Developing a Successful Business Plan Training Course

Why select this training course?

The success of any business starts from the planning phase, as it guides the proper execution of plans to achieve success. Rcademy introduces the Developing a Successful Business Plan Training Course to help business owners and allied professionals to be able to draw out a successful business plan. A business plan is considered the most important ingredient when starting a new business.

A business plan helps to consider various factors, including the feasibility of the proposed business. In addition, it helps to reinforce the question of ‘why?’ Despite the importance of a business plan, it is not uncommon to have business owners spend less time developing a viable work plan which often leads to business collapse.

Why is a business plan important?

It is common to hear that business plans are important; the next question is why? Why are business plans important? The first answer is that it makes you believe as an individual or organization that your proposed business stands a chance of succeeding. It is not enough to have a plan somewhere in the head alone; a well-written and articulated plan can make a real difference.

When starting up a business often involves other stakeholders and interested parties. A business plan is a basic requirement from interested parties in the proposed business, including seeking financial aid to fund the business.

What are the core components of a good business plan?

One of the hallmarks of a well-written business plan is the systematic way of laying out the outlines. Business plans must be well crafted and presented since they clearly outline an action plan and recommendation for the organization. The starting portion of the plan is the executive summary. Although the executive summary is a synopsis of the entire plan, it highlights what is captured in the document.

The other components of a good business plan include a business description, market analysis and strategy, competitive analysis, and financial projections. These sections provide a brief plan of the operation of the business from the beginning to the end.

The Developing a Successful Business Plan Training Course by Rcademy will provide individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to develop a solid business plan and take their business to the next level.

Who should attend?

The Developing a Successful Business Plan Training Course is intended to cut across different sectors and help business owners or managers develop well-written plans. The course is recommended for the following set of personnel:

• Business development managers who design various business models for the organization
• Departmental managers who champion the development and execution of business strategies for departments
• Senior managers are responsible for the supervision of various activities across the board
• Strategic planners in charge of crafting business plans for improving organizational process
• Entrepreneurs who are looking at expanding their business opportunities and opening more room for increased revenues
• Board members who make decisions on behalf of the organization explore various options
• Stakeholders, both internal and external, involved or impacted by the business process of the organization
• Is any other professional interested in learning about how to develop a business proposal

What are the course objectives?

This training course is designed for business planners or entrepreneurs interested in improving their businesses by crafting well-meaning business plans. At the end of the training, the participants are expected to achieve the following objectives:

• Understand the importance of a well-written business plan and the benefits it brings to organizations
• Have informed knowledge about the various sections of a business plan and how to adapt it to organizational needs
• Be able to follow a sequential and systematic way of designing a business plan by capturing the vital elements
• Be able to adopt designed business plans and convert them into an effective implementation strategy
• Develop a strategic mindset to create new opportunities and investments for businesses
• Gain insights into the financial aspects and methods of financing old and new businesses
• Be able to tailor business plans to secure sponsorships from internal and external stakeholders
• Identify potential investors and be able to pitch business ideas to these groups of people properly
• Develop risk management strategies for an existing and proposed business

How will this course be presented?

Rcademy presents Developing a Successful Business Plan Training Course in a practical form of learning. The course uses learner-centered approaches to deliver the course content effectively. The participants of this course are exposed to different styles of writing an adequate business plan through case studies and scenarios for various organizational contexts. The learners are also allowed to use hypothetical business plans to simulate the business environment.

Experts and professionals deliver the modules in this course with years of experience crafting effective business plans for different organizations. The facilitators will be banking on these years of experience to assist participants in taking strategic steps in their businesses and organizations by starting with a well-designed business plan.

What are the topics covered in this course?

Module 1: Overview of a Business Plan

• Definition of a business plan
• Types of business plan
  – Components of the business plan
• Business plan process
• Benefits of a good business plan

Module 2: Developing a Business Plan

• Mapping out the organization plan
  – Vision
  – Mission
  – Values
• Conducting needs assessment
• Creating goals and business objectives
• Work breakdown analysis
• Understanding financial concepts
  – Balance sheet
  – Income statement
  – Cash-flow
  – Budget

Module 3: Business Cycle

• Overview of a business cycle
• Mission statement
• Goals and objectives
• Ownership of business
  – Sole proprietorship
  – Organisation
• Location
• Service delivery channels

Module 4: Implementing Business Plan

• Communication phase
  – Job assignment
  – Reporting structure
  – Knowledge base
• Controlling phase
  – Handling deviations
  – Cause and effect analysis
  – Constructive feedback
  – Corrective actions
• Correction phase
  – Revision of objectives
  – Challenges of scheduling
  – Budget adjustment
  – Resource constraint

Module 5: Products and Services

• Value proposition
  – Production
  – Service delivery
• Segmentation of services
  – Targeting
  – Positioning
• Competition
  – Market Comparison
• Potential products and services

Module 6: Overview of Marketing and Industry 

• Analysis of industry and marketing trends
• Consumer behavior
• Competitive analysis
  – Target market
  – Direct competitors
• Pricing and promotional strategy

Module 7: Financial and Executive Summary

• Proposed budget
  – Operating budget
• Startup funds
• Cash flow projection
• Executive summary
• Equipment and machinery purchase
• IT resources

Module 8: Business Feasibility 

• Feasibility studies
  – Definitions
  – Principles
• Differences between business plan and feasibility study
  – Writing a business plan
  – Writing a feasibility study
• Understanding business need
• Including feasibility report in business plan

Module 9: Risk Management Process 

• Risk management process
  – Application
• Identifying business risk
• Assessing risk
• Consideration of risks and opportunities
• Creative thinking and problem-solving
• Estimating cost implications

Module 10: Business Planning Tools

• Key elements of the business plan
• Business performance metric
  – Traditional
  – Modern
• Ideation process
  – Translating idea to business plan
• Evaluation of business plan
• Progress vs plan