Why you need a business plan
An illustration of a business plan. A well-prepared business plan will increase your chances, of obtaining financial assistance from financial institutions. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
A business plan is the outline for taking an idea for a product or service and turning it into a commercially viable reality. As rising women entrepreneurs, we should prepare our business plans for clear business road maps, Yairo Ngobi Nsajja writes.
Everybody does planning at individual or family level. At the individual level, one has to plan for the day in advance to accomplish their tasks that day. At a family level, the plan may be referred to as a family plan.28.08.2018 09:31 Like for individuals and families, you can also plan for a business.
The plans of businesses are called business plans. A business plan shows what the owner would like to achieve and how to achieve it. A good business plan should be written down. A business plan is the outline for taking an idea for a product or service and turning it into a commercially viable reality. It may be referred to as a road map of the business. This means without a business plan, the business and its owner may be lost on its way of operations!
Benefits
So then, why is a business plan important?
• It gives sense for what we have to expect, before we enter on the business journey – to prepare ourselves as much as we can
• A well-prepared business plan will increase your chances, of obtaining financial assistance from financial institutions, for example banks
• It increases the opportunities of getting business partners
• It guides the owner in running the business and to be more focused
• It is a way of selling yourself and your business to possible partners
• It shows that the business owner is organised and knows his or her business
• It provides information about the business and the market one is to operate in
• It describes the firm’s ability to sell enough of the product/ service so the firm will show profit
• Encourages you to think in about objectives and goals
• Encourages you to think about problems and how to solve them
• Provides a clear picture of the whole project
• Helps to get new ideas
As rising women entrepreneurs, we should ensure that we prepare our business plans for clear business road maps! In the next issue, we shall examine the key components of a good business plan.
Yairo Ngobi Nsajja is a business trainer at the Rising Woman trainings and Uganda Investment Authority.
