Business Plan: Backbone Of Startups

Every business,small or big needs its business plan to keep operating in the long run.But what is this business plan we all keep hearing about? what does it mean? why is it so important? How is it prepared? What are its benifit? These questions just haunt us,so today i will be giving you guys complete knowledge about a business plan.

MEANING: 

A business plan is a document that describes your business, the market it operates in, its objectives and the strategies you have in place to achieve these objectives. ... helps to ensure that all aspects of the plan are clear and integrated.

BENIFITS OF BUSINESS PLAN :

1. Business objectives will be clear. Use your plan to define and manage specific measurable objectives like web visitors, sales, margins or new product launches. Define success in objective terms. 
2. Your educated guesses will be better. Use your plan to refine your educated guesses about things like potential market, sales, costs of sales, sales drivers, lead processing and business processes.
3. Priorities will make more sense. Aside from the strategy, there are also priorities for other factors of your business like growth, management and financial health. Use your plan to set a foundation for these, then to revise as the business evolves. 
4. You'll understand interdependencies. Use a plan to keep track of what needs to happen and in what order. For example, if you have to time a product release to match a testing schedule or marketing to match a release, your business plan can be invaluable in keeping you organized and on track. 
5. Milestones will keep you on track. Use a business plan to keep track of dates and deadlines in one place. This is valuable even for the one-person business and vital for teams. 
6. You'll be better at delegating. The business plan is an ideal place to clarify who is responsible for what. Every important task should have one person in charge. Your plan keeps track. 
7. Managing team members and tracking results will be easy. So many people acknowledge the need for regular team member reviews and just as many admit they hate the reviews. The plan is a great format for getting things in writing and following up on the difference between expectations and results with course corrections.
8. You can better plan and manage cash flow. No business can afford to mismanage cash. And simple profits are rarely the same as cash. A cash flow plan is a great way to tie together educated guesses on sales, costs, expenses, assets you need to buy and debts you have to pay. 
9. Course corrections will keep your business from flopping. Having a business plan gives you a way to be proactive -- not reactive -- about business. Don't wait for things to happen. Plan them. Follow up by tracking the results and making course corrections. It's a myth that a business plan is supposed to predict the future. Instead, it sets expectations and establishes assumptions so you can manage the future with course correction

 CONTENT:
There are a few things which must be included while writing a business plan.These contain as follows:

1. Value Proposition: the product/service, its features and benefits or uniqueness vs. competition; size of the market opportunity; and the MVP or minimum viable product that best illustrates the product as quickly as possible to elicit customer feedback early 

2. Customer Segments: who your customer is and what problems the product solves 

3. Channels: how you’ll distribute and sell your product 

4. Customer Relationships: how you’ll create demand 

5. Cost Structure: the fixed and variable costs required to operate your business 

6. Key Activities: the tasks the company must perform to succeed 

7. Key Resources: suppliers, commodities, or other essential elements of the business 

8. Key Partners: other enterprises essential to success of the business 

9. Revenue Streams: revenue and profit sources and size