Today,

You're going to discover the Business Plan like you've never discovered it (haha 🤣, from all angles, yes yes no awkwardness between us...). I sincerely think that the Bête noire of the Business Plan or financial plan (for the French people) will not be one anymore at the end of this blog post.

Maybe you think 👇 

💬 "Rolala, I absolutely have to do this Business Plan and from 1 ☝️ I don't have the courage and from 2 ✌️ Well... I understand absolutely nothing with their treasotruc much ... 😱😱😱" 💬

As you will see, the Business Plan is THE document to design in order to have a financial overview of your current or future project but also, it is the document you will have to provide to your bank or to potential investors if your project requires financing. Without it, you stay on the sidelines...

So, make yourself comfortable, get in the car Simone, I'll explain everything while trying to keep it simple (I promise) 😜

Here is what we will see together

1. What is a Business Plan (= Financial Plan)
2. Why is designing a business plan important?
3. What does a business plan contain?
4. How to complete a Business Plan in 7 steps?
5. The 9 trick questions your banker or investor might ask you about your business plan
6. My 6 infallible tips to have a solid business plan

Don't feel like reading? (even though this article will only take you 9 minutes to read, watch in hand⌚)

Watch the YouTube video: How to start your business plan

On the channel, I talk about Webflow, Design and Business and if you're interested in the topics don't forget to like and subscribe to the channel.

1. What is a business plan?

• A Strategic Tool to visualize its profitability for the first years of its existence
• This is the most important document that your bank or a potential investor will ask you for in case of need of financing
• This is a step that formalizes the development of your business project
• You can write it yourself, but I invite you to contact your accountant (if you don't already have one, now is the time) who will help you verify and finalize it
• The cost of a business plan produced by an accountant or chartered accountant varies between 500 and 1500€. This cost is indicative and informative

2. Why is designing a business plan important?

• A business plan allows you to structure your entrepreneurial project
• It helps you make decisions based on numbers. (Because having great ideas is cool, but it has to be financially viable)
• It will therefore confirm or not the financial soundness of your project

3. What does a Business Model Canvas contain?

It contains 9 blocks:

1. The data of your project

• 👉 What do you want to throw?

2. Your start-up needs

• 👉 What do you need to get started?

3. Financing your start-up needs

• 👉 How much will it cost to launch your project?

4. Your fixed costs

• 👉 How much will your business cost you monthly?

5. Your first year's turnover

• 👉 How much will your project make?

6. Your variable costs

• 👉 How much will your occasional charges cost you?

7. Your working capital requirements

• 👉 How much money do you need ( that is always available) to cover your living expenses?

8. Employees' salaries and the manager's compensation (your boss's salary)

• 👉 How much will your staff cost you and how much will you pay yourself?

9. Your break-even point

• 👉 What is the minimum turnover you need to make to not lose money?

10. The level of your starting cash flow

• 👉 How much money will you have left once your personal investment + bank investment has paid for your start-up costs (work, installation, stock ...)?

4. How to complete a Business Plan in 7 steps?

Step 1 - Presenting your project

It is a brief summary that gives an overview of your business and your projects
It is in the foreground and is ideally only one to two pages long

This step presents:

• The problem you solve
• A description of your product or service
• An overview of your target market
• A brief description of your team
• A summary of your finances and funding needs

Tips ✍️ - This can be a document that covers the main points of your entire business plan

Step 2 - Presenting your Offer

This is the core element of your plan
It is the explanation of the problem you are solving, your solution and how your product or service fits into the existing competitive landscape

This step presents:

• Description of the problem you are solving for your clients and what your solution is
• Description of the competition
• Who else provides solutions that try to solve your customers' problems?
• What are your competitive advantages over other companies? (specific intellectual property, patents that protect your product...)
• The steps you need to take to get your product or service ready to sell (with set dates)

Step 3 - Presenting your market

This is the presentation of your potential customers, your niche.
The group of people you plan to sell to, try to be as specific as possible. With a precise target market, it will be easier to create a Marketing Strategy that will reach your Customers

This step presents:

• The market research you have
• Explaining how your market develops over time and how your business is positioned to take advantage of expected changes in your industry

Step 4 - Presenting your Strategy

Once you have presented your niche, describe how you plan to reach it

This step presents:

• How do you plan to sell to this niche?
• What is your pricing strategy?
• What types of activities and partnerships you need to put in place to ensure the success of your business

Tips ✍️ - This step may be a good place to include a SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) analysis. This analysis is purely optional but can be a good way to explain how your products and services are positioned to address competitive threats and take advantage of opportunities.

Step 5 - Presenting your team

Describe your current team and the people you will be hiring

This step presents:

• Your legal structure
• Your location
• Your story if you are already in business
• Your team

Tips ✍️ - Provide a brief biography of each "key" team member. It is important here to explain why your team is the best for your project.

Step 6 - Presenting your financial projections

The most complex and important step

This step presents:

1. Sales and revenue forecasts

• A monthly sales and revenue forecast for the first 12 months
• Annual projections for the next three to five years

Tips ✍️ - Three-year projections are usually sufficient, but some banks or investors require five-year projections

2.The Income Statement

• This is the place where your numbers come together and show whether, based on your projections, you are making a profit or a loss
• This table shows your profits and losses

3. The Cash Flow Statement

• This table shows how much cash (money in the bank) you have at any given time

4. The Balance Sheet

• List the assets, liabilities and equity of your business
• In short, it provides a snapshot of your company's financial health

5. Threat assumptions and important risks for your business

• Determining the threat assumptions when you start a business can mean the difference between your success and failure
• The more you consider the hypotheses of threats, the more you will be prepared to react in case of a "catastrophe" situation

Step 7 - Your appendices

• An annex to your business plan is not mandatory
• This is the place to insert graphs, tables, definitions, legal notes or other essential information that you feel is too long or bulky to fit elsewhere
• If you have a patent or illustrations of your product, this is where you can also include them in detail

5. The 9 trick questions your banker or investor might ask you about your business plan?

👉 1. How do you justify such a high turnover?

👉 2. Why is there such a change in sales between the first and second year?

👉 3. Where does your ability to generate so much cash flow come from?

👉 4. What is your profit margin rate?

👉 5. How would you summarize your business model?

👉 6. Why do you invest less money personally than the amount you ask the bank for?

👉 7. What guarantee could you give me?

👉 8. How do you reinject money in case of a hard time?

👉 9. What reasons should I follow you in your project?

6. My 6 infallible tips to have a solid business plan

✨ All the figures you mention in your business plan must be justified, by research, quotes, or a market study

✨ There is no point in indicating an overly ambitious turnover, especially in the first year, you have to remain realistic and sometimes even a little more pessimistic to be able to better predict a "cata" situation

✨ If you see too little profitability, don't change the numbers artificially. Try to understand why your business model (Use your Business Model Canvas) is not suitable and find solutions :

• If not enough margin, how to increase it?
• If not enough Customers, how to attract more?
• If time or organization is a problem, how can I delegate?

✨ The amounts you mention in your Business Plan must always be exclusive of tax, regardless of your legal status. A business plan only contains amounts exclusive of VAT.

✨ Don't hesitate to show your business plan to a certified public accountant to get his opinion

✨ If you encounter rejections from banks, don't get discouraged and optimize your Business Plan, maybe there are small flaws to rectify (also ask the bank why they don't want to follow you in your project)

Finally,

You have just seen that the conception of the Business Plan is not as difficult as it seemed and that if you want to go to the next step, you have to roll up your sleeves and go for it.

Last but not least, a business plan is not something to be taken lightly, it is a real tool to help you launch your project. Consider that it is already part of your foundations and that to have a solid construction, everything rests on solid foundations...

You now have all the keys to be able to design it like a PRO, surround yourself with an expert to support you in this adventure, certainly it costs money but it's to earn more later 😉

A small question you itch? Pause it in the community!
How? Join the Happy.webacademy Support Program for free for 10 days to create your Creative Business with Webflow and get access to a private library of great resources 🤪

(And yes, you read that right! It's free)!

And finally, download your Tool 📔

How to download the Business Plan tool?

1. Click here 👉 I access the private library of the Happy.webacademy
2. Go to the Private Library
3. Unlock the Business Space
4. Woop, Woop, more surprises await you inside 🥳 🙌 !