• 3-minute read
• 9th December 2018

5 Tips for Writing a Business Plan

When writing a business plan, what rules do you need to follow? We suggest:

1. Always conduct thorough research
2. Tailor your plan to suit its intended audience and purpose
3. Make your plan as clear and concise as possible
4. Format your document so that it is easy to read and looks professional
5. Leave enough time to edit and proofread your business plan

We will now look at how to put each of these tips into practice below.

1. Researching a Business Plan

Ideally, your research should allow you to specify the following in your plan:

• The nature of your business and the services or products it provides
• Your business goals and how you intend to achieve them
• The market in which your business operates and its target customers
• How your business will differentiate itself from competitors

Make sure you have all the relevant financial and market information available before you start writing. This will help you create a compelling, detailed plan that covers all eventualities.

2. Tailoring a Plan

You must consider exactly what you want to achieve when writing a business plan. This is because every plan should be tailored to its intended audience and purpose, which includes:

• Whether you are a startup or an established business seeking to expand
• Who you are writing the plan for (e.g. a manager or outside investors)
• The period of time you want to cover in your plan

You can use this information to ensure your plan is clear and focused.

3. Writing Concisely

While a business plan should be thorough, it should also be easy to read. This means that you should:

• Keep it fairly brief (in-depth data can be added to appendices)
• Not use too much industry jargon or dense technical language
• Write in clear, concise sentences and avoid wordiness

You should also include an executive summary at the start of the document. This will summarise the main points of your plan, offering a quick overview of what you are proposing.

4. Professional Formatting

Presentation isn’t everything, but it can help to make a good first impression. And as such, if you’re looking to impress investors, you should give some thought to formatting your business plan. To make sure yours has a professional finish, you may want to include:

• A title page with key business information and contact details
• Page numbers and section headers to guide the reader
• Visual aids such as charts, graphs and illustrations

You should also make sure that the formatting and fonts are consistent throughout the document.

5. Editing and Proofreading

Finally, don’t forget to edit and proofread carefully! The first draft of a document is never the best. Instead, seek feedback from colleagues or friends and use this to refine your plan. And once you have a draft you’re happy with, make sure to check it one last time for typos.

We can, of course, assist with this part. So just let us know if you’d like some professional help with this final step.