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Assignment 4
THE BUSINESS OF VENTURE CAPITALISM
Instructor : FORTUNE EDEM AMENUVOR PHD, NSU International Graduate School
Title: List and discuss five main benefits of a business plan.
Answer: To understand the benefits of a business plan, it is important to first understand why it's useful and how to create one.
1. Business Plans for Start-Ups
The business plan you prepare for a startup is about as standard as it gets when it comes to explaining all the steps that need to be taken by a new business to achieve its goals. These plans typically include information on the financial analysis of the business, the milestones for implementation, the management team, the strategy of the business, various forecasts, the marketplace and the product or service offering of the organization.
Notable among the plan's forecasts are predictions for the sales, profit, loss, cash flow and balance sheet of the company. There will also likely be additional tables included in the section on financial analysis, as well as the monthly projections for the first year. The plan for a startup usually begins with an abstract and contains an appendix at the end.
Some business plans do not concern themselves with the entirety of the business. They are only interested in a part of the business or a specific area of interest. These are called growth plans, new product plans or expansion plans, depending on what they are looking to achieve. They may or may not be internal plans, depending whether they are meant to attract outside investment or meet the loan requirements of a bank. For example, you could prepare a startup plan to attract new investment when the business is just starting out. When you need to attract new funding or some kind of debt finance, you would prepare an expansion plan. Both plans should include a detailed description of the organization as well as extensive background data on each member of the management team.
This is one of the key advantages of a business plan. When you plan your business right, you can get a clearer picture of the business as a whole. You can easily comnect the dots between strategy and tactics, and everything is easier to work out.
It’s impossible to do everything at once in a business. When you plan your business, you can order things in terms of their importance and allocate your effort, resources and time in an efficient and strategic manner.
5. Manage change
When you plan your business effectively, you can check your assumptions, track your progress and see new developments right from the beginning, allowing you to adjust accordingly.
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