In my post titled “Seven benefits of Having A Business Plan”, I try to underscore why it is important for you to have a business plan before you start up your business, no matter how wonderful your business idea may seem.
 
In this post, I will go on to guide you in the process of writing your business plan. One very important step in this process is to answer the vital questions about your business. In answering these questions, you will be making clearer, your business idea and at the end of it, writing your business plan will be made very simple.
 
Some of the questions you will be answering here are questions you cannot answer without doing a market research. Thus for such questions, I will recommend that you do a market research and come back to answer them. This means that you are not expected to answer all these questions in one sit-down session.
 
The following are 15 important questions which when answered, will make writing your business plan, simple. I have tried to keep everything simple so that everyone will be able to understand and come out with a business plan. In answering these questions, write out your answers in a book as if you are already writing the business plan.
 

1.    What Is My Purpose?

Life is built around purpose; and so is business. Any business that will succeed must have a purpose for existing. Some businesses exist primarily to meet a need, others to maximize profit and others still exist for both reasons. Some want to reach out to the less privilege, some want to model a standard, some to feed nations and some exist just to feed a household.
 
The purpose of your business is simply the reason why you have decided to do the business. Do you have a purpose for the business you want to do? What is it?
 

2.    What Is My Vision?
 

While purpose is a summary of why you want to do the business, vision is where you see the business in some years to come. When Bill Gates started Microsoft, his vision was that in some time to come, every household in America will own a computer. While purpose is why you are going into the business, vision is where you are going with the business.
 
Your vision is the picture in your mind when you think of your business idea. You can actually paint it out. The more able you are to paint the picture of your vision, the clearer your vision is. What is your vision for the business you want to set up?
 

3.    What Is My Strategy?

This question is about how you intend to realize your vision. When you have a vision, you need to strategize on how you will attain it. In answering this question, you will be doing a great deal for yourself because it will entail deep thinking. You will be thinking about how to set the business up and how to build and expand it.
 
Think about the strategy you will use to set a standard and culture for your business, recruit the best workers, grow your customer base, face competition, manage growth and expansion, and so on.
 

4.    What Kind Of Business Will It Be?

There are different kinds of businesses that exist. Some businesses offer goods to customers while some others, offer services and others still, offer both. There is no business that strictly offers just one type. Every business has some degree of goods and services to offer.
 
You also need to decide if you want to be a wholesaler or retailer of goods and on whether it will be a sole-proprietary business, a partnership business or share-holding. All these and more are important for you to decide on. 
 

5.    Who Will The Customers Be?

There is no business without customers. Customers are those who will keep the business alive. Before starting a business, it is crucial to know who you are targeting with the goods/services you have to offer.
 
Ask yourself: Who are those I want to reach out to with what I produce (i.e. my target population)? Is it women, children, workers, students, families, people of a particular age, etc. Also ask yourself how those found in your target pollution, think and act. Finally find out what they want to get which they are not getting from other businesses within the same market.
 

6.    Who Will Be My Competitors?

Every business must face competition. In fact, competition is very necessary in the market. Without competition there will be monopoly and the quality of goods and services provided in the market will be low while cost will be high.
 
Your competitors are those who are doing the same or similar business as yours. Their businesses affect yours seriously. They have indirect influence on your price, your standard of service, the quality of your goods, the quality of your staff and the marketing strategy of your goods and services. Make a list of your five biggest potential rivals and find out more about them: their strengths and weaknesses, their strategies and style.
 

7.    How Will I Be Different In My Business

As you consider competition for your business, you are certainly going to start considering how to make a difference in your business. A business is known through its Product, Price, Packaging, Place, Promotion and People.
By deciding on how to get the best in each of the above P’s you will be looking at how to differentiate your business from those of others. 

There may be many persons in your kind of business, offering the same product but they don’t offer it at the same price, with the same packaging, in the same place through the same promotion and by the same people. Think about how to make a difference in these aspects.
 

8.    How will I market what I do?

Marketing is a very key aspect for any business. Without a good marketing strategy, it will be difficult to experience the desired growth. Many big companies spend huge amounts on marketing their products, but they reap many times over.
 
Even if you are just starting and don’t have much money to buy time for Media advert, you need to figure out how to market your products in the cheapest way possible. This should be a big part of your business plan and a major aspect under your business strategy.
 

9.    What Will I Be Needing For A Start?

In order to start the business you intend to set up, you need resources. Resources are either money, men, materials, machines, information or space. You need to think deeply about the minimal requirement of all these, that will be able to start up the business. 

How many workers must you have for a start and how qualified should they be? Who will be the key players for the business? What machines and materials will you need to get and what should be their quality? Will you need an office space? How much information will you need and where will you get them? And above all, how much money will you require for all these?
 
The question of resources is one that is a little challenging to answer. It requires some good research on prices of certain goods and services as well as some information gathered about how other persons in the same market, started.
 

10.    What Are My Future Projections/Expectations?

Every business is looking forward to the time when it will break even. You will be able to know this, when you can sit down and with realistic figures, calculate when it will likely break even. So one thing you need to look at is your future expectations and projections, based on the present trends. 

You should have projections of how many customers you will have after a defined period say 5 years; how much profit you will be making in some 3, 5, 10 years’ time; how many branches you should be operating by then, etc.
Where do you see your business in the next 2, 4, 6 years to come?
 

11.    What Legal Requirements Do I Need To Meet?

Most businesses will require some form of legalization. You may have to get tax documents, permits, insurance, etc. It is important that you find out to know what applies for your own business. It is very important to meet up with all the necessary legal requirements for your business so that you don’t interrupt your business and disappoint your customers, when it is time to enjoy increase.
 

12.    Where Will I Get Money To Fund The Business?

In writing your business plan, you need to answer this very important question because your answer to it will even tell you how to make the plan. If you will be sourcing for funds of seeking out for partnership/investors, you will need a more in-depth plan that will be able to convince those you go to for some fund of support or funding.
 
In writing your plan, take time out to answer this question. Note that it is not just about how you will get funds to start but also about how you will get funds for growth and expansion.
 

13.    What Will My Business Be Called?

In the course of answering the above questions, you will be thinking of the name for your business. In fact, you may have a change of mind in the name for your business, just after sitting down to answer the questions above. So, let this be one of the last questions you answer, although even before deciding to make a plan, you must have had some names in mind. In one of my posts, I talk about how to choose a suitable name for your business.
 

14.    When Do I start?

This question is also important to be at the end because by then you would have had a better understanding of what setting up your business will entail, and you would have done almost all the nasty job of preparation and planning. You will be very close to starting up so it will be easy to set a time to start. Make sure you write down the time in your business plan.
 

15.    What Should I Do Next?

When I talk to people about business plans, I always tell them to consider this question and make sure it is last. This is so that they can always answer it at every stage of their business. Unlike most of the questions above which have to be answered once, this is a question you will keep answering as long as the business is alive.
 
In answering this question you need to do a SWOT analysis of the business. Find out your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. From there, you can tell at what point you are in realizing your visions and then be able to know what next step to take. At every point in time you have some strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths; even at the beginning of the business. Always find out what they are and your findings will tell you what next step to take.
 
I am sure after answering the above fifteen questions, you are now prepared to write down your business plan. I will be taking you through the steps, in my post titled, “Simple Steps to Follow in Writing a Business Plan”
 
Thank you for reading and make your comments below please.

by Kadzem Claude