The importance of writing a business plan for your new or
existing poultry business can never be underestimated. It will give you more
clarity about your business and it can be used to attract investors or to apply
for a loan or grant. Unless you have your intentions for your business written
down, you might miss an opportunity to communicate it to someone else or even
to clarify things for yourself. Whether you’re starting or expanding a poultry
business, writing a business plan will help you become clear about what you
want to do and how you will be going about it. Most emerging poultry farmers
will have to make use of loans or grants when starting their business. In order
to access these, you will need to write a business plan and submit it to your
prospective financier or grant officer.
What
is a Business Plan?
A business plan is a basic outline of what your business
is all about. It must serve as an action plan and guideline for you to use on a
daily basis. The essence of it is to act as a roadmap to your desired
destination. Be practical when writing it and keep it realistic.
Here are some basic topics you need to discuss in your
business plan.
There are several key elements to be discussed in your
business plan. They are as follows:
1.
Your Executive Summary
Write a summary of what your business is all about. What
will you be selling and why is it going to work? Your executive summary is an
introduction to the rest of your business plan – keep it short and mention the
strong points of your plan.
2.
Your Mission Statement
It’s important to explain why you want to start this
specific new business. The simple question to answer in your mission statement
is “Why am I doing this?”
3.
Your Goals
This section should answer the question of what you want
to achieve in terms of income, turnover, profits and percentages—some
achievable thing. Focus on the notion of, “This is what I want to have and how
much of it”. It is important to be clear and realistic about your goals. Make
them achievable and set your mind to achieving them.
4.
Your Lift Speech
This is where you give the short answer to the question,
'What do you do?'. Make sure this summary is in line with your mission and
goals. By answering this question you will force yourself to be specific about
what your business will be doing and how you will be doing it. Write it in less
than 100 words.
5.
The Financial Plan
This is the most important section of your business plan.
Investors and grant officers will analyse and examine your financial info. Be
specific about how much money you will need to get started, where you will
spend the funds, how long it will take to start becoming profitable, how big
your potential market is and what your running costs will be. The key is to
show a potential investor that you will be able to make a financial success of
your business and be profitable.
6.
The Marketing Plan
How are you going to sell your products and how are people going to hear about it? How will you be promoting your products? What marketing channels will you be using? What’s unique about your product? Be as creative as possible when looking at various marketing channels.
Comments
Post a Comment