Welcome to the eleventh week of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program!
This is an important week as your learning draws to a close, as you will be combining all of the past modules together to craft a Business Plan. In developing strategy, this document is vital to your planning. It is often a stressful document to write, but the good news is that you have already written the majority of the document. Over the past ten weeks, you thought about most of the important sections that combine to create a Business Plan. This week is your opportunity to revisit many of these topics, refine them in your mind, and begin to commit them to paper.
During this process, please speak with your mentor about how they have used strategic documents like Business Models in the past to prepare for long-term success. If you have prior experience with strategic planning like this, we encourage you to log onto the platform to share your experience with other Programme participants. At the same time, if you are new to these concepts, please also log onto the platform to ask questions and brainstorm ways to more effectively use this planning in support of your business!
Project To Dos
Read Glossary
Complete "Business Plan Survey"
Read "Business Plan Article"
Talk with at least three friends or colleagues that you trust who have business experience about the value of a business plan.
Consider how they have used business planning to support their own work in the past, and brainstorm how both of you can use improved business planning to improve the effectiveness of your efforts in the near future.
Complete "Business Plan Worksheet"
Select a broad category of business plan. Identify some formats and styles that you think fit well with the image and goals of your company.
Draft your Business Plan
Go over the draft with at least three friends or colleagues that you trust. These may be the same individuals from your previous conversations about business planning, or they may be different.
Discuss the draft with your Mentor.
Revise Business Plan based on the feedback you received.
Glossary of Terms
Business Plan
A business plan is a detailed explanation of how your company will make money.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property is a legal term that refers to anything invented by a person that is protected from unauthorized use.
Quarterly Basis
Quarterly basis refers to something happening once per quarter, usually meaning once every three months.
Business Plan
A business plan is a detailed explanation of how your company will make money.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property is a legal term that refers to anything invented by a person that is protected from unauthorized use.
Quarterly Basis
Quarterly basis refers to something happening once per quarter, usually meaning once every three months.
Business Plan Article
A business plan is not meant to be an exact prediction of everything your business does now and will do in the future. Think of it like the plays that football teams practice. There are roles and responsibilities for each member of the team, but you cannot predict exactly how people will play in a match.
A business plan should be used as a guide to help you run the company. It helps you consider the most important aspects of your business in a comprehensive way. Everything we have done since Week 1 can be integrated into your business plan. You start to understand why this training was so important to the complete development of your idea.
It is long and time-consuming, but do not let other people write the business plan for you. Only the founding team of the company should be responsible for drafting and updating this document. Each question you will have is an opportunity to decide together what exactly it is that your business will do. Expect to have many questions while writing the plan. That is a normal part of the process, and a great chance to speak with friends, advisors, and your TEEP Mentor.
Generally speaking, there are seven parts to a business plan:
● Business Description
● Market Analysis
● Competitor Assessment
● Marketing Plan
● Operating Plan
● Financial Plan
Go through the following questions and answer them to the best of your ability. Pay close attention to places where you are not confident in the answer. Those are the topics that you need to discuss with friends, advisors, and potential customers.
Business Summary
Why does your business exist?
What are the customer problems that you are trying to solve?
What motivates you to solve these problems?
What is unique about your solution?
Who owns the business?
How is the business structured legally?
Market Analysis
Who is your primary customer - individuals or businesses?
Why do your customers want to buy your product or service?
Is the user of your product or service the one who pays for it?
How large is your market geographically?
How large is your market financially?
Are there government regulations that will affect your business?
Competitor Assessment
Who creates similar products or services in the same area?
Who solves similar problems in the same area?
How much do these products or services cost for a basic version? A luxury version?
How are these products or services advertised to the customers?
Marketing Plan
How do you describe the best features of your product or service?
How do you describe the biggest benefits of using your product or service?
What would you like to charge for your product or service?
What is the minimum you can charge for your product or service and make a profit?
Will there be intermediate steps like a wholesale or retail partner?
Operating Plan
Who owns the company?
In which form is the business incorporated?
Who manages the day-to-day operations of the company?
How many employees do you have? How will you expand in the future?
How many contractors do you have? How will you expand in the future?
What sort of facilities and equipment do you need?
Do you need to consider intellectual property, such as proprietary technology?
Financial Plan
On a quarterly basis, how much income are you predicting over the next two years?
On a quarterly basis, how does your cash flow look over the next year?
How much does it cost to produce your product or service?
What are your largest costs this year? Next year?
When will your company be able to sustain itself financially?
A business plan is not meant to be an exact prediction of everything your business does now and will do in the future. Think of it like the plays that football teams practice. There are roles and responsibilities for each member of the team, but you cannot predict exactly how people will play in a match.
A business plan should be used as a guide to help you run the company. It helps you consider the most important aspects of your business in a comprehensive way. Everything we have done since Week 1 can be integrated into your business plan. You start to understand why this training was so important to the complete development of your idea.
It is long and time-consuming, but do not let other people write the business plan for you. Only the founding team of the company should be responsible for drafting and updating this document. Each question you will have is an opportunity to decide together what exactly it is that your business will do. Expect to have many questions while writing the plan. That is a normal part of the process, and a great chance to speak with friends, advisors, and your TEEP Mentor.
Generally speaking, there are seven parts to a business plan:
● Business Description
● Market Analysis
● Competitor Assessment
● Marketing Plan
● Operating Plan
● Financial Plan
Go through the following questions and answer them to the best of your ability. Pay close attention to places where you are not confident in the answer. Those are the topics that you need to discuss with friends, advisors, and potential customers.
Business Summary
Why does your business exist?
What are the customer problems that you are trying to solve?
What motivates you to solve these problems?
What is unique about your solution?
Who owns the business?
How is the business structured legally?
Market Analysis
Who is your primary customer - individuals or businesses?
Why do your customers want to buy your product or service?
Is the user of your product or service the one who pays for it?
How large is your market geographically?
How large is your market financially?
Are there government regulations that will affect your business?
Competitor Assessment
Who creates similar products or services in the same area?
Who solves similar problems in the same area?
How much do these products or services cost for a basic version? A luxury version?
How are these products or services advertised to the customers?
Marketing Plan
How do you describe the best features of your product or service?
How do you describe the biggest benefits of using your product or service?
What would you like to charge for your product or service?
What is the minimum you can charge for your product or service and make a profit?
Will there be intermediate steps like a wholesale or retail partner?
Operating Plan
Who owns the company?
In which form is the business incorporated?
Who manages the day-to-day operations of the company?
How many employees do you have? How will you expand in the future?
How many contractors do you have? How will you expand in the future?
What sort of facilities and equipment do you need?
Do you need to consider intellectual property, such as proprietary technology?
Financial Plan
On a quarterly basis, how much income are you predicting over the next two years?
On a quarterly basis, how does your cash flow look over the next year?
How much does it cost to produce your product or service?
What are your largest costs this year? Next year?
When will your company be able to sustain itself financially?
Business Plan Worksheet
As a TEEP entrepreneur, you will spend a lot of time working on your business plan. It is an important document because it shows you have thought about all the important aspects of your company. Before you start compiling the plan, make sure you are thinking carefully about how you will use the business plan after it is finished.
Which aspects of your business are worrying you the most right now? How will the business plan help you address these?
What is the biggest financial question that your business plan can help you address?
Who else on your team will help you create the business plan? What aspects of the plan will they be able to help with?
How can you use this business plan to help you set priorities, establish goals, and measure performance?
Who can you share the business plan with? What do you want them to do as a result?
As a TEEP entrepreneur, you will spend a lot of time working on your business plan. It is an important document because it shows you have thought about all the important aspects of your company. Before you start compiling the plan, make sure you are thinking carefully about how you will use the business plan after it is finished.
Which aspects of your business are worrying you the most right now? How will the business plan help you address these?
What is the biggest financial question that your business plan can help you address?
Who else on your team will help you create the business plan? What aspects of the plan will they be able to help with?
How can you use this business plan to help you set priorities, establish goals, and measure performance?
Who can you share the business plan with? What do you want them to do as a result?
A business plan is a detailed explanation of how your business makes money. It includes everything, from the value proposition and pricing model to the target customers and legal structure. It is a critical document for you to create.
Potential investors, advisors, and partners will all want to review and discuss your business plan. It shows that you have spent the time needed thinking through every aspect of your company. They will then be able to more carefully go through and discuss the important elements with you.
Do you have a business plan?
Yes
No
Answer: No
Has a potential investor or partner asked you for a business plan?
Yes
No
Answer: No
How do you expect to use your business plan?
a. Raise money from banks or investors
b. Discuss strategy with advisors and employers
c. Develop partnerships with other companies
d. Working with professional services such as lawyers and accountants
Answer: c. Develop partnerships with other companies
Potential investors, advisors, and partners will all want to review and discuss your business plan. It shows that you have spent the time needed thinking through every aspect of your company. They will then be able to more carefully go through and discuss the important elements with you.
Do you have a business plan?
Yes
No
Answer: No
Has a potential investor or partner asked you for a business plan?
Yes
No
Answer: No
How do you expect to use your business plan?
a. Raise money from banks or investors
b. Discuss strategy with advisors and employers
c. Develop partnerships with other companies
d. Working with professional services such as lawyers and accountants
Answer: c. Develop partnerships with other companies
