It is irrational to start a business without taking time to evaluate the idea behind the business. Every entrepreneur is faced with the challenge of how to make the business idea grow into an empire. Your intentions towards your business will act as a catalyst which will either speed or slow the rate of business growth. Having the business idea is often backed with a plan which will serve as a road map or a guide to ensure that you do not derail from the pathway to business growth.
Every business plan is focused on creating a blue print which will help the business achieve it aim of maximizing profit while minimizing cost. Nancy Perkins in 2013 described the business plan as a blue print for success. Her publication is a validation of the necessity of planning which is the driving force of every business. Without a plan, the business is sure to fail as you cannot travel beyond the end of the pathway. A plan will help you anticipate the odd that will come your way as you make your journey in the corporate world. Having the plan will make you to understand the importance of taking every decision seriously and ensuring that the right one is made.
Business growth does not happen over night, it passes through stages. From an idea to grow into maturity, it has to be well nurtured and developed over a period of time to achieve the desired growth.
There is a five-stage model for small business growth that we can use to analyze stages in business growth. In their Harvard Business Review whitepaper entitled “The Five Stages of Small Business Growth”, Neil C. Churchill and Virginia L. Lewis state that the five stages are:
1. Existence
2. Survival
3. Success
4. Take-Off (Growth)
5. Resource Maturity
Stage 1: Existence
A small business at this stage is challenging, especially since the owner is doing most of the work. One of the largest pain points is obtaining customers and delivering on the product or service. In order to remain alive, a new business must seek customers.
Stage 2: Survival
A business in this stage is now a more efficient working entity with some profit. The next step here is to ensure that profit
remains. Therefore, again, businesses in this stage also need to seek customers as well as start looking at the return on investment (ROI). In essence, merely staying open isn’t sufficient anymore. The businesses in survival stage must be establishing systems and processes to consistently ensure that ROI maintains and grows.

Stage 3: Success
Once systems are established and profits are consistent, the small business is now successful. The choice becomes continue to grow or maintain the success created until this point. Having systems in place is a vital difference between Survival and Success stages. At the success stage, the owner is no longer doing the bulk of the work. The reason for waning the owner from major tasks is for continued growth as well as the opportunity to sell. And, everyone deserves a vacation once in a while.
Stage 4: Take-Off (Growth)
In this stage, the small business now requires increase in capital in order to accommodate the higher volumes of customers. This means more staff, more equipment and materials and better processes. At this stage, a small business has the chance to be a big company. However, if mismanaged, the small business could fail as a result of poor cost management of expenses over revenue.
Stage 5: Resource Maturity
A small business reaches maturity once it is ready for diversification. The company is now big and runs at a slower pace. This does not mean that a mature company will be unable to react to market changes. Hence, the need for diversification and finding other, related products and markets to tap and to expand the existing customer base beyond the reaches of the original business model. This will keep the company in flux, as parts of the company will now be in varying stages of growth.

The stages above can be anticipated with a well written business plan. Before a business plan is created, there are some steps that must be followed to ensure that the business plan is detailed enough to serve as a guide.
The steps are:
Research: The business planning process begins with a detailed research into the industry, its customers, competitors and the costs of the business. The research comes in different forms like data collection, interview, discussions with experts and consultants or entrepreneurs. The result from the research should be well documented as it will serve as a guide when preparing the plan.
Strategize: A good way to strategize is to observe the current practices in the business environment to have a foundation which help you to build the necessary competitive distinctiveness. One need to ponder over the strategy meticulously to consider the right location, start up finances, equipment, operations, marketing and legal formalities.
Calculate: It is essential to calculate and have an estimate of the financial implications in terms of the expected expenditures and revenues to ascertain a possible profitability at the end of the day.
Draft: This is the process of writing the business plan based on the research. Strategies and calculations. One may need to require the services of a business plan writer or consultant if there is any challenge in respect of this.
Re – visitation and proof reading to finalize the plan: This step is to revisit the entire plan and reconsider any ambiguity or inappropriate wordings and ideas featuring in the plan. There may be need to give it a new look after setting it aside for some time.

CONTENTS OF A BUSINESS PLAN
A good business plan should outline all the costs and the downfalls of each decision a business makes. Business plans, even among competitors in the same industry, are rarely identical. But they all tend to have the same elements, including an executive summary of the business and a detailed description of the business, its services and/or products. It also states how the business intends to achieve its goals.
The plan should include at least an overview of the industry of which the business will be a part, and how it will distinguish itself from its potential competitors.
A detailed business plan should contain the following
Executive summary
Mission statement
Business description
Business environment analysis
SWOT analysis
Industry analysis
Competitors analysis
Marketing analysis
Marketing plan
Operations plan
Management summary
Financial analysis
Annexes

A business plan is a very important strategic tool for entrepreneurs. A good business plan not only helps entrepreneurs to focus on the specific steps necessary for them to make business ideas succeed, but it also helps them to achieve both their short-term and long-term objectives.
(If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. -Benjamin Franklin)
Venture capitalist and Silicon Valley pioneer Eugene Kleiner once stated that writing a business plan forces you into disciplined thinking. An idea may sound great, but when you put down all the details and numbers, it may fall apart.
While a business plan is absolutely essential in entrepreneurship, not every entrepreneur sees the need for it. Many are reluctant to have their plan written down. In fact, there are numerous articles online claiming that the business plan is dead or irrelevant. Of course not everyone agrees with that.
A large number of business funding experts, agree that having a good business idea is not enough. Even excellent business ideas can be totally useless if you cannot formulate, execute and implement a strategic plan to make your business idea work.
If you're looking to raise funds from institutional investors and lenders, keep in mind that having a good business plan is extremely valuable. You should aim to have a well documented business plan that speaks for itself. It needs to be clear and easy to read and understand.
Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans ― Peter F. Drucker
Before writing a business plan, it is important to consider two important factors-
Who will the reader be?
For example, If you are interested in raising capital, it is very likely that investors will be your target audience. If you are interested in partnerships or joint ventures, your potential business partners will be your audience.
What do you want their response to be?
Depending on your target audience, focus on the key message you want them to receive in order to get the response you want.
Here are 4 reasons why you need a business plan
1. To raise money for your business
Potential investors or lenders want a written business plan before they give you money. A mere description of your business concept is not enough. Instead, ensure you have a thorough business and financial plan that demonstrates the likelihood of success and how much you will need for your business to take off.
2. To make sound decisions
As an entrepreneur, having a business plan helps you to define and focus on your business ideas and business strategies. You not only concentrate on financial matters, but also on management issues, human resource planning, technology and creating value for your customer.
3. To help you identify potential weaknesses
Having a business plan helps you to identify potential pitfalls in your idea. You can also share the plan with others who can give you their opinions and advice. Identify experts and professionals who are at a position to give you invaluable advice, and share your plan with them.
4. To communicate your ideas with stakeholders
A business plan is a communication tool that you can use to secure investment capital from financial institutions or lenders. It can also be used to convince people to work for your enterprise, to secure credit from suppliers, and to attract potential customers.
Creating a business plan involves a lot of thought. You need to consider what you want to do, and use that as a starting point. It doesn't need to be complicated. At its core, your plan should identify where you are now, where you want your business to go, and how you will get there.
AT THE END OF THE DAY OUR PRIMARY GOAL IS TO ACHIEVE THAT DESIRED GROWTH.

Contact us today to help you reach your desired height in the corporate world