Having a business plan is the best way to set your goals and objectives. It allows you to take time for reflection, research and strategizing before you get started on your new venture.
The following are some of the key points that should be included in any business plan:
- Target market
- Products or services offered
- Business name/logo
- Location of business (city)
- Industry sector(s) served by the company
- Current status of the company including the number of employees, annual revenue, etc.
The profit margin for each product/service
Financing and investment requirements: startup costs, working capital and financing sources
Operations and manufacturing: location and capacity
Marketing strategies: advertising, public relations, distribution channels you plan to utilize, etc.
Management team with job descriptions including resumes or CVs of principals involved in the business
Executive summary
The executive summary is a brief overview of your business that highlights the key information presented in-depth in your business plan. It should be written last (after you have finished writing) because it will help you determine if there are any gaps or inconsistencies with other parts of your business setup in AbuDhabi. This section should describe what your business will do, its legal structure (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation), the location of your business and the products or services you plan to offer.
Key points mentioned in this section should include:
- The purpose of your business plan
- Your vision for the future
- How success will be measured
- Management team including job descriptions and resumes
- Market research
Proper market research is essential to ensuring that you are not opening a business in an area where there is already heavy competition for similar products or services. Conducting secondary market research can help you identify new opportunities and ideas for your business venture. A good place to start looking for information on the industry of your choice is the library. Two good sources of information are MarketLine Advantage and ReferenceUSA.
You can also make use of free online resources such as Google Alerts, Technorati and Yahoo! Search Marketing to help you stay up-to-date on industry news.
Products or Services
This section should be written in detail about what you plan to offer and who your target market is. It should be clearly stated how and where your product will be distributed and provide a detailed description of the product/service you plan to offer including any unique selling points.
Startup Costs
In this section, list down all expenses for starting up the business together with the total amount needed in the capital. It is important to note that businesses with high startup costs will require greater financing than those with lower costs.
Financing and Investment Requirements
In this section, list down all expenses for starting up the business together with the total amount needed in the capital. It is important to note that businesses with high startup costs will require greater financing than those with lower costs.
Operations and Management
This section should contain a detailed description of how you plan to run your business including hiring policies, store hours, etc. It is important that employees know what they are supposed to do and when they are expected to do it. A good way to ensure this is by developing job descriptions for key jobs that need to be filled.
Marketing Management
This section should include how you plan to reach your target market and details on the marketing strategies that will be employed to promote your products or services. Your approach should be tailored to the specific needs of different industry sectors, product categories and target markets. You may wish to conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis on your competitors to determine what their strengths and weaknesses are, as well as how you will take advantage of the opportunities they present. We also provide a list of SEO companies in Dubai that can help you with your marketing strategy.
Also Read: WHY COMPANY FORMATION IS CONSIDERED AS TIRESOME PROCESS
Financial Factors
In this section, you should establish how much capital you need to re-invest in your business, or whether you have the required capital from other sources to operate the company. In this section, you can provide an estimate of operating costs and desired profit margins.
Once all sections are completed, it is time to put your plan together. You should already be well aware of what will be included in your business plan by now, and we recommend that you use a word processing program such as Microsoft Word to write the final version.
Once complete, we suggest you print out at least 10 copies of your completed document and send them out to friends and family for honest feedback.
Make sure they understand what the purpose of the business plan is and that you are not asking them for money.
