Writing a Business Plan

Recently on Highways & Byways…

From the BUSINESS section: Writing a Business Plan




Thinking about starting a business? You’ll first have to write a business plan, and I recently discussed the general guidelines to follow when writing one.

The three main parts of a business plan are made up of:

- The marketing plan. The role of the marketing plan is to ensure that the business strategy meets the needs of the market. This is where you provide strategy on your company’s image, distribution channels, key features that differentiate your product from your competitors and promotional material.

- The operations plan. In this section, you’ll provide your plans for researching, developing, manufacturing and delivering your product or service. This includes supplying raw materials and setting production targets.

- The financial plan. This is where you’ll clarify what is required of investors and lenders. Documents included in this section include the cash flow analysis, balance sheets and profit and loss (P&L) statements. The financial plan also looks at fixed and variable costs and determines how much money is required to begin the business.

And…don’t use technical jargon. Keep the plan short, organized and easy to read.

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Vocabulary:

Guideline. Pauta, directriz

To meet. Satisfacer, cubrir

Raw materials. Materias primas

P & L (profit and loss). Pérdidas y ganancias

Jargon. Jerga

Published by: Drew Crosby