Table of Contents
Tip 1: Be realistic when creating your Business Plan!
If you want to become self-employed with a brilliant business idea, in addition to courage and your personal expertise, you definitely need a realistic business plan that you can successfully implement in the coming months (and prospective years). For you as a founder, it is an indispensable tool on the way to self-employment. However, creating a business plan without mistakes is more than a simple to-do list. After all, you want to convince potential financiers and describe your start -up idea for yourself . A well thought-out business plan is like a compass. He will help you sail in the desired direction throughout the founding process.
Tip 2: Check your Business Idea carefully!
So that you don’t “go swimming” with your new product or service, as a start-up you have to ask yourself important questions in advance and e.g. B. deal with the risks of your business model. To avoid making mistakes in your business plan, you should do the following:
- Plan carefully.
- Have a plan B ready in case there are problems
- Justify your sales expectations
- Check the market and its pricing culture
It also takes honesty as you put yourself to the test and reconsider any skills you may lack It is better if you point out skill gaps yourself in your business plan and signal potential investors how you will fill them. The most important thing, however, is whether your plan to start a business is worth it at all. A business plan gives you the necessary clarity for this. He translates your emotional exuberance into sober numbers for your future financing. Because unique products are not everything. In reality, it is more important that you understand how and with what you satisfy customers. So you see, you are primarily writing your business plan for yourself!
Tip 3: Research honestly and Analyze the Industry!
This includes, for example, checking the viability of your idea :
- Determine purchase prices from suppliers
- Look at your target group and competitors
- Find out about the current price concept
The more specific your research, the more information will flow into your business plan . This is how you illustrate your concept and provide arguments for the amount of your financial needs. You will also be able to identify weak points more easily and eliminate them before the foundation. Be objective and try to understand what makes your dream industry tick and whether you can really make money here. Become an expert and avoid mistakes that are based on superficiality and a lack of knowledge. Make sure that the figures determined for your business plan are on a solid foundation.
Also Read: 5 Small Business Trends To Pay Attention To
Tip 4: Accept help!
Do you feel overwhelmed to illustrate your idea in a business plan? Then decide, expert knowledge z. B. by a management consultant or a management consultant and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) to use. Ask for help with your business plan . Don’t be afraid to clarify formal questions or ask more questions. This is much better than risking mistakes in the business plan later. After all, you should use it to convince decision-makers about your funding. In the end, the effort is worth it. Because you should definitely avoid “off-the-shelf products” that are advertised as the perfect solution for a business plan on the Internet.
Don’t get a “ghostwriter” on board, but be your own captain and independently clarify all relevant questions about your individual business plan. Find out who your competitors are and get an overview of their locations online, for example. Record the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors in your plan and compare yourself and your offer to them. It is also useful to carry out a SWOT analysis . Your business idea is unique and only you can convey that to potential investors and banks with a well thought-out business plan. The work pays off and minimizes all risks in your business plan!
Tip 5: Take your time!
In fact, it can take up to three months to create your business plan. If you start a part-time business , you may need even longer. Stay on the ball and don’t tie yourself to rental contracts for an office in a trendy location. In any case, it is important that you have it checked for substantive and formal deficiencies by an independent reader or professional advisor, e.g. from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. This way you can identify dangers, save valuable money and eliminate common mistakes when creating the business plan!
Tip 6: Pay attention to Clarity and Transparency!
Your business plan needs a clear structure , which means you should divide your work into meaningful main and sub-topics. Descriptive headlines are also important and increase the chance that your:e bank advisor:in will quickly find his way around your business plan. When creating it, it makes sense to put yourself in the role of the bank and ask yourself what they would like to know about your future company. Summarize your findings in a clear synopsis and thus arouse the reading interest of your investors. As a prospective entrepreneur, you can use free business plan software to support you use for your business concept. Especially when it comes to visual conception and numbering, you manage to further optimize your plan!
Tip 7: Be Informative!
The first section of your business plan should be dedicated to your business idea in the form of an “executive summary” . That means something like “summary of a business plan”: At this point you should present your product or service briefly and informatively with all relevant figures and data at a glance. Many bank advisors already decide here whether they want to continue reading or not.
Also Read: Top Trends That Will Give You Business Ideas
Tip 8: Points with Objectivity and Objectivity!
No matter how enthusiastic you are about your business idea or product, you should proactively address all possible questions in your business plan and answer them factually . Write clearly, concisely and factually.
Tip 9: Avoid mistakes in your Business Plan
Take your business plan seriously! Because mistakes in the business plan are always disadvantageous. Don’t think it is just “a formal means to an end” for your application for funding or grants. Again and again young founders fail because they take their business plan lightly. Common mistakes are made when evaluating
- Sales expectations
- Competitors and market segment
- Unique selling propositions
- Realistic cost planning and acquisition
Tip 10: Learn from the mistakes of others
Deficits in the conception of the business plan to be created also deter readers. If you make the following mistakes, you are guaranteed to be misunderstood by banks and investors:
- Business plan without logical structure
- Inappropriate layout and language
- Content not explained at all or insufficiently
- Missing unique selling proposition of the founding idea
- Inadequate analysis of competitors in terms of service and price culture
- Inadequate sales and market analysis
- Unrealistic calculation of capital requirements
- No information on private living expenses and insurance
- Risks of the business idea remain unmentioned
- Contingency plan does not exist
