With the market research and analysis you have automatically gone through a kind of SWOT (strengths - weaknesses - opportunities - threats) analysis.
The information collected and analysed shall indicate:
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strengths |
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areas, where you are better than others or the only one |
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weaknesses |
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areas, where your institution will not have enough know-how, resources, credibility, etc. |
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opportunities |
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uncovered needs ( with access to financial means) |
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threats |
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developments that could be a risk to the institution |
The outcomes of your market research and analysis will be used in order to finally define the business idea in terms of services and products offered, the vision and objectives, the organisation & management of the support institution, the staff & support, the marketing plan, financial plan and time plan.
When thinking about and finally drafting your business plan documentation you may need to collect further information and do some more analysis.
Note 4 Every chapter will have to answer 3 fundamental questions
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Where are you today? |
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Where do you want to be in 3 - 5 years? |
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How to you get there, what do you need to do? |
The structure used in this guide follows an "ideal" step-by-step elaboration of the contents. As already stated above, in reality you will sometimes need to go back and forth to answer the questions. Furthermore, you will adapt the plan and its contents to fit your institution or association and the environment given in your country of location.
Below you will find two sample business plans that have been elaborated by purchasing and supply chain support institutions in economies in transition.
Sample Business Plans
Asociatia Moldoveneasca De Aprovizionare AMA (in French)
Institute of Personal Development of the Slovak Republic IPD SR (in English)
Tip 2 Writing your business plan
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Focus your business idea - do NOT try to "do all and everything" |
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Be aware of being over-optimistic on what can be achieved in the first year(s) |
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Base all your decisions and plans on data, not on opinions and loose assumptions |
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Stay open for changes and reviews |
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Ask experts, donors, potential clients or former colleagues their opinion |
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Do not jump over difficult or uncomfortable questions – you need to answer them |