Philosophers should not be entrusted the responsibility of creating a business plan. The planning for pursuit of opportunities is fraught with risks, many of them inevitable. You need to get real before you even think of creating a business plan. Here you can find some practical suggestions to help create a business plan that works. Adopt a flexible mindset from the beginning. Keep your plan fluid and maintain this attitude as you process it further. You will progress faster without the burden of early commitments. Look upon your first plan as a provisional one. Creating a business plan is not a one-time task; you have to subject it to a number of revisions from time to time. Check if you have the requisite experience and expertise to comment on your specific opportunity. Locate the factors that could kill your deal, this is essential for the survival of your venture. Also recognize the key drivers of success. Once identified, you can focus on them keenly and obtain better results. Dont attempt to secure the funds for the entire project at the beginning. Instead raise the money adequate to fund the initial experiment, evaluate it, and then try to finance the next vision. However, you must maintain a contingent cushion at all times. Postpone the appointment of key management personnel till the experimentation stage evolves into a stable business model. You have to be bold enough to test market your product or service in the real market, on a small scale. Subject the samples and prototypes to an intensive customer research. Resist from plunging into the expansion mode in a hurry. Perform intensive tests on your business model and refine it further before widening your operations. Creating a business plan on the above lines cannot guarantee success, but it can ensure that you are on the right track. |