A business plan has three goals:

  • It explains how the company operates, and what it does to achieve its target. 
  • It describes the company's business idea and operations in terms of profitability to financiers, for example. 
  • It provides new shareholders with information about the company's business content.

As the document is important for both small businesses and growth businesses, it's worth focusing on background work and meticulous investigation. It's a good idea to consult third-party experts when drawing up a business plan.

You can use the business plan template‍ available on op.fi‍.

How to draw up a good business plan:

1. Conduct meticulous background work

Determine what competition in your sector looks like, and how you can stand out from other businesses. Collect background information about your competitors. Put yourself in the customer's shoes. Play the role of a mystery shopper and examine the products or services available.

2. Define your customer base

Consider to whom you want to sell your products or services.

Early on in developing your business idea, seek to interact with potential customers to hear their ideas and perspectives. This allows you to test the feasibility of your business idea, specify your idea and lay a foundation for customer acquisition.

3. Determine the source of revenue for your company

Consider how much you are prepared to sell and market your company's products or services. Prepare a profitability analysis to help you assess whether your business idea has the potential to generate adequate sales across different time spans and to determine whether the business could be profitable.

4. Use specialists' advice early

If you mull over becoming an entrepreneur and fine-tune your business idea for very long, the market, including purchase behaviour, may change, and the idea may become unviable. It's worth testing an incomplete business plan with business consultants and experts who can pinpoint the plan's strengths and weaknesses.

You can get free expert advice from your municipality's Enterprise Agency‍, for example.

5. Map the growth opportunities and risks for your business

Determine the expected growth trends in your industry, and whether the market can accommodate new operators. Based on different scenarios, assess the risks and opportunities related to market changes from the perspective of your business.

6. Explore different ways of financing your business operations

What financing alternatives are available? In addition to your own savings, you often need external financing from banks and a Finnvera Guarantee for financing. A carefully drafted business plan is an important document in securing them. A well-prepared plan speeds up the processing of the application.

To run their operations, growth companies often need venture capitalists or business angels, who want to hear a convincing vision of innovation-based future growth from the entrepreneur or company team.

7. Use ready business plan templates

Not all business plans work for every company, but you don't need to reinvent the wheel. You can find a variety of model plans‍ online‍ that you can use.

8. Update your business plan

Don't just put your plan in a desk drawer after completing it. It's often easy to forget about the plan if customer acquisition and sales are progressing smoothly.

However, private traders and SMEs should regularly review their business plan and update it as required. It helps them reflect on the development of their operations and competence, or the achievement of targets.

Growth companies' original plans may change radically due to rapid market changes and require updating before the next round of financing. The document must also be updated if the company type changes.

9. Summarise the tangible actions and first decisions

In addition to the target, a high-quality business plan deals with competence, scenarios, and the chosen operating model and cooperation partners. It also describes how the calculations will be carried out.

10. Communicate persuasively

A plan can be one page or one hundred pages long. The more clearly, compellingly and boldly you describe your business idea, the surer it is to arouse interest in your network and among financiers.

Believe in your vision but be realistic. Let your creativity shine, but remember the underlying business facts.

Ilona Ukkonen, Business Advisor from the Enterprise Agencies‍, was interviewed for this article. Read more about business plans‍ on the Enterprise Agencies'‍ page.