Need help with writing a Business plan

Start with a Business Model Canvas?

The BMC is a template and a strategic tool focused on the vision and purpose of your business.

Since it is very visual, the BMC appeals to many entrepreneurs and is a great tool for brainstorming.

There are many models that describe how a business delivers a product or service to its customers.  A BMC lets you easily see and assess how your business model does this.

BMC vs. Traditional Business Plan

There are several key components of a successful business, and a BMC and a traditional business plan address them differently. The two approaches are similar in nature, but they differ significantly in focus, value, and depth of analysis.

As a visual tool, the Business Model Canvas has some key advantages. It provides information at a glance and can be useful as part of an initial pitch. It also focuses on customer value and can be an excellent tool for brainstorming.

One of the weaknesses of the BMC is that it doesn’t address finances in a thorough way. Additionally, while it describes how your business currently runs, it doesn’t have the power to guide you in making business decisions. 

A traditional business plan, on the other hand, does emphasize finances, making it an effective guide for decisions about how to run and grow your business. It also looks at the business from both the owner’s and the customers’ perspective. That’s why it’s necessary to have a traditional business plan in order to receive any significant funding.

Unlike the BMC, a traditional plan is less helpful to brainstorming and harder to read “at a glance.”

How Do You Create a BMC?

The typical BMC is displayed as a large rectangle subdivided into four sections: Offerings, Customers, Infrastructure, and Finances. 

Those four main sections are further divided into subsections. Each of the nine subsections focuses on a different area of the business model. 

The 9 Subsections of a BMC

The Offering section consists of only the  [removed] .  It defines the products and services the business supplies to its customers.  The term “value” refers to the newness, performance, design, accessibility, etc. that the customer perceives.  It is all about customer perceptions.

The Customer section has three subsections:  [removed]  looks at how the business model provides value to its most important customers.  It also asks what jobs these customers want done for them.  [removed]  looks at how the offerings can get to the customer and through what preferred channels.  Lastly,  [removed]  focuses on getting, keeping, and growing the customer base.

The Infrastructure section also has three subsections: Key Partners optimizes the operation via outsiders. Key Partners could be suppliers, financiers, contractors, and marketing firms.  Key Activities lists the activities needed to create value.  Some sample activities might be marketing, distribution, research and development, customer service, revenue streams, and manufacturing.  Lastly, Key Resources looks at the staff, the processes, available money and equipment or applications needed to create the value for the customer.

The last section, Finances, has two subsections: Cost Structure and Revenue Streams.  In Cost Structure, you estimate the start-up costs and money needed to get the business to a stage where it’s providing the desired profit.  This varies depending on the business model (cost-driven, value driven, etc.).  In Revenue Streams, you focus on how the customer pays for the value you provide.  Some examples are subscriptions, rentals, service sale, and asset sale.

A Sample Business Model Canvas

Bart’s Bicycle Shop is a brick and mortar store that sells bicycles tailored to the off-road, tween-age, and pleasure bicyclists.  Here is how Bart characterizes his business on a BMC.  It’s easy to see at a glance how he runs his business.

How to Create a Business Model Canvas

You can easily create a BMC for your business in just a few minutes by brainstorming the answers to some simple questions. Use the infographic below to help you gather your thoughts.

Should You Use a Business Model Canvas

The advantage of a BMC is that it’s easily structured as a series of short phrases (think of them almost as sticky notes) placed in each of the sections.  It is a very visual, top-of-mind activity. That means it’s a great tool for quickly describing your overall business value and business model.  

It’s also an effective way for you to explain your business to an outsider.  Think of it as a pitch deck. If you’re at a stage of business where you need to get others excited about your business—whether those are investors, employees, or even business mentors—a BMC is a helpful tool.

Do You Need a Formal Business Plan if You Have a BMC?  

While the Business Model Canvas is a great one-page overview of your business, it doesn’t take the place of a traditional business plan.  A full business plan goes beyond purpose and vision and provides more in-depth information and therefore better guidance.

Use the Business Model Canvas to get your mind around the start-up idea and/or to talk through the next steps to grow your business.  Creating a BMC will show you whether you’re ready to take your business idea to the next step–a traditional business plan–or whether your idea needs further development.

Hi Stefan,

As mentioned in other responses, this should be your business plan.  There are experts, including myself, who can work with you to produce it.

No template of copy and paste exercise will replace the individual purpose, goals, concept or skills that you will bring to the plan.

It's also important to know what you want this plan to achieve for you.  

Is it to:

 - secure investment or a business loan?

 - guide the creation and development of the business?

 - test and qualify the validity of the concept and then develop a business from it?

 - show to external parties or use internally for communication and training?

A business planning specialist should:

1. work with you to fully test and qualify your concept

2. assess the potential market for your solution

3. work with you to create a cash flow forecast of costs and income

4. test the financial model and ensure that it is commercially viable  

The narrative from solving all of the issues and challenges will form the basis for your business plan and strategies.

Without these tests, your plan will not be effective.

Please don't think of your plan as a waste of time or money.  Nobody who ever built a skyscraper ever doubted that the architect was essential to its success.

Mistakes or challenges can be identified at the planning stage and solutions can be found before they leave the drawing board.  This is much cheaper and faster than making mistakes during the operation of the business.

I work with a team of experts to prepare businesses at the concept stage to be ready for investment from professional investors and institutions.  

The validation, analysis and planning required to be investment-ready can take just a few weeks.

The clarity, direction and control that this gives you as a founder is extremely valuable and can make the difference between guessing or knowing what to do next.  This provides essential confidence to anyone that may invest in your business or lend you money.

All of the tools recommended in the other responses are valid and valuable, but the concept, ideas, strategies, etc should all be your own, no matter what format you use the capture them.

I'd love to learn more about your business and how I can help you to achieve your concept's potential.

To help you write a Business Plan, I suggest using a Business Model Canvas first.

This canvas gives you an overview of your business and identifies the key elements of your plan.

Creating the Financial Plan and Forecasting numbers are the hardest part of the Business Plan. It helps to get a startup Consultant or someone who has completed a Business Plan, give your plan a review before you use it.

Hi Stefan,

here you can find more information on how to write a business plan

https://www.gov.uk/write-business-plan

There are 2 important parts of the plan - business description and financial plan. You can start by preparing answers to the business related questions which you can find in the link I am sending here. 

Once you have this part ready, you can contact someone with financial background to reflect your ideas in the Financial plan.

 I am sure you can find consultants on this platform as well.

Should you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me

Ivelina

Hello Stephane,

would be happy to support you in creating you business plan and guide you in implementation and achieving your goals.

k.Xxxxxxx@ххххххх.ru

Lookinig forward,

Konstantin 

Wrong question! :)  "Someone... to write me a business plan" will not do your business any good. It will not be your plan, and you will be running someone else's business.

Apart from pitching themselves to "write you a business plan", some of the responses have given you the sensible advice to try it yourself. With some help - from online tools or form expert people - but business planning is the founder's job.

Very often business plans are created (and help solicited for that) with the objective to attract funding form investors. It's an important piece in that process and knowing funders' expectations is crucial for the chances to be funded. Here experts can guide you with structure, approach, highlights, projection details, and (not least) - impactful communication. But it's still you to do most of the work and build your own business plan.

Often neglected - but more important than the eyes of VCs - is the plan you need for yourself, for your venture. Even if nobody else ever sees it, the process of creating it will give you the clarity of vision, the robust logic and the confidence to commit to executing your plan. In this you will need much more than a template or an online tool - you will need expert guidance, with a healthy dose of sobering challenge. Only experienced people can give you that - experienced in starting and running many businesses, and experienced in coaching and mentoring others to succeed. Carefully choose who can really help you with this.

Finally - apart from free online resources, no expert help would come for free. None of the offers you already received from respondents is charitable and free of charge. How much are you prepared to invest in this absolutely critical task? The better the experts, the more expensive they can be - and if you haven't got any investors yet (not even friends and family), you will have to ask about commercial terms - such as deferred payments (either a form of credit or conditional upon obtaining funding) or even perhaps a small chunk of equity. Whatever the model, it is well worth considering and one of the important decisions to make upfront.

I hope you will find this useful - if you think there is scope to continue talking, you know how to reach me.

Best of luck with the venture!

Good afternoon Stephan,

I agree this should be something you can prepare the outline for yourself, but if you'd like someone to work with you to on the strategic, operational and financial forecasts and models, and to provide experience and insight with constructive challenge to test the robustness of your ideas for your business plan, I'd be happy to work with you on that.  To kick start you off, I have attached the pdf of my book Conquering Barriers to Business Growth, which includes a chapter on what to include in a robust business plan.  Hope that helps,

Best wishes, Linda

I would write it myself.

Try this app to get you going:

LivePlan

Hi there,

Please reach out to me in regards to the business plan. I have successfully written and executed a large number of plans in the commercial arena.

amish.XXXXX@XXXX.com

Anupam

Hi Stefan,

I have written a number of business plans for clients, so happy to find out more my email is XXXXXX and i can be contacted on 077904XXXX.

I realy depends what you want as to how much time it will take.

Regards

Chris Gough

As others have said, definitly write it yourself. Search online for 'business plan(ning) software', there are several good Cloud-based solutions available. These will provide a structure and prompt you for the content that you need to create. Also consider who the plan is for, is it just to guide you through setting up and running the business, or is it aimed at attracting outside finance?

If external funding is required then I would advocate using a freelance consultant to advise you. Search for people that are local to you and chat to a few before chosing one. Do not comit to more than a month's contract until you are convinced that they can deliver what you need. A good consultant will admit their limitations and have a network of subject specialists on whom they can call as required.