Creating a business plan may seem like an intimidating task, but it’s actually not as scary as you might think. In fact, creating a business plan doesn’t need to be complicated at all. 

It’s simply a document that outlines your company’s vision, key objectives and financial forecast so that you can see if your business is heading in the right direction or not. 

A business plan can also help you secure financing and find investors if you ever want to scale your business up in future. 

If you have an idea for a new venture but are not sure whether it’s viable or not, writing a business plan is a great way to test the waters and discover whether there is market demand for your product or service before getting too involved with start-up costs and other aspects of running a company.

What is a business plan ?

A business plan is a written document that outlines the goals and objectives of a company, as well as its financial forecast. 

A business plan will almost always include a SWOT analysis, which allows you to analyse your company’s strengths and weaknesses against its competitors’, as well as a marketing strategy and a financial forecast, which outlines your expected revenue and expenditures for the next 12 months. 

A business plan is a must-have in any start-up situation, whether you’re just exploring how to start a business or you’ve already found a great idea and want to take it to the next level. 

A business plan is basically your roadmap to success. It allows you to test your idea and determine whether it’s viable or not, as well as gives you a clear picture of what you need to do in order to achieve your goals.

Why having a business plan ?

Since a business plan outlines your company’s objectives and your financial forecast, having one will help you test the waters and determine whether there is a demand for your product or service. 

A business plan will also help you secure financing if you’re ever in need of investors. Having a business plan will also help you stay focused on your goals, and it will help you avoid getting sidetracked by other tasks or projects. 

Having a clear vision and a roadmap to success will help you avoid getting distracted and will help you stay on track with your business and your overall goals.

How to write a good business plan

There are no set rules for how to write a business plan, but there are some guidelines that you should follow to make sure that your plan is effective.

• Define your target market and customers : before you can write anything else, you need to define your ideal customer and write everything from their perspective. Essentially, you need to ask yourself who your customers are, where they live and what their day-to-day life looks like. By doing this, you will be able to write a better business plan that meets your customers’ needs and solves their problems.
• Conduct industry research : next, you need to do some industry research and find out how your business plan compares to your competitors’ plans. This will help you to write a better business plan by finding ways to stand out from the crowd and get ahead of your competitors.
• Write a clear and concise executive summary : the executive summary is arguably the most important part of your business plan as it is the first thing that investors will see. Make sure that it is clear, concise and written in an engaging manner. Don’t get too caught up in jargon or too indulgent with flowery language.
• Outline your company’s mission, vision and values : your business plan should outline your company’s mission, vision and values so that potential investors can see if your company is a good investment or not.

Create a business plan with Canva

If you are looking for a quick and easy way to get started with your business plan, then Canva is the perfect tool for you. 

It is super user-friendly, easy to navigate and you can create engaging business plans in just a few clicks. There are a ton of pre-made business plan templates that you can use as a starting point if you want to save some time. 

All you need to do is click on the “Business Plan” tab, select the type of plan that you want to make and then choose a template. You can then customise the plan using the built-in design and layout tools to make it your own. You can also add images, charts, graphs or tables to your plan edited in canva to make it visually appealing and easier to understand. 

Alternatively, if you have some special requirements for your business plan, like a specific layout or type of visual content, you can also create a new template from scratch. It is easy to share your business plan with colleagues, friends and family members in just a few clicks, making it easy to get feedback and suggestions for improvement.

Canva template are available in instant download, which make it even more easier to print it or share it. Also, it is a very good tool for a small business having design needs.

Define your company’s objectives

The first step to creating a business plan is to define your company’s objectives. Before you start writing, make sure that you have a clear idea about what you want your business to do, who it is for and why it is needed in the marketplace. 

Having a clear idea of these three things will help you to create a plan that is both realistic and achievable. You can also use an objectives worksheet to help you get started.

Research your market

As part of your business plan, you also want to conduct some market research. This will help you to understand what the current needs and trends are in your sector, as well as identify potential areas of opportunity that you can capitalize on. 

There are a variety of different methods that you can use to research your market, including :

• Questionnaires : these can be used to gather qualitative data about customers and their needs.
• Surveys : these are similar to questionnaires but are used to collect quantitative data, such as how often people purchase a product or how much they spend. 
• Interviews : these are one-on-one discussions with people who work in your industry or who are likely to be customers.
• Trend analysis : this is a great way to identify what the future holds for your industry. You can also use data from other industries to see where your market is headed.

Our final word

Creating a business plan is a crucial first step to launching any new venture. It’s essentially a roadmap for your company that outlines your goals, financial forecast and marketing strategy, making it a great way to get all of your ideas and plans written down in one place. 

Although the process of creating a business plan can seem overwhelming at first, there are a number of tools and methods that you can use to simplify the process and make it as painless as possible.

👉 Discover our printable business planner right there :)