Home Budget 2007 Company Profile Services Accountancy Zone Business Zone Tax Zone IR35 Update News Articles Feedback Search Legal Notice How To Find Us Business plans - Business description Whether you're looking for money or simply creating an internal document, you must be able to present a clear portrait of what your company actually does. Consider who you are, what you offer, who you will offer it to, why they will buy it and why your business idea is viable. A concise, easy-to-understand description of your company will not only help your business plan, but will benefit you in any number of other day-to-day situations - from networking to making cold calls to approaching a newspaper for an interview. Industry Overview Begin your business description with a brief overview of the industry you will be competing in. You should demonstrate that you are in an industry with good long-term prospects. You're also setting the stage for your company description by showing where you fit in the marketplace. Discuss both the present situation in the industry, as well as future possibilities. You should also provide information about the various market segments within the industry, with a particular focus on their potential impact on your business. Be optimistic about the prospects, but don't be afraid to highlight some of the threats to the industry in the future - it shows that you are approaching your business in a mature and sensible way. Try to be dramatic. You may not think of your industry s exciting because your familiar with it, but others may be fascinated by it. If you want, approach it as though you are writing a story about the industry - that might grab their attention. Also, it is important to qualify points that you make. It's no good simply saying that the market is set to rise by 10% next year. You need to tell the reader why that is the case. Back up any comments you make, if possible, by quoting specific sources of research. Your Business The discussion of your business should begin with your mission statement - a one or two sentence description of the purpose of your business and to whom your product or service is targeted. Also, think about your business "values". Are you aiming to be the cheapest? Are you aiming for the highest quality? How will you treat your staff? What type of culture do you want to promote within your business? What management style will you adopt? Then go on to discuss the more detailed aspects of your business. What type of business is it? When did the business start? What is the legal structure of the business (sole proprietorship, partnership or company)? Who are the businesses main contributors and what experience do they bring? Who will you sell to and how will your products/services be sold? What systems will you utilise? There's a lot to go through. Contact us to discuss further if you wish. Your Offering Describe your products or services with a particular focus on how they will be used. Go into as much detail as necessary for the reader to get a real flavour for what you are selling. What are the applications and the end uses? Be sure to point out your uniqueness. Why should customers buy the product/service from you and not the chap next door? Perhaps you use new technology to increase quality. Perhaps you offer enhanced customer service practices. Or, simply, perhaps your product/service is cheaper. Consider your place in the overall market. How do you compare with your competition? You may even wish to qualify this by trying out, discretely of course, your competition's product/service and comparing it with yours. You'll also be able to find out what they charge. This leads us on to the final consideration in this section. How much will you charge? Coming up with a pricing structure is one of the most difficult decisions you are faced with. There are so many factors that you need to consider. Our e-leaflet, "Pricing for Profit", will help you in this process. Compare your pricing to others, but don't make the mistake of blandly saying that your product/service will be of a higher quality and cheaper than your competition. Investors have read (and dismissed) many such statements. If you really do have a high quality product then you appear naive by saying that you are effectively giving it away at an under-value. If your price is lower than your competitors, you will need to explain how you will maintain profitability. Perhaps you have a more efficient manufacturing process, lower labour costs or lower material costs. In any case, you should discuss how higher prices may reduce volume but increase profit. [ Business Zone Home · Previous - Business Plans - Introduction · Next - Business Plans - The Market ]