Anything you failed to plan for has already been planned to fail. Starting up a business is not an exception. Many people have succeeded in business without a plan on paper. The fact is that those that actually succeeded in various businesses without written plans had those plans on their mind. And they would have been more successful if they had put those plans down.

I have come to know that most entrepreneurs do not have business plans because they do not know how to go about drafting business plans that will be acceptable to lenders or most investors because of the business plan formats available are complex and someone that is not highly educated may not be able to produce a good business plan using any of those format. And, those that require business plans may not be able to pay Consultants to produce for them.

Whether you are planning to get a loan for your business or not, you require a business plan for you to make more progress in your business venture. The plan can be fine-tuned as you progress. Below is a simple business plan format to get you started:

1. Paint the picture of your business. Here, you describe everything about the business you are about to start up. The name, the products and services, your vision and mission, your goals, location, how well you understand the business and the industry as well as any other relevant information that will make your business look great.
For example
Introducing ABC Laundry and Leather Services
ABC Laundry and Leather Services is a firm that professionally care for your fabrics and leather materials…
Our services include:
Laundry and Dry cleaning
Clothe Repairs
Shoe Repairs and Polishing
Our vision is to be the best in what we do. Our mission is to ensure that all our customers’ needs are met on time.
We are located in XYZ Street.
We go the extra mile in our service delivery to ensure that we retain all our customers as well as attract new ones.
Just think, look through your industry so as to discover what you will do better and add to your description. Ensure the content is well arranged.

2. Your target market and how you will get your market share. Here you state those that will be your prospects/customers and how you will ensure they patronize you.
For Example,
Our Target Market
We are targeting people on our street and the whole neighbourhood. We have discovered that there is no laundry and dry cleaning service being rendered in XYZ Street where we are located and those rendering such services in the neighbourhood do not offer leather services.

3. State your growth strategy. Here you put down on paper how you are going to sustain your business as well all the strategies that you will put in place to ensure your business continue to thrive.
For Example,
Our Growth Strategy
We started with one office, one washing machine, one electric iron, one sewing machine and a table with four employees. We plan to add at least one collection centre in a good location every six months and employee additional two staff to support the expansion.
We also plan to get a generator and other assets that will assist in our growth strategy as the case maybe within the first six months.

4. State your marketing plan. It is a known fact that without sales one will be out of business sooner or later. Here you have to detail how you will be getting people to continuously be patronizing your products or services.
For Example,
Our Marketing Plan
Based on our analysis, we identified that over one 500 household that are busy business owners and civil servants resides in the neighbourhood. We are targeting two hundred of them. We will be posting posters and banners in strategic places within the neighbourhood to be able to realize of target. We will be employing two Marketing Officers to drive this as well execute other functions that will positively impact the organization.

5. Operations and Management Plan. Here you, you state your operations’ guidelines and Management goals that will be strictly followed by all. In some organizations the operations guideline is called SOP (Standard Operating Procedure).
For Example,
Our Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
i. Once any client brings clothes for dry-cleaning, the Receiving Officer receives them and records them for the clients to sign.
ii. The clothes will then be tagged against the client.
iii. The Dry-Cleaners dry-clean the clothes without mixing them with other clients’ clothes.
iv. Once the clothes are ready, the tags will be removed and the clients name and balance if any paste on the nylon used to pack the clothes.
v. The nylon packs used in packing the client’ clothes are arranged accordingly on the shelf.
vi. When the client comes for the clothes, the Delivery Officer confirms if he or she has a balance to pay, and hands over the nylon pack containing the clothes to the client once confirms the client is good to go.
vii. The customer signs of that he or she has collected the clothes. If we a delivering to them they will sign the Dispatch Book.
viii. The Supervisor goes through the records every close of business to ensure compliance of the SOP.

Our Goals
To become so relevant to our clients so that they will always need our services.

The Financials. This is where you forecast monetary value of the assets you will need to start up, your income and expenditure. You can make it simple by taken into accounts what you will need to start and preparing simple profit and loss account for one year. Some people will want all financial statements to be included here as well as up to five years comparative financial statements. I believe that if you can get it right in the first year of your operations, you will be able to navigate through the years once you acting on your plans and making necessary changes.
For Example,
Cost Estimate to Start up ABC Laundry and Leather Services ...https://smeguide.net/the-simple-business-plan-format-for-your-start-up/