Course Details
Course Outline
10 days course
Introduction
- Why do we need a business plan
- Plans to start a new project or venture
- Plans to encourage an investor or business partner
- Plans to obtain finance, government funding or grants and incentives
- Plans that help manage the business better
- Plans that measure actual performance compared to what was planned
- What do business plans look like
- How long is “long enough”
What Can Plans Accomplish?
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Highlight aspects of the business that need special consideration
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Identify core competencies and weaknesses
- Identify weaknesses and threats to the business
- Steer towards new opportunities
- Help to understand your competitors
- Assist with operational structure planning
- Assist with using financial resources more efficiently and ultimately more profitably
- Identify critical management capabilities
- Identify human resources availability, capacity and any gaps
Business Plan Components
- Commence with objectives, scope, statement of the problem or remit
- Executive Summary
- Report Body
- Conclusions
- Recommendations
- Supporting papers
- What order is best for the above
Business Plan Contents
- Does it focus properly on the recipient
- What is the style, experience, purpose and expectation
- What is the report’s objective – is it clear
- What are the readers’ expected knowledge, intentions, seniority
- What is the report meant to achieve
- Are there any sensitivities
- What is expected of you as the reader
Analysing The External Environment of the Firm
- Does the Business Plan cover this in detail
- What are external issues
- Economic
- Financial
- Institutional
- Regulatory
- Reputational
- Competition
- Barriers to entry
- Existing players
- New entrants
- What is the USP
- On-demand or Committed
- Raising Debt
- Raising Equity
- Equipment Funding – various possibilities
- Infrastructure funding
- Property funding
- Project finance
- Trade finance
- Syndications
Financial Analysis of The Plan and Its Creator
- Funding requirements
- Financial Projections – at least three years and subjected to a full conventional analysis
- Full set of previous accounts and balance sheets
- How recent are the figures
- Management or audited
- What are the assumptions made
- Is there a margin of safety
- Do the figures make sense, appear realistic and seem convincing
- Cash flow projections
- EBITDA and other key ratios
- Leverage and gearing
- Any mezzanine element
- How much and for how long
- Debt or equity or a hybrid
- How much “skin in the game” has the client invested
- The macro-environment
- Existing capital structure
- Proposed “new” capital structure
- Rights of various parties
- Inter-creditor and where applicable tripartite agreements
Analysing the Corporate and Business Strategy Set Out in the Plan
- What is the “mission statement”
- Are the objectives clear
- What is the corporate strategy of the business
- What time scale; short medium or long term
- How will success be benchmarked
- Who will drive the vision and who will implement it
- What is the business strategy
- How will business goals be achieved
- Are they realistic
- Who will accomplish this
- How will success or failure be measured
- Does it make sense
- Do you have confidence that both objectives can be achieved
- What does progress so far and the track record to date tell you
Industry Analysis – What does The Plan Cover
- The current state of the industry
- The target market
- Reference materials
- Spreadsheets
- pie charts
- bar graphs
- Other relevant data.
- Historical data about the nature of the industry
- Growth potential based on economic factors and conditions.
- A list of the major competitors in the industry
- A brief summary of their operations and similar products or services.
- A summary of the nature of the industry
- Specific information and statistics about growth patterns, fluctuations related to the economy and income projections made about the industry.
- A forecast for the industry.
- Data and industry predictions for the next five, 10 and 20 years.
- Government regulations that affect the industry.
- Is there a Competitive Analysis and Unique Selling Proposition as well as data for the direct and indirect competition
- Is there a realistic list potential stumbling blocks.
An Analysis of Management
- The board and the non–executives
- The Chairman and the CEO
- Senior Management
- For both the above
- Track record
- Reputation
- Skillsets
- Age and Experience
- Qualifications
- Previous roles
- The risk/reward proposition
- Can they make it happen in your view
- Is there a disconnect
- Does all management buy-in to the Plan
- Were key players consulted
- What is your experience of dealing with the team
- What do your existing respected clients say about them
- What is the industry view
- Is the chain of command optimal
- Flat or top-down or bottom-up style
- What is your view of them
- If there are any meaningful doubts, walk away
Target Market in the Plan
- What is the target market
- Is there a group of customers that have a similar need for the product or service
- Will those potential clients buy the product
- Is the business satisfying an existing need or creating a new product
- Demographics analysis
- Geographic analysis
- Psychographic analysis – Why do they buy?
- Behaviouristic: What makes the target clients decide to do business with you
- Can this be achieved
- What is the evidence to date
- What have competitors done
Competition Analysis
- Who are the most important competitors?
- What are their main strengths and weaknesses?
- How can this business be different?
- How can the product or service be more competitive?
- What are competitors’ pricing policies?
- How do these affect the projected sales strategies?
- Are main competitors and their estimated market shares listed and understood?
Human Resources & Operations in the Plan
- What is the existing Management Structure
- What management tools are used
- Who actually runs the business
- How many people are employed and will be employed (Full Time / Part-Time)
- What types of skills and/or experience are already in place.
- What is needed
- What training will the workforce require to be able to meet the future plans?
- What measures will be adopted to ensure employee loyalty?
- Incentives & compensation systems – will they help drive value creation
- How soon will it be necessary to expand the workforce?
Implementing the Plan
- What Balanced scorecard will be used
- Is it tried and tested and fit for purpose
- Change management capabilities
- Key drivers
- Key responsibilities
- KRI’s & KPI’s
- How will success be measured
- What will the early warning signs be
- Who will have strategic control and oversight responsibility
- What MI or data will be made available to enable stakeholders to review progress
