Writing a strong business plan
To attract funding and support for your organisation all your important stakeholders will want to see evidence that you have planned carefully what you are going to do.
A successful business plan inspires confidence and demonstrates that you have rigorously considered the issues from all different perspectives. Follow these top tips to strengthen your planning…
- Highlight the outcomes
Be clear about the plan’s outcomes and what will be different when your plan is a success. Check out the National Outcomes Programme for free downloadable resources on outcomes. - Demonstrate understanding of what is going on in the world
Consider what is going in the environment in which your organisation operates. What are other organisations doing? What do your beneficiaries need? How will your organisation complement and strengthen what’s already on offer? Check out www.3s4.org.uk for guidance on understanding and responding to external drivers. - Include all the statutory information
Include your organisation’s legal status, for example, is it a charity or a company limited by guarantee. Include the registered numbers. You might also want to include the Memorandum and Articles of Association. All this information will help demonstrate your credibility as an organisation that means business. - Highlight your track record
Set out information about your past successes, your management structure, and your governance. Show that you have undertaken similar challenges in the past and have the knowledge and experience to continue your success. - Show you understand your organisation
Look at what you are planning to do from all perspectives. What is apparent to you may not be apparent to the people reading the plan so be explicit. Cover the implications of the plan in all the organisational key areas such as: services, service users, people, money, and marketing. If you have weaknesses don’t cover them up but state what you will do to compensate in these areas. - Outline the key activities and timescales
A business plan does not need a detailed action plan, but you do need to give an indication of the overall timescales and the key activities. Set out the main activities and tasks that will need to happen, and how you intend to keep the plan on track. - Be honest
Ask a critical friend to look over your plan and give you honest feedback. Does it stack up? Is it convincing? And ask yourself on reading your plan, are you convinced? Would you invest your own money in it? If you wouldn’t invest in it yourself, you’ll have a difficult time persuading others.
Stella Smith, 2009
