porter’s five forces can be used to gauge the strength and key forces of the business, and therefore depicts how strong the goal and focus of the business is. This is an advantageous extra, especially for start-up companies and firms who have negligible experience of market ...
... state and conditions.


Business plan readers and viewers, like investors and other potential customers, may not be familiar with the terms used in the business plan. Many businesses are purely technical or are often restricted to a particular field or technology, And in such cases, a glossary is a necessary addition to the document, in order to ensure that customers understand the plan fully and correctly, without any ambiguity. Other add-ons which can be used include publishing value-ads, which can significantly improve the presentation of the business plan. Addition of various graphics tables and other visual improvisations in the plan greatly add to the appeal of the document, and in a way, has a positive impact on the customers or investors of the company.


Creating a winning startup business plan – the best appendices
The business plan is a document that is essential to the sustainability of the business and ensures faster growth and exposure of the firm or company under consideration. In spite of providing a clear picture of the vision and functioning of the business, sometimes it is not enough to just present the business plan to your business associates. An appendix supporting your startup business plan is like a cherry on top, which invites better business opportunities and boosts the growth of business.


The business plan appendix can include additional documents like legal documents that concern their business. Various studies pertaining to market conditions and profitability of the business can be added to the appendix. In order to provide a clearer insight into the service provided by the company, customer testimonies and testimonials can be added when the appendix is updated, which will attract customers. Various financial statements and tax-related documents can be added in order to improve the viability and in turn sell your business. Other additions could include list of equipments and procedures undertaken by the company. This will obviously increase the transparency into the company procedures, making it more trustworthy and reliable. For the same purpose a list of distributors, suppliers, partners and other important individuals can also be provided, which further gives a clearer view into the company’s functioning.


In addition to the above, brochures and various such advertising materials can be added as a part of the appendix, which contributes to the betterment of the business plan. Also, such businesses must ensure that all such additions are genuine, accurate and true. Through such little but significant additions, startup companies can provide better quality of first-hand experience to their customers. This in the long run, enables the generation of better customer-relations, advances growth and influence of the company and raises profits to a great extent.


Creating a winning startup business plan – Top tips
Business plans are fundamental in providing the best growth to your business and can provide an unsurpassed boost to the goals of your business. Maintaining that, there are certain tips that an entrepreneur must bear in mind while documenting a plan as crucial as the B plan.
Although impressing one’s investors and focusing them on your vision and goal is essential, it is highly important that you be as transparent and honest as is possible. Potential investors will be more impressed by honesty and accuracy of an entrepreneur’s statements. Exaggeration at all times must be avoided, or else it may have catastrophic effects on one’s business. Always maintain in mind to, “under-promise, over-deliver”.

Apart from this, it is always essential to show to our investors that in order to battle any hostile economic environment, or any similar circumstances, the business has ample staff. This may include not just managerial staff, but also external aid, such as lawyers and bankers.

This is essential to ensure the investors that they have their resources in safe hands. Next, it is again another crucial necessity to have a very clear, descriptive yet precise, executive summary, since this is the section of the business plan which is first read and understood, in order to determine if the business venture is worth plunging into.


In order to earn the confidence of your investors it is very important that the company ensures them, about having sufficient knowledge about market terms and conditions, and the prevalence of various factors that determine the growth of the business. Through the same study, a careful entrepreneur must also identify potential rivals and must try to surpass their levels of service and quality of performance. Last, but not the least, it is extremely important that a business market itself through all possible conduits of reaching out to customers. If awareness about your venture is not created, even if your service of product is the best among all, there is now way customers will reach out for your services. Bearing such tips in mind, an effective business plan can be constructed.


Creating a winning startup business plan – Types of plans
Business plans for companies can vary in nature and can be divided roughly into four categories. A miniplan as the name suggests, is a small plan giving cursory details about the concept of the venture undertaken, investment strategies, marketing terms and conditions and other such essential data that is necessary to be included in the business plan.

Contrary to what one might think, a miniplan cannot be used as a substitute for a proper, well-defined plan; it can only be used for the initial stage, after which a well-chalked out plan must be set.


Next is the working plan, which is to be chalked out in order to provide clarity in business operation and functioning. It need not be a formally written document printed on fancy paper, and is a plan that is solely for internal use of the company. Such a plan need no conform to business standards and requirements and are purely to help in the operation of the business and has no aesthetic value. The presentation plan is next on the list, and as the name suggests, it is the working plan that is improved upon the looks and given a good amount of aesthetic value and visual importance. This plan is generally required in order to present before customers, investors and other external people outside the company.


Although almost all the information is essentially the same as that provided in the working plan, any informal language, shorthand or slang words are omitted, accuracy and consistency in the information provided is maintained and standard and formal business-style language is used in the construction of such a document. Last is the electronic plan, which is becoming increasingly popular with the growth of electronic media and computer-enabled working. The business plan in such a case, is composed in an electronic form and is shared with customers and investors in the same form. Also, it is more convenient for both entrepreneurs and investors alike, to go through such electronic forms of business plan. On account of this electronic business plans are becoming increasingly popular among the business class.