business plan process in entrepreneurial development

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1.1: Chapter 1 – Developing a Business Plan

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• Page ID 21274

• Lee A. Swanson
• University of Saskatchewan

Learning Objectives

After completing this chapter, you will be able to

• Describe the purposes for business planning
• Describe common business planning principles
• Explain common business plan development guidelines and tools
• List and explain the elements of the business plan development process
• Explain the purposes of each element of the business plan development process
• Explain how applying the business plan development process can aid in developing a business plan that will meet entrepreneurs’ goals

This chapter describes the purposes, principles, and the general concepts and tools for business planning, and the process for developing a business plan.

Purposes for Developing Business Plans

Business plans are developed for both internal and external purposes. Internally, entrepreneurs develop business plans to help put the pieces of their business together. Externally, the most common purpose is to raise capital.

Internal Purposes

As the road map for a business’s development, the business plan

• Defines the vision for the company
• Establishes the company’s strategy
• Describes how the strategy will be implemented
• Provides a framework for analysis of key issues
• Provides a plan for the development of the business
• Helps the entrepreneur develop and measure critical success factors
• Helps the entrepreneur to be realistic and test theories

External Purposes

The business plan provides the most complete source of information for valuation of the business. Thus, it is often the main method of describing a company to external audiences such as potential sources for financing and key personnel being recruited. It should assist outside parties to understand the current status of the company, its opportunities, and its needs for resources such as capital and personnel.

Business Plan Development Principles

Hindle and Mainprize (2006) suggested that business plan writers must strive to effectively communicate their expectations about the nature of an uncertain future and to project credibility. The liabilities of newness make communicating the expected future of new ventures much more difficult than for existing businesses. Consequently, business plan writers should adhere to five specific communication principles .

First, business plans must be written to meet the expectations of targeted readers in terms of what they need to know to support the proposed business. They should also lay out the milestones that investors or other targeted readers need to know. Finally, writers must clearly outline the opportunity , the context within the proposed venture will operate (internal and external environment), and the business model (Hindle & Mainprize, 2006).

There are also five business plan credibility principles that writers should consider. Business plan writers should build and establish their credibility by highlighting important and relevant information about the venture team . Writers need to elaborate on the plans they outline in their document so that targeted readers have the information they need to assess the plan’s credibility. To build and establish credibility, they must integrate scenarios to show that the entrepreneur has made realistic assumptions and has effectively anticipated what the future holds for their proposed venture. Writers need to provide comprehensive and realistic financial links between all relevant components of the plan. Finally, they must outline the deal , or the value that targeted readers should expect to derive from their involvement with the venture (Hindle & Mainprize, 2006).

General Guidelines for Developing Business Plans

Many businesses must have a business plan to achieve their goals. Using a standard format helps the reader understand that the you have thought everything through, and that the returns justify the risk. The following are some basic guidelines for business plan development.

As You Write Your Business Plan

1. If appropriate, include nice, catchy, professional graphics on your title page to make it appealing to targeted readers, but don’t go overboard.

2. Bind your document so readers can go through it easily without it falling apart. You might use a three-ring binder, coil binding, or a similar method. Make sure the binding method you use does not obscure the information next to where it is bound.

3. Make certain all of your pages are ordered and numbered correctly.

4. The usual business plan convention is to number all major sections and subsections within your plan using the format as follows:

1. First main heading

1.1 First subheading under the first main heading

1.1.1. First sub-subheading under the first subheading

2. Second main heading

2.1 First subheading under the second main heading

Use the styles and references features in Word to automatically number and format your section titles and to generate your table of contents. Be sure that the last thing you do before printing your document is update your automatic numbering and automatically generated tables. If you fail to do this, your numbering may be incorrect.

5. Prior to submitting your plan, be 100% certain each of the following requirements are met:

• Everything must be completely integrated. The written part must say exactly the same thing as the financial part.
• All financial statements must be completely linked and valid. Make sure all of your balance sheets balance.
• Everything must be correct. There should be NO spelling, grammar, sentence structure, referencing, or calculation errors.
• Your document must be well organized and formatted. The layout you choose should make the document easy to read and comprehend. All of your diagrams, charts, statements, and other additions should be easy to find and be located in the parts of the plan best suited to them.
• In some cases it can strengthen your business plan to show some information in both text and table or figure formats. You should avoid unnecessary repetition , however, as it is usually unnecessary—and even damaging—to state the same thing more than once.
• You should include all the information necessary for readers to understand everything in your document.
• The terms you use in your plan should be clear and consistent. For example, the following statement in a business plan would leave a reader completely confused: “There is a shortage of 100,000 units with competitors currently producing 25,000. We can help fill this huge gap in demand with our capacity to produce 5,000 units.”

11.4 The Business Plan

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Describe the different purposes of a business plan
• Describe and develop the components of a brief business plan
• Describe and develop the components of a full business plan

Unlike the brief or lean formats introduced so far, the business plan is a formal document used for the long-range planning of a company’s operation. It typically includes background information, financial information, and a summary of the business. Investors nearly always request a formal business plan because it is an integral part of their evaluation of whether to invest in a company. Although nothing in business is permanent, a business plan typically has components that are more “set in stone” than a business model canvas , which is more commonly used as a first step in the planning process and throughout the early stages of a nascent business. A business plan is likely to describe the business and industry, market strategies, sales potential, and competitive analysis, as well as the company’s long-term goals and objectives. An in-depth formal business plan would follow at later stages after various iterations to business model canvases. The business plan usually projects financial data over a three-year period and is typically required by banks or other investors to secure funding. The business plan is a roadmap for the company to follow over multiple years.

Some entrepreneurs prefer to use the canvas process instead of the business plan, whereas others use a shorter version of the business plan, submitting it to investors after several iterations. There are also entrepreneurs who use the business plan earlier in the entrepreneurial process, either preceding or concurrently with a canvas. For instance, Chris Guillebeau has a one-page business plan template in his book The $100 Startup . 48 His version is basically an extension of a napkin sketch without the detail of a full business plan. As you progress, you can also consider a brief business plan (about two pages)—if you want to support a rapid business launch—and/or a standard business plan.

As with many aspects of entrepreneurship, there are no clear hard and fast rules to achieving entrepreneurial success. You may encounter different people who want different things (canvas, summary, full business plan), and you also have flexibility in following whatever tool works best for you. Like the canvas, the various versions of the business plan are tools that will aid you in your entrepreneurial endeavor.

Business Plan Overview

Most business plans have several distinct sections ( Figure 11.16 ). The business plan can range from a few pages to twenty-five pages or more, depending on the purpose and the intended audience. For our discussion, we’ll describe a brief business plan and a standard business plan. If you are able to successfully design a business model canvas, then you will have the structure for developing a clear business plan that you can submit for financial consideration.

Both types of business plans aim at providing a picture and roadmap to follow from conception to creation. If you opt for the brief business plan, you will focus primarily on articulating a big-picture overview of your business concept.

The full business plan is aimed at executing the vision concept, dealing with the proverbial devil in the details. Developing a full business plan will assist those of you who need a more detailed and structured roadmap, or those of you with little to no background in business. The business planning process includes the business model, a feasibility analysis, and a full business plan, which we will discuss later in this section. Next, we explore how a business plan can meet several different needs.

Purposes of a Business Plan

A business plan can serve many different purposes—some internal, others external. As we discussed previously, you can use a business plan as an internal early planning device, an extension of a napkin sketch, and as a follow-up to one of the canvas tools. A business plan can be an organizational roadmap , that is, an internal planning tool and working plan that you can apply to your business in order to reach your desired goals over the course of several years. The business plan should be written by the owners of the venture, since it forces a firsthand examination of the business operations and allows them to focus on areas that need improvement.

Refer to the business venture throughout the document. Generally speaking, a business plan should not be written in the first person.

A major external purpose for the business plan is as an investment tool that outlines financial projections, becoming a document designed to attract investors. In many instances, a business plan can complement a formal investor’s pitch. In this context, the business plan is a presentation plan, intended for an outside audience that may or may not be familiar with your industry, your business, and your competitors.

You can also use your business plan as a contingency plan by outlining some “what-if” scenarios and exploring how you might respond if these scenarios unfold. Pretty Young Professional launched in November 2010 as an online resource to guide an emerging generation of female leaders. The site focused on recent female college graduates and current students searching for professional roles and those in their first professional roles. It was founded by four friends who were coworkers at the global consultancy firm McKinsey. But after positions and equity were decided among them, fundamental differences of opinion about the direction of the business emerged between two factions, according to the cofounder and former CEO Kathryn Minshew . “I think, naively, we assumed that if we kicked the can down the road on some of those things, we’d be able to sort them out,” Minshew said. Minshew went on to found a different professional site, The Muse , and took much of the editorial team of Pretty Young Professional with her. 49 Whereas greater planning potentially could have prevented the early demise of Pretty Young Professional, a change in planning led to overnight success for Joshua Esnard and The Cut Buddy team. Esnard invented and patented the plastic hair template that he was selling online out of his Fort Lauderdale garage while working a full-time job at Broward College and running a side business. Esnard had hundreds of boxes of Cut Buddies sitting in his home when he changed his marketing plan to enlist companies specializing in making videos go viral. It worked so well that a promotional video for the product garnered 8 million views in hours. The Cut Buddy sold over 4,000 products in a few hours when Esnard only had hundreds remaining. Demand greatly exceeded his supply, so Esnard had to scramble to increase manufacturing and offered customers two-for-one deals to make up for delays. This led to selling 55,000 units, generating $700,000 in sales in 2017. 50 After appearing on Shark Tank and landing a deal with Daymond John that gave the “shark” a 20-percent equity stake in return for $300,000, The Cut Buddy has added new distribution channels to include retail sales along with online commerce. Changing one aspect of a business plan—the marketing plan—yielded success for The Cut Buddy.

Link to Learning

Watch this video of Cut Buddy’s founder, Joshua Esnard, telling his company’s story to learn more.

If you opt for the brief business plan, you will focus primarily on articulating a big-picture overview of your business concept. This version is used to interest potential investors, employees, and other stakeholders, and will include a financial summary “box,” but it must have a disclaimer, and the founder/entrepreneur may need to have the people who receive it sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) . The full business plan is aimed at executing the vision concept, providing supporting details, and would be required by financial institutions and others as they formally become stakeholders in the venture. Both are aimed at providing a picture and roadmap to go from conception to creation.

Types of Business Plans

The brief business plan is similar to an extended executive summary from the full business plan. This concise document provides a broad overview of your entrepreneurial concept, your team members, how and why you will execute on your plans, and why you are the ones to do so. You can think of a brief business plan as a scene setter or—since we began this chapter with a film reference—as a trailer to the full movie. The brief business plan is the commercial equivalent to a trailer for Field of Dreams , whereas the full plan is the full-length movie equivalent.

Brief Business Plan or Executive Summary

As the name implies, the brief business plan or executive summary summarizes key elements of the entire business plan, such as the business concept, financial features, and current business position. The executive summary version of the business plan is your opportunity to broadly articulate the overall concept and vision of the company for yourself, for prospective investors, and for current and future employees.

A typical executive summary is generally no longer than a page, but because the brief business plan is essentially an extended executive summary, the executive summary section is vital. This is the “ask” to an investor. You should begin by clearly stating what you are asking for in the summary.

In the business concept phase, you’ll describe the business, its product, and its markets. Describe the customer segment it serves and why your company will hold a competitive advantage. This section may align roughly with the customer segments and value-proposition segments of a canvas.

Next, highlight the important financial features, including sales, profits, cash flows, and return on investment. Like the financial portion of a feasibility analysis, the financial analysis component of a business plan may typically include items like a twelve-month profit and loss projection, a three- or four-year profit and loss projection, a cash-flow projection, a projected balance sheet, and a breakeven calculation. You can explore a feasibility study and financial projections in more depth in the formal business plan. Here, you want to focus on the big picture of your numbers and what they mean.

The current business position section can furnish relevant information about you and your team members and the company at large. This is your opportunity to tell the story of how you formed the company, to describe its legal status (form of operation), and to list the principal players. In one part of the extended executive summary, you can cover your reasons for starting the business: Here is an opportunity to clearly define the needs you think you can meet and perhaps get into the pains and gains of customers. You also can provide a summary of the overall strategic direction in which you intend to take the company. Describe the company’s mission, vision, goals and objectives, overall business model, and value proposition.

Rice University’s Student Business Plan Competition, one of the largest and overall best-regarded graduate school business-plan competitions (see Telling Your Entrepreneurial Story and Pitching the Idea ), requires an executive summary of up to five pages to apply. 51 , 52 Its suggested sections are shown in Table 11.2 .

Are You Ready?

Create a brief business plan.

Fill out a canvas of your choosing for a well-known startup: Uber, Netflix, Dropbox, Etsy, Airbnb, Bird/Lime, Warby Parker, or any of the companies featured throughout this chapter or one of your choice. Then create a brief business plan for that business. See if you can find a version of the company’s actual executive summary, business plan, or canvas. Compare and contrast your vision with what the company has articulated.

• These companies are well established but is there a component of what you charted that you would advise the company to change to ensure future viability?
• Map out a contingency plan for a “what-if” scenario if one key aspect of the company or the environment it operates in were drastically is altered?

Full Business Plan

Even full business plans can vary in length, scale, and scope. Rice University sets a ten-page cap on business plans submitted for the full competition. The IndUS Entrepreneurs , one of the largest global networks of entrepreneurs, also holds business plan competitions for students through its Tie Young Entrepreneurs program. In contrast, business plans submitted for that competition can usually be up to twenty-five pages. These are just two examples. Some components may differ slightly; common elements are typically found in a formal business plan outline. The next section will provide sample components of a full business plan for a fictional business.

Executive Summary

The executive summary should provide an overview of your business with key points and issues. Because the summary is intended to summarize the entire document, it is most helpful to write this section last, even though it comes first in sequence. The writing in this section should be especially concise. Readers should be able to understand your needs and capabilities at first glance. The section should tell the reader what you want and your “ask” should be explicitly stated in the summary.

Describe your business, its product or service, and the intended customers. Explain what will be sold, who it will be sold to, and what competitive advantages the business has. Table 11.3 shows a sample executive summary for the fictional company La Vida Lola.

Business Description

This section describes the industry, your product, and the business and success factors. It should provide a current outlook as well as future trends and developments. You also should address your company’s mission, vision, goals, and objectives. Summarize your overall strategic direction, your reasons for starting the business, a description of your products and services, your business model, and your company’s value proposition. Consider including the Standard Industrial Classification/North American Industry Classification System (SIC/NAICS) code to specify the industry and insure correct identification. The industry extends beyond where the business is located and operates, and should include national and global dynamics. Table 11.4 shows a sample business description for La Vida Lola.

Industry Analysis and Market Strategies

Here you should define your market in terms of size, structure, growth prospects, trends, and sales potential. You’ll want to include your TAM and forecast the SAM . (Both these terms are discussed in Conducting a Feasibility Analysis .) This is a place to address market segmentation strategies by geography, customer attributes, or product orientation. Describe your positioning relative to your competitors’ in terms of pricing, distribution, promotion plan, and sales potential. Table 11.5 shows an example industry analysis and market strategy for La Vida Lola.

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis is a statement of the business strategy as it relates to the competition. You want to be able to identify who are your major competitors and assess what are their market shares, markets served, strategies employed, and expected response to entry? You likely want to conduct a classic SWOT analysis (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) and complete a competitive-strength grid or competitive matrix. Outline your company’s competitive strengths relative to those of the competition in regard to product, distribution, pricing, promotion, and advertising. What are your company’s competitive advantages and their likely impacts on its success? The key is to construct it properly for the relevant features/benefits (by weight, according to customers) and how the startup compares to incumbents. The competitive matrix should show clearly how and why the startup has a clear (if not currently measurable) competitive advantage. Some common features in the example include price, benefits, quality, type of features, locations, and distribution/sales. Sample templates are shown in Figure 11.17 and Figure 11.18 . A competitive analysis helps you create a marketing strategy that will identify assets or skills that your competitors are lacking so you can plan to fill those gaps, giving you a distinct competitive advantage. When creating a competitor analysis, it is important to focus on the key features and elements that matter to customers, rather than focusing too heavily on the entrepreneur’s idea and desires.

Operations and Management Plan

In this section, outline how you will manage your company. Describe its organizational structure. Here you can address the form of ownership and, if warranted, include an organizational chart/structure. Highlight the backgrounds, experiences, qualifications, areas of expertise, and roles of members of the management team. This is also the place to mention any other stakeholders, such as a board of directors or advisory board(s), and their relevant relationship to the founder, experience and value to help make the venture successful, and professional service firms providing management support, such as accounting services and legal counsel.

Table 11.6 shows a sample operations and management plan for La Vida Lola.

Marketing Plan

Here you should outline and describe an effective overall marketing strategy for your venture, providing details regarding pricing, promotion, advertising, distribution, media usage, public relations, and a digital presence. Fully describe your sales management plan and the composition of your sales force, along with a comprehensive and detailed budget for the marketing plan. Table 11.7 shows a sample marketing plan for La Vida Lola.

Financial Plan

A financial plan seeks to forecast revenue and expenses; project a financial narrative; and estimate project costs, valuations, and cash flow projections. This section should present an accurate, realistic, and achievable financial plan for your venture (see Entrepreneurial Finance and Accounting for detailed discussions about conducting these projections). Include sales forecasts and income projections, pro forma financial statements ( Building the Entrepreneurial Dream Team , a breakeven analysis, and a capital budget. Identify your possible sources of financing (discussed in Conducting a Feasibility Analysis ). Figure 11.19 shows a template of cash-flow needs for La Vida Lola.

Entrepreneur In Action

Laughing man coffee.

Hugh Jackman ( Figure 11.20 ) may best be known for portraying a comic-book superhero who used his mutant abilities to protect the world from villains. But the Wolverine actor is also working to make the planet a better place for real, not through adamantium claws but through social entrepreneurship.

A love of java jolted Jackman into action in 2009, when he traveled to Ethiopia with a Christian humanitarian group to shoot a documentary about the impact of fair-trade certification on coffee growers there. He decided to launch a business and follow in the footsteps of the late Paul Newman, another famous actor turned philanthropist via food ventures.

Jackman launched Laughing Man Coffee two years later; he sold the line to Keurig in 2015. One Laughing Man Coffee café in New York continues to operate independently, investing its proceeds into charitable programs that support better housing, health, and educational initiatives within fair-trade farming communities. 55 Although the New York location is the only café, the coffee brand is still distributed, with Keurig donating an undisclosed portion of Laughing Man proceeds to those causes (whereas Jackman donates all his profits). The company initially donated its profits to World Vision, the Christian humanitarian group Jackman accompanied in 2009. In 2017, it created the Laughing Man Foundation to be more active with its money management and distribution.

• You be the entrepreneur. If you were Jackman, would you have sold the company to Keurig? Why or why not?
• Would you have started the Laughing Man Foundation?
• What else can Jackman do to aid fair-trade practices for coffee growers?

What Can You Do?

Textbooks for change.

Founded in 2014, Textbooks for Change uses a cross-compensation model, in which one customer segment pays for a product or service, and the profit from that revenue is used to provide the same product or service to another, underserved segment. Textbooks for Change partners with student organizations to collect used college textbooks, some of which are re-sold while others are donated to students in need at underserved universities across the globe. The organization has reused or recycled 250,000 textbooks, providing 220,000 students with access through seven campus partners in East Africa. This B-corp social enterprise tackles a problem and offers a solution that is directly relevant to college students like yourself. Have you observed a problem on your college campus or other campuses that is not being served properly? Could it result in a social enterprise?

Work It Out

Franchisee set out.

A franchisee of East Coast Wings, a chain with dozens of restaurants in the United States, has decided to part ways with the chain. The new store will feature the same basic sports-bar-and-restaurant concept and serve the same basic foods: chicken wings, burgers, sandwiches, and the like. The new restaurant can’t rely on the same distributors and suppliers. A new business plan is needed.

• What steps should the new restaurant take to create a new business plan?
• Should it attempt to serve the same customers? Why or why not?

This New York Times video, “An Unlikely Business Plan,” describes entrepreneurial resurgence in Detroit, Michigan.

• 48 Chris Guillebeau. The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future . New York: Crown Business/Random House, 2012.
• 49 Jonathan Chan. “What These 4 Startup Case Studies Can Teach You about Failure.” Foundr.com . July 12, 2015. https://foundr.com/4-startup-case-studies-failure/
• 50 Amy Feldman. “Inventor of the Cut Buddy Paid YouTubers to Spark Sales. He Wasn’t Ready for a Video to Go Viral.” Forbes. February 15, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestreptalks/2017/02/15/inventor-of-the-cut-buddy-paid-youtubers-to-spark-sales-he-wasnt-ready-for-a-video-to-go-viral/#3eb540ce798a
• 51 Jennifer Post. “National Business Plan Competitions for Entrepreneurs.” Business News Daily . August 30, 2018. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6902-business-plan-competitions-entrepreneurs.html
• 52 “Rice Business Plan Competition, Eligibility Criteria and How to Apply.” Rice Business Plan Competition . March 2020. https://rbpc.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs806/f/2020%20RBPC%20Eligibility%20Criteria%20and%20How%20to%20Apply_23Oct19.pdf
• 53 “Rice Business Plan Competition, Eligibility Criteria and How to Apply.” Rice Business Plan Competition. March 2020. https://rbpc.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs806/f/2020%20RBPC%20Eligibility%20Criteria%20and%20How%20to%20Apply_23Oct19.pdf; Based on 2019 RBPC Competition Rules and Format April 4–6, 2019. https://rbpc.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs806/f/2019-RBPC-Competition-Rules%20-Format.pdf
• 54 Foodstart. http://foodstart.com
• 55 “Hugh Jackman Journey to Starting a Social Enterprise Coffee Company.” Giving Compass. April 8, 2018. https://givingcompass.org/article/hugh-jackman-journey-to-starting-a-social-enterprise-coffee-company/

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7 Entrepreneurial Process

Task Summary:

Lesson 3.1.1: The Entrepreneurial Process: Part 1

Lesson 3.1.2: The Entrepreneurial Process: Part 2

Lesson 3.1.3: Entrepreneurial Planning: Part 1

Lesson 3.1.4: Entrepreneurial Planning: Part 2

Lesson 3.1.5: Entrepreneurial Planning: Part 3

Activity 3.1.1: SDG Simulation

Unit 3 Assignment: Your Plan of Action

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify exciting entrepreneurial opportunities
• Evaluate exciting entrepreneurial opportunities
• Model the entrepreneurial process for the exciting entrepreneurial opportunities
• Create entrepreneurial planning documents

Successful entrepreneurship occurs when creative individuals bring together a new way of meeting needs and or wants. This is accomplished through a patterned process, one that mobilizes and directs resources to deliver a specific product or service to those in a way that is financially viable. While these could be 100% business ideas, they could also be concepts that are based in the spirit of altruism or non-profit. For innovative ideas that are strictly business concepts. sustainability can (and should) be embedded in the design of a product and operations by applying the criteria of reaching toward benign (or at least considerably safer) energy and material use, a reduced resource footprint, and elimination of inequitable social impacts due to the venture’s operations, including its supply-chain impacts.

Entrepreneurial innovation combined with sustainability principles can be broken down into the following four key elements, each of which requires analysis. Each one needs to be analyzed separately, and then the constellation of factors must fit together into a coherent whole. These four elements are as follows:

• Opportunity
• Entrepreneur/team

Successful ventures are characterized by coherence or “fit” across and throughout these steps. The interests and skills of the entrepreneur must fit with the product design and offering; the team’s qualifications should match the required knowledge needed to launch the venture. There needs to be a financially viable demand (enough people at a financially viable price) for the product or service, and of course, early adopters (those willing to purchase) have to be identified. Finally, sufficient resources, including financial resources (e.g., operating capital), office space, equipment, production facilities, components, materials, and expertise, must be identified and brought to bear. Each piece is discussed in more detail in the sections that follow.

Identify, Analyze, and Plan the Opportunity

As discussed in the last section, Opportunity Recognition is the active, cognitive process (or processes) through which individuals conclude that they have identified the potential to create something new that has the potential to generate economic value and that is not currently being exploited or developed and is viewed as desirable in the society in which it occurs (i.e. its development is consistent with existing legal and moral conditions). (Baron, 2004b, p. 52) Because opportunity recognition is a cognitive process, according to Baron (2004b), people can learn to be more effective at recognizing opportunities by changing the way they think about opportunities and how to recognize them.

The opportunity is a chance to satisfy the needs and desires of a certain group of people while generating returns that enable you to continue to operate and to build your organization over time. Many different conditions in society can create opportunities for new goods and services. As a prospective entrepreneur, the key questions are as follows:

• What is a need that is not being met?
• What are the conditions that have created an opportunity for my idea?
• Why do people want and need something new at this point in time?
• What are the factors that have opened up the opportunity?
• Will the opportunity be enduring, or is it a window that is open today but likely to close tomorrow?
• If you perceive an unmet need, can you deliver what the customer wants while generating durable margins and profits?
• How can I take on this venture while supporting the Sustainable Development Goals?

Opportunity conditions arise from a variety of sources. At a broad societal level, they are present as the result of forces such as shifting demographics, changes in knowledge and understanding due to scientific advances, a rebalancing or imbalance of political winds, or changing attitudes and norms that give rise to new needs. Certain demographic shifts and pollution challenges create SDG opportunities. When you combine enhanced public focus on health and wellness, advanced water treatment methods, clean combustion technologies, renewable “clean” energy sources, conversion of used packaging into new asset streams, benign chemical compounds for industrial processes, and local and sustainability has grown organic food, you begin to see the wide range of opportunities that exist due to macrotrends.

Identify, Analyze, and Plan the Market

What are you offering/doing/selling/contributing? New ventures offer solutions to people’s problems. This concept requires you to not only examine the item or service description but also further understand the group of people whose unmet needs you are meeting (often called market analysis). In any entrepreneurial innovation circumstance you must ask the following questions:

• What is the solution for which you want someone to pay?
• Is it a service or product, or some combination?
• To whom are you selling it? Is the buyer the actual user? Who makes the purchase decision?
• What is the customer’s problem and how does your service or product address it?

Understanding what you are selling is not as obvious as it might sound. When you sell an electric vehicle you are not just selling transportation. The buyer is buying a package of attributes that might include cutting-edge technology, lower operating costs, and perhaps the satisfaction of being part of a solution to health, environmental, and energy security problems.

Identify, Analyze, and Plan the Entrepreneur & Entrepreneurial Team

The opportunity and the entrepreneur must be intertwined in a way that optimizes the probability for success. People often become entrepreneurs when they see an opportunity. They are compelled to start something to find out whether they can convert that opportunity into an ongoing source of fulfillment and potential financial gain. That means that, ideally, the entrepreneur’s life experience, education, skills, work exposure, and network of contacts align well with the opportunity. We have covered this in previous sections, so if you need to refer back to consider the role of the entrepreneur’s skills, abilities, and cognition.

Entrepreneurs sometimes act alone, but this can only take us so far. A good entrepreneurial plan, an interesting product idea, and a promising opportunity are all positive, but in the end it is the ability of the entrepreneur to attract a team, get a product out, and provide it to customers is the thing that counts.

Typically there is an individual who initially drives the process through his or her ability to mobilize resources and sometimes through sheer force of will, hard work, and determination to succeed. In challenging times it is the entrepreneur’s vision and leadership abilities that can carry the day.

Ultimately, led by the entrepreneur, a team forms. As the organization grows, the team becomes the key factor. The entrepreneur’s skills, education, capabilities, and weaknesses must be augmented and complemented by the competencies of the team members they bring to the project. The following are important questions to ask:

• Does the team as a unit have the background, skills, and understanding of the opportunity to overcome obstacles?
• Can the team act as a collaborative unit with strong decision-making ability under fluid conditions?
• Can the team deal with conflict and disagreement as a normal and healthy aspect of working through complex decisions under ambiguity?

If an organization has been established and the team has not yet been formed, these questions will be useful to help you understand what configuration of people might compose an effective team to carry the business through its early evolutionary stages.

Identify, Analyze, and Plan the Resources

Successful entrepreneurial processes require entrepreneurs and teams to mobilize a wide array of resources quickly and efficiently. All innovative and entrepreneurial ventures combine specific resources such as capital, talent and know-how (e.g., accountants, lawyers), equipment, and production facilities. Breaking down an opportunity’s required resources into components can clarify what is needed and when it is needed. Although resource needs change during the early growth stages of an opportunity, at each stage the entrepreneur should be clear about the priority resources that enable or inhibit moving to the next stage of growth. What kinds of resources are needed? The following list provides guidance:

• Capital. What financial resources, in what form (e.g., equity, debt, family loans, angel capital, venture capital), are needed at the first stage? This requires an understanding of cash flow needs, break-even time frames, and other details. Even non-profits need to make money to stay afloat. Back-of-the-envelope estimates must be converted to pro forma income statements to understand financial needs.
• Know-how. Record keeping and accounting and legal process and advice are essential resources that must be considered at the start of every venture. Access to experts is important, especially in the early stages of making an opportunity happen. New opportunities require legal incorporation, financial record keeping, and rudimentary systems and resources to provide for these expenses need to be considered.
• Facilities, equipment, and transport. Does the venture need office space, production facilities, special equipment, or transportation? At the early stage of analysis, ownership of these resources does not need to be determined. The resource requirement, however, must be identified.

The Overall Process

The process of entrepreneurship melds these pieces together in processes that unfold over weeks and months, and eventually years if the business is successful. Breaking down the process into categories and components helps you understand the pieces and how they fit together. What we find in retrospect with successful launches is a cohesive fit among the parts. The entrepreneur’s skills and education match what the start-up needs. The opportunity can be optimally explored with the team and resources that are identified and mobilized. The resources must be brought to bear to launch the opportunity with an entry strategy that delivers the value-driven concept in a way that solves customers’ problems.

With all of these things in mind, documenting answers to the questions above, and the analysis undertaken to answer them is contained in an entrepreneurial plan. This is a document that you would use to plan out the details for the elements outlined above. Making sure you identify, analyze, and plan these elements is a great starting point, and to make sure this is all done really well, have a look at the principles below.

Entrepreneurial Plan Communication Principles

As Hindle and Mainprize (2006) note, business plan writers must strive to communicate their expectations about the nature of an uncertain future. However, the liabilities of newness make communicating the expected future of new opportunities difficult (more so than for existing organizations).  They outline five communications principles:

• Translation of your vision of the venture and how it will perform into a format compatible with the expectations of the readers
• you have identified and understood the key success factors and risks
• the projected market is large and you expect good market penetration
• you have a strategy for commercialization, profitability, and market domination
• you can establish and protect a proprietary and competitive position
• Anchoring key events in the plan with specific financial and quantitative values
• your major plan objectives are in the form of financial targets
• you have addressed the dual need for planning and flexibility
• you understand the hazards of neglecting linkages between certain events
• you understand the importance of quantitative values (rather than just chronological dates)
• Nothing lasts forever—things can change to impact the opportunity: tastes, preferences, technological innovation, competitive landscape
• the new combination upon which venture is built
• the magnitude of the opportunity or market size
• market growth trends
• venture’s value from the market (% of market share proposed or market share value in dollars)
• Four key aspects describing context within which new opportunity is intended to function (internal and external environment)
• how the context will help or hinder the proposal
• how the context may change and affect the organization and the range of flexibility or response that is built into the venture
• what management can or will do in the event the context turns unfavorable
• what management can do to affect the context in a positive way
• A brief and clear statement of how an idea actually becomes a business that creates value
• Who pays, how much, and how often?
• The activities the company must perform to produce its product, deliver it to its customers, and earn revenue
• And be able to defend assertions that the venture is attractive and sustainable and has a competitive edge

Entrepreneurial Plan Credibility Principles

Entrepreneurial plan writers must strive to project credibility (Hindle & Mainprize, 2006), so there must be a match between what the entrepreneurship team (resource seekers) needs and what the resource providers expect based on their criteria. A take it or leave it approach (i.e. financial forecasts set in concrete) by the entrepreneurship team has a high likelihood of failure in terms of securing resources. Hindle and Mainprize (2006) outline five principles to help entrepreneurs project credibility:

• Without the right team, nothing else matters.
• What do they know?
• Who do they know?
• How well are they known?
• sub-strategies
• ad-hoc programs
• specific tactical action plans
• Claiming an insuperable lead or a proprietary market position is naïve.
• Anticipate several moves in advance
• View the future as a movie vs. snapshot
• Key assumptions related to market size, penetration rates, and timing issues of market context outlined in the entrepreneurial plan should link directly to the financial statements.
• Income and cash flow statements must be preceded by operational statements setting forth the primary planning assumptions about market sizes, sales, productivity, and basis for the revenue estimate.
• If the main purpose is to enact a harvest, then the entrepreneurial plan must create a value-adding deal structure to attract investors.
• Common things: viability, profit potential, downside risk, likely life-cycle time, potential areas for dispute or improvement

General Entrepreneurial Plan Guidelines

Many entrepreneurs must have a plan to achieve their goals. The following are some basic guidelines for entrepreneurial plan development.

• A standard format helps the reader understand that the entrepreneur has thought everything through and that the returns justify the risk.
• Binding the document ensures that readers can easily go through it without it falling apart.
• everything is completely integrated: the written part must say exactly the same thing as the financial part
• all financial statements are completely linked and valid (make sure all balance sheets validly balance)
• the document is well-formatted (layout makes the document easy to read and comprehend—including all diagrams, charts, statements, and other additions)
• everything is correct (there are NO spelling, grammar, sentence structure, referencing, or calculation errors)
• It is usually unnecessary—and even damaging—to state the same thing more than once. To avoid unnecessarily duplicating information, you should combine sections and reduce or eliminate duplication as much as possible.
• all the necessary information is included to enable readers to understand everything in your document
• For example, if your plan says something like “there is a shortage of 100,000 units with competitors currently producing 25,000. We can help fill this huge gap in demand with our capacity to produce 5,000 units,” a reader is left completely confused. Does this mean there is a total shortage of 100,000 units, but competitors are filling this gap by producing 25,000 per year (in which case there will only be a shortage for four years)? Or, is there an annual shortage of 100,000 units with only 25,000 being produced each year, in which case the total shortage is very high and is growing each year? You must always provide the complete perspective by indicating the appropriate time frame, currency, size, or another measurement.
• if you use a percentage figure, you indicate to what it refers, otherwise, the figure is completely useless to a reader.
• This can be solved by indicating up-front in the document the currency in which all values will be quoted. Another option is to indicate each time which currency is being used, and sometimes you might want to indicate the value in more than one currency. Of course, you will need to assess the exchange rate risk to which you will be exposed and describe this in your document.
• If a statement is included that presents something as a fact when this fact is not generally known, always indicate the source. Unsupported statements damage credibility
• Be specific. An entrepreneurial plan is simply not of value if it uses vague references to high demand, carefully set prices, and another weak phrasing. It must show hard numbers (properly referenced, of course), actual prices, and real data acquired through proper research. This is the only way to ensure your plan is considered credible.

The purpose of this assignment is to connect all of the dots that you have been learning about and engaging with over the past unit when it comes to the entrepreneurial planning process. Watch this video on developing a process map . You are going to develop your own process map outlining the steps you need to take to develop a robust and well-thought-out entrepreneurial plan. Have a look at the Unit 4 Assignment: Entrepreneurial Plan for more information on what you’re going to be building.

The submission should be methodical and outline the process you will go through (i.e. what steps you will complete), and the information sources you will need to fill in the gaps and fill out your plan. Your submission should include a process map diagram, and be about 250 words, which is one page double spaced, or it could be done as an infographic, or a two-three minute presentation. If you are doing this as part of a formal course and have a different approach that you would like to take for developing this assignment, please check with your instructor.

Text Attributions

The content related to how it all starts and the process steps was taken from “ Sustainability, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship” by LibreTexts (2020) CC BY-NC-SA

The content related to the opportunity identification cognition and the entrepreneurial plan was taken from “ Entrepreneurship and Innovation Toolkit, 3rd Edition ” by L. Swanson (2017) CC BY-SA

Baron, R. A. (2004b). Opportunity recognition: Insights from a cognitive perspective. In J. E. Butler (Ed.), Opportunity identification and entrepreneurial behavior (pp. 47-73). Greenwich, Conn.: Information Age Pub

Hindle, K., & Mainprize, B. (2006). A systematic approach to writing and rating entrepreneurial business plans. The Journal of Private Equity, 9 (3), 7-23.

Introduction to Entrepreneurship Copyright © 2021 by Katherine Carpenter is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The Entrepreneurial Process

Of course, there are many ways to organize the effort of planning, launching and building a venture. But there are a set of fundamentals that must be covered in any approach. We offer the following as a way to break down the basic activities necessary.

It is useful to break the entrepreneurial process into five phases: idea generation, opportunity evaluation, planning, company formation/launch and growth. These phases are summarized in this table, and the Opportunity Evaluation and Planning steps are expanded in greater detail below.

Although it is natural to think of the early steps as occurring sequentially, they are actually proceeding in parallel. Even as you begin your evaluation, you are forming at least a hypothesis of a business strategy. As you test the hypothesis, you are beginning to execute the first steps of your marketing plan (and possibly also your sales plan). We separate these ideas for convenience in description but it is worth keeping in mind that these are ongoing aspects of your management of the business. In the growth phases, you continue to refine you basic idea, re-evaluate the opportunity and revise your plan.

To take this analysis one level deeper, we can break down each of these phases as follows.

Opportunity Evaluation

I t is helpful to think of the evaluation step as continually asking the question of whether the opportunity is worth investing in. You are actually constructing and then continually revising an “investment prospectus.”

• Is there a sufficiently attractive market opportunity ?
• Is your proposed solution feasible, both from a market perspective and a technology perspective?
• Can we compete (over a sufficiently interesting time horizon): is there sustainable competitive advantage ?
• Do we have a team that can effectively capitalize of this opportunity?
• What is the risk / reward profile of this opportunity, and does it justify the investment of time and money?

 If you can answer all of these questions affirmatively, then you have persuaded yourself that this opportunity is worth investing in. This is the first step toward being able to convince others, whether they be prospective customers, employees, partners or providers of capital.

These ideas are developed in the Opportunity Evaluation section

There are four main areas of strategy: determination of the target customer set, business model, position and objectives. These are described briefly below and in more depth in the sections devoted to these topics.

Target customers

The target customer is the set of potential buyers who are your focus as you design your company’s solution. The more you know about them, the better off you are. Your characterization should be both qualitative and quantitative . You should investigate any alternatives the customer has for solving or working around the problem or need that you are targeting. You should understand the buying process in detail, including who are the decision makers and who influences the decision.

Business Model

The business model is your theory about how you will make money. It involves a definition of a solution to the customer’s need, an hypothesis about how and how much the customer will pay for that solution. If there are any assumptions required for your theory to be true (such as the existence of complementary product or services, or the customer’s willingness to change business processes) these should also be articulated.

“Position” refers both to how your company is differentiated from any competitors and also how it relates to other companies in the value chain. This is an opportunity to define, at a fundamental level, what your company will do and what it will not do.

An element of position is your company’s vision : how it wants to be known or thought of. A compelling vision is necessary to inspire investors, recruit and motivate employees, and to excite customers and partners.

Milestones / Objectives

As a first step toward creating your operating plan, you should create a set of high level objectives for your business. This should include:

• Key milestones (prototype, product, customer, partnerships,etc.)
• Share or penetration into your chosen market

A clear articulation of objectives will allow you to set priorities for your venture, which will be critical as you face the many tough decisions that any entrepreneur must face.

These ideas are developed in the Strategy Development section

Operating plan

Your operating plan is where you spell out all of the things that you plan to do and what they will yield for your business. The activities will cover all areas of the business: marketing, selling, engineering, etc. These activities should yield products by a certain date, possibly partners, customers, etc. These activities will drive the financial performance of the company.

Your operating plan will be a combination of plans , i.e., these people working on this topic for this period of time will produce result X, and forecasts or projections , i.e. predictions about what results will occur. The primary and most important forecast concerns revenue, but predictions about costs of materials and other things may be important as well. The operating plan is the core of your business, and you should make it as good as you can – your plans should be as thorough as possible and your forecasts should be based on the best and most complete evidence you can compile.

Begin with your strategy and break down what needs to be accomplished to achieve your objectives – this is the basis of your plan. The more detailed and fine grained analysis you can develop, the more accurate and reliable your plan will be.

Financing plan

This includes the capital needs of the company, the timing of those needs and the desired/expected sources of that capital.

Planning process

Here are a few important principles:

• The actual budget, staffing plans, etc. are then driven by estimates of what it takes to accomplish the tasks in the required timeframe.
• Build a plan that captures everything ( so that you are not hurt by surprises or unexpected expenses)
• Revenue: detailed bottom up plan, based on best information about customer groupings, conversion rates, sales activity, …
• Expenses: usually people driven – build in realistic hiring timetables, training, learning curve, benefits, travel, etc.
• Program expenses: mostly marketing – must support the plan and estimates should be equally comprehensive
• The plan must close – all pieces tie together.

The plan becomes more manageable when you break it down into major functional areas. The traditional breakdown is as follows, but you don’t have to be bound by this except in so far as you should follow Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

• Research and development
• People management
• Processes & infrastructure

You should monitor your budget carefully and continually, and make adjustments as needed. A more detailed description of the process of building an operating plan may be found at: Operating Plan Development Process

Execution is organized by the core functional areas of the company

• Developing a Business Plan in Entrepreneurship: A Comprehensive Guide

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on developing a business plan in entrepreneurship! Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out on your business journey, having a well-crafted business plan is essential for success. In this article, we will walk you through the process of creating a business plan from start to finish, providing valuable insights and expert advice along the way.

Table of Contents

☑️ 1. understanding the importance of a business plan, 👩‍💻 2. conducting market research: identifying your target audience, 🎯 3. defining your business goals and objectives, 🛠️ 4. crafting a unique value proposition, 👥 5. analyzing the competitive landscape, 🛗 6. developing a marketing and sales strategy, ⚙️ 7. creating an operational plan, 📈 8. building a financial plan: budgeting and forecasting, 💼 9. securing funding for your business, ⚖️ 10. legal and regulatory considerations, 📏 11. measuring success: key performance indicators (kpis), 🎛️ 12. adapting and evolving your business plan, ✨ conclusion.

💡 A business plan is more than just a document; it's your roadmap to entrepreneurial success. It guides you, step by step, on your journey towards building a thriving business. When you take the time to create a comprehensive business plan, you not only gain a deeper understanding of your vision and objectives, but you also show potential investors, partners, and stakeholders that you mean business.

💡 A well-crafted business plan allows you to present your business idea in a structured and organized way. Clearly outlining your products or services, target market, and unique selling proposition effectively communicates your concept to others and build trust in your vision.

💡 Additionally, a business plan helps you strategize and set realistic goals. It prompts you to analyze the market, assess competition, and identify opportunities and challenges. Armed with this knowledge, you can make informed decisions that minimize risks and increase your chances of success.

💡 Now let's talk finances. Financial projections are another vital aspect of a business plan. You can create a realistic financial forecast by thoroughly analyzing your costs, revenue streams, and cash flow. This not only helps you gauge the financial viability of your business, but it also provides essential information for potential investors evaluating your venture's profitability and sustainability.

💡 Moreover, a business plan is often required by external parties when seeking funding. But here's the thing: a well-structured and comprehensive plan showcases your professionalism, competence, and dedication to your venture. It boosts your credibility with potential investors who are more likely to invest in a business with a clear and well-thought-out plan.

💡 To sum it up, developing a business plan is a critical step in entrepreneurship. It helps you clarify your vision, effectively communicate your ideas, make informed decisions, and attract potential investors. So, take the time to craft a comprehensive business plan so you can establish a solid foundation for the success of your venture and demonstrate your commitment to its growth and sustainability.

Let's get started on that business plan and set yourself up for success !

You know what's essential for developing a successful business plan? Understanding your target audience. That's right, it's all about conducting thorough market research to gain valuable insights into the needs, preferences, and behaviors of your potential customers . This knowledge will empower you to customize your products or services to meet their specific demands, giving you a competitive edge in the market .

🔍 So, how do you go about this market research? Well, it involves gathering and analyzing data related to your industry, target market, and competition. It's a comprehensive process that allows you to identify and assess potential opportunities and challenges within your chosen market segment. You won't be relying on assumptions or guesswork. Instead, you'll make informed decisions based on reliable data.

👂 Let's talk about identifying your target audience . These are the individuals or groups who are most likely to be interested in and benefit from your products or services. To identify them, think about demographic factors such as age, gender, location, income level, and occupation. And don't forget to delve into psychographic factors too, like interests, values, lifestyles, and purchasing behaviors. The more detailed and specific you can be in defining your target audience, the better you'll be able to tailor your marketing strategies to effectively reach and engage them.

🎛️ Now, let's dive into the methods of market research. You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, and analyze data from secondary sources. Surveys will provide you with quantitative data, giving you insights on a large scale. And when it comes to interviews and focus groups, you'll get qualitative data that takes you deeper into the thoughts, opinions, and motivations of your target audience. Secondary sources like industry reports, government publications, and online databases will provide you with valuable information about market trends, competitor analysis, and customer behavior.

📊 Once you have all this data, it's time to analyze it . Look for patterns, trends, and opportunities that will inform your business strategies. When you truly understand your target audience's needs, pain points, and preferences, you'll be able to develop products or services that truly resonate with them. And guess what? This customer-centric approach increases the likelihood of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, business success.

🧐 But wait, there's more! Market research also helps you assess the competitive landscape . Take a close look at your competitors' strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning. This analysis will help you identify gaps and differentiation opportunities for your business. Armed with this knowledge, you can develop unique value propositions and effective marketing strategies that set you apart from the competition.

Ready to dive into market research and gain valuable insights? Let's get started and propel your business forward!

Welcome to the next step in developing your business plan: defining your goals and objectives. It is important to set clear and well-defined goals and objectives for your business. These goals serve as guideposts, directing and giving purpose to your entrepreneurial journey. With the SMART framework—specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound—you can set yourself up for success and ensure that your efforts are focused and effective.

With a clear roadmap in place, you are well-positioned to navigate the challenges and achieve the success you envision for your business.

Let's break down each element of the SMART framework:

✅ Specific: Your goals should be clear, concise, and well-defined. Instead of stating a vague objective like "increase revenue," let's be specific. For example, you could aim to "increase annual revenue by 20% within the next fiscal year."

✅ Measurable: It is important to establish metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs ) that allow you to track your progress. This enables you to measure the success of your strategies and determine whether you are on track to achieve your goals. For instance, if your goal is to expand your customer base, you can track the number of new customers acquired within a specific period.

✅ Attainable: While setting ambitious goals is important, they should also be realistic and attainable. Consider your available resources, market conditions, and industry trends when defining your objectives. Finding the balance between ambition and practicality is key to avoiding frustration and disappointment.

✅ Relevant: Ensure that your goals align with your overall vision, mission, and values. They should be relevant to your industry, target market, and the specific needs of your customers. Set relevant goals so you can stay focused on what truly matters for the growth and success of your business.

✅ Time-bound: Set specific timeframes or deadlines for achieving your objectives. This creates a sense of urgency, helps you prioritize tasks, and allows you to track your progress. Having a timeline ensures that your goals remain actionable and within reach.

Defining your business goals and objectives brings numerous benefits:

✔️ It keeps you focused and motivated, providing a clear vision of what you want to accomplish. Goals serve as milestones, giving you a sense of achievement as you make progress toward them.

✔️ They also provide a framework for decision-making, enabling you to effectively prioritize tasks and allocate resources.

✔️ Moreover, clearly defined goals make it easier to communicate your vision and strategies to your team members, investors, and stakeholders. Alignment of efforts and shared purpose foster collaboration and synergy within your organization.

In the world of business, standing out from the competition is key to your success. In today's crowded marketplace, having a unique value proposition (UVP) is essential. Your UVP is what sets you apart and defines the special benefits and value your products or services offer to customers.

With a strong UVP, you can thrive in a crowded marketplace and build a loyal customer base that recognizes and appreciates what you bring to the table.

Let's dive into the steps of crafting a compelling UVP that will attract and retain customers , differentiate your business, and build a strong and sustainable brand.

Step 1: Identify your target audience. Get to know your customers inside and out. Understand their needs, desires, and pain points. This knowledge forms the foundation for creating a UVP that truly resonates with them.

Step 2: Analyze the competition. Take a closer look at your competitors and their value propositions. What are others offering? Can you identify gaps and opportunities in the market that you can leverage to set your business apart?

Step 3: Focus on differentiation. Determine what makes your offerings unique. What are the standout features, advantages, or benefits that set you apart? How do your products or services better address the specific needs of your target audience compared to the competition?

Step 4: Communicate the value. Craft a clear and concise statement that communicates the value customers can expect from choosing your business. Use compelling language to highlight the benefits and outcomes they can achieve by using your products or services.

Step 5: Make it memorable. Your UVP should be easy to understand and leave a lasting impression. Consider using a catchy slogan or tagline that captures the essence of your UVP and resonates with your target audience.

Step 6: Consistency is key. Keep your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) consistently communicated across all your marketing and communication channels. It should shine through on your website, social media presence, advertising materials, and customer interactions. Consistency builds trust and reinforces your brand identity.

When it comes to developing a robust and resilient business plan, understanding your competitors and their strategies is crucial.

Analyzing the competitive landscape involves a comprehensive examination of your direct and indirect competitors within your industry or market segment.

When you understand your competitors' strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning, you can identify opportunities, develop differentiated strategies, and gain a competitive edge. Regularly update your analysis to stay ahead of the competition and ensure your business remains relevant and successful in the ever-changing business landscape.

To begin, let's break down the key steps for effectively analyzing the competition:

Step 1: Identify your competitors Start by identifying your direct competitors—those businesses offering similar products or services to the same target audience. Additionally, consider indirect competitors—those providing alternative solutions that fulfill the same customer needs. This broader understanding will uncover both direct and indirect threats and opportunities.

Step 2: Gather information Collect as much information as possible about your competitors. Study their websites, social media presence, advertising campaigns, product offerings, pricing strategies, distribution channels, customer reviews, and any available market reports or industry publications. Utilize tools like SWOT analysis to organize and evaluate the data.

Step 3: Assess strengths and weaknesses Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. Identify what they excel at, such as unique features, exceptional customer service, strong brand recognition, or extensive industry experience. Similarly, pinpoint their weaknesses, like limited product range, poor customer reviews, outdated technology, or inefficient processes. This assessment will highlight areas where you can leverage your strengths and differentiate yourself.

Step 4: Understand market positioning Examine how your competitors position themselves in the market. Consider their target audience, brand image, value propositions, and marketing messages. Identify the specific niche or market segment they focus on and determine if there are untapped opportunities for you to capitalize on. Positioning your business uniquely will attract customers who resonate with your specific value propositions.

Step 5: Identify opportunities and threats Through your analysis, identify potential opportunities and threats within the competitive landscape. Look for gaps in the market that your competitors have overlooked or underserved customer needs that you can address. Also, be on the lookout for emerging trends, technological advancements, or regulatory changes that may impact your business. This knowledge enables you to adapt and strategize effectively.

Step 6: Develop strategies for differentiation Based on your analysis, devise strategies that differentiate your business from the competition. Leverage your unique strengths and address customer pain points that your competitors haven't resolved. Focus on developing value-added features, delivering exceptional customer experiences, or offering innovative solutions that set you apart. Effective differentiation will give you a competitive edge and attract customers who appreciate your distinct offerings.

When it comes to growing and making your business profitable, having a well-defined and comprehensive marketing and sales strategy is key. It outlines the steps you'll take to promote your products or services, attract customers, and generate sales. An effective marketing and sales strategy in your business plan increases brand visibility, reaches a wider audience, and ultimately drives revenue.

With a well-designed marketing and sales strategy, you can establish a strong brand presence, attract customers, and achieve sustainable business growth.

Here are some important elements to consider as you develop your marketing and sales strategy:

• Identify your target market: Start by clearly defining your target market and understanding their demographics, preferences, and buying behavior. This knowledge will help you tailor your marketing messages and promotional activities to effectively reach and engage your ideal customers.
• Choose the right marketing channels: Determine the most suitable marketing channels to reach your target audience. This could include a mix of traditional and digital channels such as print media, television, radio, search engine marketing (SEM) , social media platforms, email marketing, and content marketing. Select the channels based on your target audience's preferences and behavior.
• Leverage digital marketing techniques: Maximize your online presence and attract potential customers by leveraging digital marketing techniques. This includes search engine optimization (SEO) to improve your website's visibility in search engine results, social media marketing to engage with your audience and build brand awareness, and content marketing to provide valuable and relevant information that establishes your expertise and credibility.
• Craft compelling marketing messages: Develop clear and compelling marketing messages that effectively communicate the unique value of your products or services. Highlight the key benefits, features, and solutions your offerings provide to address customer needs and pain points. Emphasize what sets your business apart from competitors and how customers stand to benefit by choosing your products or services.
• Determine your pricing strategy: Align your pricing strategy with your target market, positioning, and business goals. Take into account factors such as production costs, market demand, perceived value, and competitor pricing. Striking the right balance between affordability and profitability is essential to attract customers while maintaining healthy profit margins.
• Plan targeted promotional activities: Plan and execute targeted promotional activities to create awareness and generate interest in your offerings. This may include advertising campaigns, public relations efforts, participation in industry events, sponsorships, or partnerships with complementary businesses. Use both online and offline channels to reach a broader audience and maximize exposure.
• Develop a sales forecast: Create a sales forecast that outlines your projected sales revenues based on your marketing and sales strategies. Consider factors such as market size, growth potential, customer acquisition rate, and conversion rates. This will provide you with a realistic view of your revenue goals and help you track your progress.
• Monitor and evaluate: Continuously monitor the performance of your marketing and sales efforts and make necessary adjustments. Keep track of key metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, social media engagement, and sales revenue to gauge the effectiveness of your strategies. Use analytics tools to gain insights into customer behavior and preferences, allowing you to refine your marketing and sales approaches.

In this section, we'll explore the importance of an operational plan and provide you with valuable insights to help you create one that sets the stage for smooth and efficient business operations. Let's dive in!

An operational plan is a vital component of your business plan, serving as a guide for your day-to-day activities and processes. It covers various aspects of your operations, such as production, inventory management, supply chain logistics, quality control, and more. With a comprehensive operational plan, you will have seamless operations while being prepared to tackle challenges.

With a well-designed operational plan in place, you can confidently manage day-to-day activities and position your business for long-term success.

Here are key considerations for creating your plan:

• Production processes: Start by describing the specific steps involved in producing your products or delivering your services. Outline the necessary resources, equipment, and manpower for each stage. Identify any bottlenecks or areas for improvement to streamline your processes and boost productivity.
• Inventory management: Detail how you'll manage your inventory to meet customer demand while minimizing costs. Determine optimal inventory levels, establish tracking systems, and implement replenishment strategies for stock availability. This avoids stockouts or excess inventory, enhancing customer satisfaction and reducing expenses.
• Supply chain logistics: Outline your supply chain logistics, including sourcing raw materials, managing suppliers, and coordinating distribution. Identify potential risks and develop contingency plans to mitigate disruptions. Streamline processes to minimize lead times, optimize transportation, and improve overall efficiency.
• Quality control: Explain how you'll maintain quality standards and ensure consistency in your products or services. Define quality control measures, such as inspections, testing procedures, and adherence to industry standards. Implement feedback loops to capture customer input and continuously enhance your offerings.
• Resource allocation: Determine how you'll allocate financial, human, and technological resources to support your operations. This involves budgeting, workforce planning, and identifying technology solutions that boost efficiency and productivity.
• Risk management: Assess potential risks and develop strategies to minimize their impact on your operations. Identify key risks like supply chain disruptions, compliance issues, cybersecurity threats, or natural disasters. Establish contingency plans and protocols for business continuity.
• Legal and regulatory compliance: Make sure your operational plan considers legal and regulatory requirements. Familiarize yourself with applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards. Incorporate measures for compliance, such as obtaining licenses, implementing data protection policies, and adhering to health and safety guidelines.
• Monitoring and evaluation: Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the effectiveness of your operational plan. Consistently monitor and evaluate your operations against these metrics to identify areas for improvement. Continuously refine your plan based on feedback and changing business needs.

In this part, we'll explore the importance of budgeting and forecasting in developing a robust financial plan for your business. Focus on these key aspects so you can demonstrate your financial expertise to potential investors and lenders.

When you are able to build a comprehensive financial plan through budgeting and forecasting, you demonstrate your financial acumen to potential investors and lenders. This gives them a clear understanding of how you'll manage the financial aspects of your business, instilling confidence in your ability to achieve profitability and sustainable growth.

💰 Budgeting: Controlling Costs and Allocating Resources

When establishing your business's financial foundation, budgeting plays a pivotal role. It allows you to identify and estimate startup costs, ongoing expenses, and projected revenues. To efficiently allocate resources, optimize cash flow, and ensure long-term financial sustainability, meticulously track and control costs.

Here are some key steps to consider when creating your budget:

• Identify startup costs: Start by determining the initial investments needed to launch your business, such as equipment purchases, lease agreements, legal fees, marketing collateral, and website development. Accurately estimating these costs will help you avoid unexpected financial burdens and ensure a smooth startup process.
• Outline ongoing expenses: Once your business is up and running, consider the recurring expenses for day-to-day operations, such as rent, utilities, employee salaries, inventory costs, marketing expenses, insurance premiums, and loan repayments. Thoroughly identifying these expenses provides a comprehensive understanding of your financial commitments.
• Project revenues: Forecast your expected revenues by conducting market research and analyzing industry trends. Consider factors like market demand, competition, and seasonality. Projecting revenues gives you insights into your business's financial viability and empowers you to make informed decisions.
• Track and adjust: Remember, a budget is a dynamic tool that requires continuous monitoring and adjustment. Regularly compare your actual expenses and revenues against your budgeted figures. This enables you to identify deviations, make necessary adjustments, and maintain financial discipline. Stay vigilant and proactively address any financial challenges that may arise.

📈 Financial Forecasting: Anticipating Future Performance

Alongside budgeting, financial forecasting plays a critical role in your financial plan. It involves estimating future cash flows, financial performance, and potential risks. You can project the financial health of your business and make informed strategic decisions by forecasting.

Consider the following elements when conducting financial forecasting:

• Sales projections: Develop realistic sales projections based on market research, industry trends, and historical data. Factor in customer demand, pricing strategies, marketing initiatives, and potential competition impact. These projections serve as a foundation for estimating future revenues.
• Expense projections: Forecast ongoing expenses, considering factors like inflation, changes in supplier costs, and potential growth-related expenses. This helps you anticipate and plan for the financial resources required to support your business operations.
• Cash flow analysis: Analyze projected cash inflows and outflows to assess your business's liquidity and solvency. Monitoring cash flow allows you to identify potential shortages and take proactive measures to ensure adequate working capital.
• Financial ratios and indicators: Calculate key financial ratios and indicators to assess your business's performance, including profitability, liquidity, debt-to-equity, and return on investment (ROI). Analyzing these metrics provides valuable insights into your financial stability and growth potential.
• Risk assessment: Identify potential risks that may impact your financial performance, such as market conditions, regulatory changes, or economic downturns. Develop contingency plans to mitigate these risks and ensure business continuity.

Turn your entrepreneurial vision into reality! Securing funding is vital for bringing your business plan to life. In this section, we'll explore funding options and strategies to help you obtain the financial resources you need. Let's get started!

• Understand Your Funding Needs

Before diving into the world of funding, it's crucial to assess your business's financial requirements. Take the time to evaluate startup costs, working capital needs, and projected expenses. Consider factors such as equipment purchases, inventory costs, marketing campaigns, employee salaries, and overhead expenses. Understand your funding needs so you can develop a targeted approach to secure the necessary capital.

• Explore Funding Options

There are numerous funding options available today. It's important to explore these options and select the ones that align with your business goals and industry requirements. Some common funding sources include:

• Loans: Traditional bank loans, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, and MSME Financing Programs offer favorable interest rates and repayment terms for businesses with a solid credit history and collateral.
• Grants: Research grants and government-sponsored programs provide non-repayable funds specific to your industry or business sector, supporting growth and development.
• Venture Capital: Venture capital firms invest in high-growth potential businesses, providing capital, expertise, and industry connections to help your business thrive.
• Angel Investors: Angel investors invest their own capital in startups or early-stage companies in exchange for equity. They often bring industry experience and valuable networks to the table.
• Crowdfunding: Utilize online platforms to raise funds from individuals who believe in your business idea. Crowdfunding allows you to showcase your product or service and attract support from a broad audience.
• Craft a Compelling Business Plan

A well-crafted and compelling business plan is crucial when seeking funding. Clearly articulate your value proposition, target market, competitive advantage, and growth potential. Include financial projections, market analysis, and a solid understanding of your industry. Present a persuasive case that highlights the profitability and viability of your venture. Your business plan should inspire confidence in potential investors and convince them of the potential returns on their investment.

• Network and Build Relationships

Building strong relationships within your industry and entrepreneurial ecosystem can significantly enhance your funding prospects. Attend networking events, industry conferences, and pitch competitions to connect with potential investors and mentors. Join relevant industry associations and participate in community events to expand your network. Cultivating these relationships can open doors to funding opportunities and valuable advice from experienced professionals.

• Demonstrate Your Commitment and Expertise

Investors want to see your dedication and ability to execute your business plan. Demonstrate your commitment by investing your own capital into the business and showcasing your industry expertise. Highlight your past achievements, relevant experience, and the skills that make you uniquely qualified to succeed. Investors are more likely to fund entrepreneurs who are passionate, knowledgeable, and committed to their business's success.

• Be Prepared for Due Diligence

When investors show interest in your business, they will likely conduct due diligence to assess its viability and potential risks. Be prepared to provide detailed financial statements, legal documentation, market research, and any other relevant information. Show transparency and professionalism throughout the due diligence process to build trust with potential investors.

When developing your business plan, it is very important to consider the legal and regulatory requirements that apply to your industry and location. Adhering to these requirements not only ensures that your business operates within the boundaries of the law but also establishes trust with customers, investors, and other stakeholders. In this section, we will explore the key legal and regulatory considerations that you should address in your business plan.

Addressing legal and regulatory considerations in your business plan shows your commitment to operating ethically and lawfully. This instills confidence in stakeholders, assuring them that you've taken steps to safeguard your business and maintain compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

Step 1: Research Applicable Laws and Regulations

Begin by conducting thorough research to identify the specific laws, regulations, licenses, and permits that apply to your industry and location. Laws and regulations can vary significantly depending on the nature of your business, whether it is a food service establishment, a healthcare provider, or an e-commerce platform. Stay up to date with any changes in legislation that may impact your business operations.

Step 2: Obtain the Necessary Licenses and Permits

Ensure that your business obtains all the required licenses and permits before starting operations. These may include business licenses, professional licenses, health and safety permits, environmental permits, and zoning permits. Failure to secure the necessary licenses and permits can result in fines, penalties, or even legal action that could jeopardize the viability of your business.

Step 3: Protect Intellectual Property

Safeguarding your intellectual property (IP) is crucial for protecting your business's unique assets and competitive advantage. Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, designs, logos, and artistic works. Depending on the type of IP you want to protect, consider applying for trademarks, copyrights, or patents. Addressing intellectual property considerations in your business plan demonstrates your commitment to safeguarding your innovations and brand.

Step 4: Ensure Compliance with Employment Laws

If you plan to hire employees, it is essential to understand and comply with employment laws and regulations. These laws govern aspects such as minimum wage, working hours, employee benefits, workplace safety, and anti-discrimination practices. Familiarize yourself with both federal and state employment laws to ensure fair treatment of your employees and avoid legal issues that could harm your business's reputation.

Step 5: Protect Consumer Rights and Privacy

Consumer protection and privacy laws are designed to safeguard the rights of your customers and their personal information. Ensure that your business follows best practices for data protection, privacy policies, and marketing practices. Incorporate compliance measures into your business plan to demonstrate your commitment to protecting consumer rights and privacy.

Step 6: Address Compliance and Risk Management

In your business plan, demonstrate your commitment to compliance and risk management by outlining the strategies and processes you will implement. This can include establishing internal controls, conducting regular audits, and addressing potential risks and mitigation measures. Proactively address compliance and risk management to show potential investors and partners that you prioritize responsible and ethical business practices.

Step 7: Seek Legal Counsel

Consider consulting with legal professionals experienced in your industry to ensure that your business plan accurately addresses all legal and regulatory considerations. They can provide guidance on specific legal requirements, review your business plan for compliance, and help you navigate any complex legal issues that may arise.

It's vital to have a clear understanding of how well your business is performing. That's where Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) come in. These quantifiable metrics allow you to measure the success and progress of your business. Identifying and tracking the right KPIs provides valuable insights into your strategies' effectiveness and empowers you to make informed growth-oriented decisions. In this section, we'll emphasize the significance of KPIs and assist you in selecting the most relevant ones for your business.

👉 Choosing the Right KPIs

Selecting the right KPIs is crucial for accurately measuring the success of your business. Let's go through some steps to help you choose the most relevant KPIs:

• Define Your Business Goals: Start by clearly defining your business goals and objectives. What do you want to achieve? Whether it's revenue growth, customer acquisition, operational efficiency, or customer satisfaction, your KPIs should align with your overarching goals.
• Identify Key Areas of Focus: Identify the key areas of your business that directly contribute to achieving your goals. These could include sales, marketing, customer service, production, or financial performance. Focus on KPIs that provide insights into these critical areas.
• Quantify and Measure: Determine how you will quantify and measure each KPI. Ensure that the metrics are reliable, consistent, and easily measurable. Consider both lagging indicators (reflecting past performance) and leading indicators (predicting future outcomes) for a comprehensive view.
• Be Specific and Relevant: Choose KPIs that are specific to your business and industry. Generic metrics may not accurately reflect the unique aspects and challenges of your business. Tailor your KPIs to measure the factors that drive success in your particular market.
• Keep it Balanced: Select a mix of financial and non-financial KPIs to gain a holistic view of your business's performance. While financial metrics like revenue and profit are important, don't overlook other aspects such as customer satisfaction, employee engagement, or brand recognition.

📋 Examples of Common KPIs

Now, let's look at some examples of common KPIs that businesses track:

• Revenue Growth Rate: Measures the percentage increase in revenue over a specific period.
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Calculates the cost required to acquire a new customer.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Estimates the total value a customer brings to your business over their lifetime.
• Conversion Rate: Tracks the percentage of website visitors or leads that convert into customers.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Measures customer satisfaction and loyalty based on surveys.
• Return on Investment (ROI): Evaluates the profitability of an investment or marketing campaign.
• Employee Turnover Rate: Measures the percentage of employees who leave your organization within a given period.

Congratulations on developing a solid business plan! However, it's important to remember that a business plan is not set in stone. In today's dynamic business environment, the ability to adapt and evolve is crucial for long-term success. In this section, we will explore why it's necessary to be flexible with your business plan and provide strategies for effectively adapting to changes.

🎚️ The Importance of Adaptation

The business landscape is ever-changing, shaped by technology, market trends, customer preferences, and competition. Holding onto an outdated plan can hinder progress and limit opportunities. Embracing adaptation keeps you ahead and fuels continued growth.

🤳 Embracing Market Trends

Market trends have a profound impact on your business's success. Stay ahead by monitoring industry trends, identifying opportunities, and anticipating threats. Stay informed through market research, industry publications, and networking with experts. Adapt your strategies to align with changes in consumer behavior, technology, and competition. Stay proactive and make necessary adjustments to ensure your business thrives.

👂 Listening to Customer Feedback

Your customers hold a wealth of valuable insights and feedback. Engage with them directly through surveys, focus groups, and social media. Listen attentively to their needs, preferences, and challenges. This feedback is a treasure trove of guidance to enhance your offerings and elevate the customer experience. Incorporating customer feedback into your business plan showcases your dedication to meeting their evolving needs. Let their voices shape your success.

💪 Remaining Agile and Flexible

In today's fast-paced business environment, agility and flexibility are essential. Be ready to make quick decisions and pivot when needed. This could mean adjusting marketing strategies, exploring new distribution channels, or even modifying your business model. Regularly assess performance and be willing to adapt based on insights gained. Stay nimble and open-minded, embracing change for your business's success.

🧿 Leveraging Emerging Opportunities

While navigating the business landscape, keep a keen eye out for emerging opportunities that align with your core competencies and goals. This could entail embracing new technologies, exploring untapped markets, or forging partnerships with complementary businesses. Actively seeking and seizing these opportunities positions your business for growth and differentiation. Stay vigilant and stay ahead in this dynamic journey!

There are three predicted trends of emerging change, worries, and hopes that we need to brace ourselves for. Read “ Future-proof Your Team in the New Normal ” blog post or watch the webinar replay for free to learn more.

🖥️ Monitoring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Continuously monitor and assess your KPIs to gauge the effectiveness of your strategies. Identify trends, patterns, and areas of improvement. Regularly review your KPIs to ensure their relevance and alignment with your evolving business goals. Use this data-driven approach to guide your decision-making process and make informed adjustments to your business plan.

📖 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

FAQ 1: What is the purpose of a business plan in entrepreneurship?

A business plan plays a pivotal role in entrepreneurship by serving as a roadmap for your journey. It encompasses various elements such as your business idea, strategies, goals, and financial projections. The primary purpose of a business plan is to provide clarity and direction to your entrepreneurial endeavors. Documenting your vision and outlining the steps to achieve it helps you stay focused, make informed decisions, and effectively communicate your ideas to potential investors, partners, and stakeholders. A well-crafted business plan showcases your professionalism and strategic thinking, increasing your chances of success in the competitive business landscape.

FAQ 2: How do I identify my target audience for my business plan?

Identifying your target audience is crucial for developing a business plan that resonates with your customers. To do this, conduct thorough market research to gather valuable insights. Start by analyzing demographic information such as age, gender, location, and income level. Next, delve deeper into understanding their needs, preferences, and behaviors. Surveys, focus groups, and social media analytics are effective tools for gathering such information. If you understand your target audience, you can tailor your products or services to meet their specific demands, develop effective marketing strategies, and differentiate yourself from competitors. This understanding of your target audience will give you a competitive edge and increase your chances of success.

FAQ 3: Why is a unique value proposition important in a business plan?

A unique value proposition (UVP) is of paramount importance in a business plan as it sets your business apart from competitors. It encapsulates the unique benefits and value that your products or services offer to customers. In today's crowded marketplace, where consumers have numerous options, a compelling UVP helps you attract and retain customers. It communicates why customers should choose your business over others and highlights the distinct advantages you bring to the table. When crafting your UVP, emphasize the key features, advantages, and benefits that differentiate your offerings. When you clearly articulate your UVP in your business plan, you demonstrate your understanding of the market, customer needs, and how your business fulfills those needs better than others.

FAQ 4: How can I secure funding for my business?

Securing funding is often a critical aspect of developing a business plan. There are various avenues to explore, including loans, grants, venture capital, angel investors, and crowdfunding. It is essential to tailor your funding strategy based on your business needs and industry requirements. Start by thoroughly researching and identifying the funding options that align with your goals and vision. Craft a compelling business plan that highlights the profitability and viability of your venture, showcasing potential investors or lenders the potential return on their investment. Include detailed financial projections, market analysis, and a clear plan for utilizing the funds. Demonstrating your financial acumen and presenting a compelling case increases your chances of securing the necessary funding to turn your entrepreneurial dreams into reality.

FAQ 5: Why is it important to adapt and evolve your business plan?

Adapting and evolving your business plan is essential because the business landscape is constantly changing. Market trends, technological advancements, consumer preferences, and competitive forces can impact your business significantly. Regularly review and update your business plan to align your strategies with the evolving market dynamics. This allows you to seize new opportunities, mitigate risks, and stay ahead of the competition. Additionally, customer feedback plays a vital role in adapting your business plan. Actively listening to your customers and incorporating their feedback into your strategies will continuously improve your offerings and enhance the customer experience. Adaptability and flexibility are key traits of successful entrepreneurs, enabling them to navigate challenges and capitalize on emerging trends.

FAQ 6: How can I measure the success of my business?

Measuring the success of your business requires the establishment of key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your business goals. KPIs are measurable metrics that allow you to track and evaluate your performance over time. Examples of KPIs include revenue growth, customer acquisition rate, customer satisfaction, and market share. It's important to identify the KPIs that are most relevant to your business and industry. Regularly track and analyze these metrics to gain insights into your business's progress and performance. This data-driven approach enables you to make informed decisions, identify areas for improvement, and capitalize on your strengths. To measure your business's success objectively and make crucial adjustments, it's essential to consistently monitor and assess your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This enables you to stay on track and work towards your long-term goals.

You've reached the end of this comprehensive guide, and now you have the tools to create a business plan that leads to success. Your business plan is more than just a document—it's your roadmap on this entrepreneurial journey. So, let's summarize the key points you should keep in mind:

• Understand the importance of a business plan: A well-crafted plan clarifies your vision and effectively communicates your ideas to stakeholders.
• Conduct thorough market research: Identify your target audience's needs and preferences to tailor your products or services and gain a competitive edge.
• Define SMART goals: Set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals to stay focused and motivated throughout your entrepreneurial journey.
• Craft a unique value proposition: Highlight the unique benefits and value your offerings provide to differentiate yourself in a crowded marketplace.
• Analyze the competitive landscape: Understand your competitors and develop strategies to gain a competitive advantage.
• Develop a marketing and sales strategy: Outline your marketing channels, pricing, promotions, and leverage digital marketing techniques to reach a wider audience.
• Create a robust operational plan: Ensure smooth business operations by addressing aspects such as production processes, inventory management, and quality control.
• Build a comprehensive financial plan: Demonstrate your financial acumen by creating a budget, conducting financial forecasting, and identifying potential risks.
• Secure funding strategically: Explore various funding options and present a compelling case in your plan to attract investors.
• Consider legal and regulatory requirements: Comply with applicable regulations and showcase your commitment to operating within the legal framework.
• Measure success with KPIs: Establish relevant metrics to track and analyze your business's progress and make data-driven decisions.
• Adapt and evolve your plan: Regularly review and update your strategies to align with market trends, customer feedback, and emerging opportunities.

Now, it's time for you to take action. Based on the insights you've gained from this guide, which key aspect of your business plan will you focus on improving? How do you think this refinement will contribute to the success of your venture?

For those who are just starting up a business, here's an additional question to consider:

As you embark on your entrepreneurial journey, what initial steps will you take to validate your business idea and ensure its feasibility in the market? How will this validation process contribute to building a solid foundation for your business?

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The Business Planning Process: 6 Steps To Creating a New Plan

In this article, we will define and explain the basic business planning process to help your business move in the right direction.

What is Business Planning?

Business planning is the process whereby an organization’s leaders figure out the best roadmap for growth and document their plan for success.

The business planning process includes diagnosing the company’s internal strengths and weaknesses, improving its efficiency, working out how it will compete against rival firms in the future, and setting milestones for progress so they can be measured.

The process includes writing a new business plan. What is a business plan? It is a written document that provides an outline and resources needed to achieve success. Whether you are writing your plan from scratch, from a simple business plan template , or working with an experienced business plan consultant or writer, business planning for startups, small businesses, and existing companies is the same.

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The Better Business Planning Process

The business plan process includes 6 steps as follows:

• Do Your Research
• Calculate Your Financial Forecast
• Draft Your Plan
• Revise & Proofread
• Nail the Business Plan Presentation

We’ve provided more detail for each of these key business plan steps below.

1. Do Your Research

Conduct detailed research into the industry, target market, existing customer base,  competitors, and costs of the business begins the process. Consider each new step a new project that requires project planning and execution. You may ask yourself the following questions:

• What are your business goals?
• What is the current state of your business?
• What are the current industry trends?
• What is your competition doing?

There are a variety of resources needed, ranging from databases and articles to direct interviews with other entrepreneurs, potential customers, or industry experts. The information gathered during this process should be documented and organized carefully, including the source as there is a need to cite sources within your business plan.

You may also want to complete a SWOT Analysis for your own business to identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and potential risks as this will help you develop your strategies to highlight your competitive advantage.

2. Strategize

Now, you will use the research to determine the best strategy for your business. You may choose to develop new strategies or refine existing strategies that have demonstrated success in the industry. Pulling the best practices of the industry provides a foundation, but then you should expand on the different activities that focus on your competitive advantage.

This step of the planning process may include formulating a vision for the company’s future, which can be done by conducting intensive customer interviews and understanding their motivations for purchasing goods and services of interest. Dig deeper into decisions on an appropriate marketing plan, operational processes to execute your plan, and human resources required for the first five years of the company’s life.

3. Calculate Your Financial Forecast

All of the activities you choose for your strategy come at some cost and, hopefully, lead to some revenues. Sketch out the financial situation by looking at whether you can expect revenues to cover all costs and leave room for profit in the long run.

Begin to insert your financial assumptions and startup costs into a financial model which can produce a first-year cash flow statement for you, giving you the best sense of the cash you will need on hand to fund your early operations.

A full set of financial statements provides the details about the company’s operations and performance, including its expenses and profits by accounting period (quarterly or year-to-date). Financial statements also provide a snapshot of the company’s current financial position, including its assets and liabilities.

This is one of the most valued aspects of any business plan as it provides a straightforward summary of what a company does with its money, or how it grows from initial investment to become profitable.

4. Draft Your Plan

With financials more or less settled and a strategy decided, it is time to draft through the narrative of each component of your business plan . With the background work you have completed, the drafting itself should be a relatively painless process.

If you have trouble writing convincing prose, this is a time to seek the help of an experienced business plan writer who can put together the plan from this point.

5. Revise & Proofread

Revisit the entire plan to look for any ideas or wording that may be confusing, redundant, or irrelevant to the points you are making within the plan. You may want to work with other management team members in your business who are familiar with the company’s operations or marketing plan in order to fine-tune the plan.

Finally, proofread thoroughly for spelling, grammar, and formatting, enlisting the help of others to act as additional sets of eyes. You may begin to experience burnout from working on the plan for so long and have a need to set it aside for a bit to look at it again with fresh eyes.

6. Nail the Business Plan Presentation

The presentation of the business plan should succinctly highlight the key points outlined above and include additional material that would be helpful to potential investors such as financial information, resumes of key employees, or samples of marketing materials. It can also be beneficial to provide a report on past sales or financial performance and what the business has done to bring it back into positive territory.

Business Planning Process Conclusion

Every entrepreneur dreams of the day their business becomes wildly successful.

But what does that really mean? How do you know whether your idea is worth pursuing?

And how do you stay motivated when things are not going as planned? The answers to these questions can be found in your business plan. This document helps entrepreneurs make better decisions and avoid common pitfalls along the way. ​

Business plans are dynamic documents that can be revised and presented to different audiences throughout the course of a company’s life. For example, a business may have one plan for its initial investment proposal, another which focuses more on milestones and objectives for the first several years in existence, and yet one more which is used specifically when raising funds.

Business plans are a critical first step for any company looking to attract investors or receive grant money, as they allow a new organization to better convey its potential and business goals to those able to provide financial resources.

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Entrepreneurial Process: Meaning, Overview & Stages

Entrepreneurial Process: Meaning, Overview & Stages – Embarking on the journey of entrepreneurship is like setting sail on uncharted waters. Understanding the entrepreneurial process is akin to having a reliable compass in hand. The intricacies of this venture creation process have become a focal point in the realm of current entrepreneurship. where budding entrepreneurs are on the cusp of turning their ideas into reality. This process is a fascinating terrain to explore, let’s see why it is.

What is the Entrepreneurial Process 

The entrepreneurial process is the sequence of steps and activities involved in starting and managing a new venture. It encompasses the identification of opportunities, gathering resources, creating a business plan, launching the venture, and managing its growth and development.

The entrepreneurial process is a thrilling journey filled with opportunities and challenges. It’s about spotting a chance, seizing it with a solid plan, and then creating value that keeps customers coming back for more. It’s where ideas take flight and become thriving ventures that make a difference in the market.

Learn more about Corporate Entrepreneurship – Click here

Stages of the Entrepreneurial Process  

We label the first level of the technique opportunity recognition. The invention and assessment of opportunities are part of this technique. Inside the possibility reputation system, initial ideas evolve into fully-fledged enterprise opportunities .

Inside the second stage, ‘opportunity exploitation’, important sources are combined to enable exchange with the market. The acknowledged commercial enterprise opportunity is translated into an actual resource.

When the imparting is taken up with the aid of the market inside the third stage. The possibility of exploitation ended with the advent of value. We use the expression value creation in place of wealth creation to stress the feasible non-economic outcomes of the entrepreneurial process. The advent of cost seems because of the final result of the entrepreneurial system. The process seems to be linear and sequential, whereas, in reality, it is dynamic and iterative.

Let’s discuss the stages of the entrepreneurial process one by one.

01. Opportunity Recognition in Entrepreneurial Process

The process of opportunity recognition begins with an initial idea, which can come from employment, hobbies, social encounters, or observation. Entrepreneurs often seek opportunities for dissatisfaction and are subconsciously motivated by their talents, environmental context, and societal values. A preliminary idea is crucial for the entrepreneurial process, which involves full-scale development, and social, cultural, and personal elements.

The idea is evaluated and refined until it becomes a complete business opportunity. The process is evolutionary and iterative, involving cognitive sports, data accumulation, and idea introduction. The goal is to overcome expected challenges and maximize potential advantages.

• Information Scanning
• Thinking through Talking
• Information Seeking
• Assessing Resources

Through these activities, the preliminary concept is evolved and evaluated into a complete-fledged commercial enterprise opportunity. The evaluation of possibilities, in the course of the filtration or screening system, is a vital step inside the system of growing preliminary ideas into commercial enterprise opportunities.

The new breed of entrepreneurship – Click here

The Role of The Entrepreneur in the Opportunity Recognition Process

Entrepreneurship is a crucial factor in recognizing opportunities. Historically, the reason for entrepreneurship was attributed to psychological development. Mental studies can be divided into two groups: identifying entrepreneurial personality traits and examining socio-mental or socio-cultural factors. Socio-cultural attributes, such as ethnicity, gender, and family background, can influence entrepreneurial behavior. Existence-direction changes, such as job loss or cultural influences, can lead to business formation.

However, the effect of personality on entrepreneurial behavior remains inconclusive. Recent research has focused on differences in understanding, statistics, and cognitive behavior, highlighting the importance of prior knowledge and experience in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial alertness is also important, as entrepreneurs today interpret statistics differently than executives.

Businessman vs entrepreneur – Click here

The Role of The Environment in the Opportunity Recognition Process

The environment significantly influences the opportunity recognition process, with social contexts playing a crucial role in determining the success of entrepreneurial opportunities. Marketers use their networks to gather information. They gather statistics and access resources and information. To increase their possibilities, entrepreneurs interact with the community. Socioeconomic, cultural, technical, and political issues all have an impact on their success. Technological advancements and favorable political conditions can also stimulate entrepreneurs to start businesses.

02. Opportunity Exploitation in Entrepreneurial Process

Opportunity exploitation is a crucial phase in the entrepreneurial process, involving the transition from idea to concrete business concept, the quest for control, commitment to exploitation, modes of exploitation, factors influencing the decision, resource gathering and integration, and the role of networking. Entrepreneurs must identify specific resource requirements and find potential providers, then engage in strategic maneuvers to obtain these resources. Social networking plays a pivotal role in this process, as entrepreneurs act as organizers and coordinators of resources.

Opportunity exploitation is the bridge between ideation and market success, involving resource gathering, strategic networking, and the transformation of ideas into real-world solutions. The choices made during this phase can determine whether a new business is born or an existing one evolves to seize a fresh opportunity. It’s the heart of entrepreneurship, where ideas become action, and innovation meets the marketplace.

The Role of The Entrepreneur in the Opportunity Exploitation Process

Opportunity exploitation in entrepreneurship involves turning potential into tangible products or services. The entrepreneur’s mental attributes, such as risk aversion and prior experience, are crucial in recognizing and exploiting opportunities. Knowledge and experience are key, as they provide insights and expertise needed to make ventures a reality.

Successful entrepreneurs are action-oriented, taking action to turn their ideas into tangible businesses. Information processing styles also play a role in entrepreneurship, with creative individuals better equipped to build a resource base. For example, Alice, a risk-taker with experience in the sustainability industry, sees an opportunity in the growing demand for eco-friendly products. Her creative thinking helps her find unique ways to build her resource base.

The Role of The Environment in the Opportunity Exploitation Process

In the dynamic world of entrepreneurship, the environment in which an entrepreneur operates plays a dual role in the opportunity exploitation process. An entrepreneur’s network is a valuable resource, providing access to financial capital, emotional support, valuable information, and advice. The competitive landscape also plays a crucial role in entrepreneurship, with a favorable environment and high demand enabling entrepreneurs to exploit opportunities. Timing matters also play a role, with the age of technology and the competitive landscape influencing opportunity exploitation.

In industries with infancy, innovation is abundant, and lower competition and opportunity costs can be game-changers. For example, Sarah, an entrepreneur with a passion for sustainable fashion, can leverage her network to access investors and gain valuable insights into the eco-friendly textile market. This combination of resources and timing provides a strong foundation for success in the market.

Model of the opportunity exploitation process

The “opportunity exploitation process” is a crucial phase in the entrepreneurial journey, involving the transformation of a promising business opportunity into a practical business concept. This process includes translating the idea into a complete package, including resources, organizational structure, products or services, and a marketing plan. The entrepreneur plays a pivotal role in driving this transformation. They shape the business concept and set it on the path to success. The environment also plays a significant role, in providing support, resources, and competition. Entrepreneurs must be flexible and pivoting in times of challenges.

03. Value Creation in Entrepreneurial Process

Value creation is a crucial aspect of the entrepreneurial process, as it drives the journey, motivates everyone involved, and serves as a catalyst for future entrepreneurship. The perceived value created through opportunity exploitation motivates entrepreneurs customers, and even potential investors.

The outcomes of the entrepreneurial process can shape the future, as lessons learned and experiences gained to contribute to the development of human and intellectual capital. Even failures can be valuable lessons, leading to new insights, strategies, and innovative ideas. Therefore, value creation is not just about the present but also a driving force in shaping the future of entrepreneurship.

Did you know the “Difference between Businessman and Entrepreneur” – Click here

Levels and Types of Value Creation

Value creation in the realm of entrepreneurship isn’t a one-dimensional concept; it operates on multiple levels and takes various forms. Entrepreneurship impacts both personal and societal levels, with entrepreneurs seeking to accumulate wealth for personal success. This can stimulate economic growth, create new markets, and generate employment, contributing to society’s betterment. However, not all forms of wealth creation lead to societal benefits, such as organized crime or rent-seeking.

Entrepreneurial activities can also trigger changes within specific industries and regional economies. Different forms of value emerge. Including economic, non-economic, positive, negative, immediate, or long-term. Entrepreneurial opportunities can have a spectrum of outcomes, from success to failure.

The Role of The Entrepreneur in the Value Creation Process

The role of the entrepreneur in the value-creation process is a complex interplay of various factors. Let’s dissect this intricate relationship.

1. Ambiguous Impact of Personality

Studies on the direct influence of an entrepreneur’s personality on value creation have shown contradictory findings. Although personality qualities are undoubtedly important, the relationship is not simple. The entrepreneur’s personality can influence value creation, but this influence is often mediated by user behavior and external factors.

2. The Mediating Factors

An entrepreneur’s abilities and personality traits, such as creativity and strategic thinking, indirectly affect value creation. This influence is channeled through their work approach and focus. High-performing entrepreneurs, those driving successful firms, tend to concentrate on strategic tasks that drive sales growth, rather than getting bogged down in operational details.

3. The Critical Evaluation

At a certain juncture, the entrepreneur must evaluate the progress of opportunity exploitation. This involves weighing the expected payoffs against the results achieved. Based on this evaluation, the entrepreneur may decide to continue, pivot, or even abandon the venture. The decision to exit or continue is deeply linked to the company’s financial performance and a predefined performance threshold.

4. Exit Strategies

In the entrepreneurial world, exits are not uncommon. Even when a venture is performing well, entrepreneurs may decide to exit the stage. They might opt to sell the business. Also, aiming to capitalize on its value, as was seen during the dot-com boom. Different exit strategies, such as Initial Public Offerings or mergers and acquisitions, are often considered.

5. Succession and Organizational Mortality

However, the exit of the founding entrepreneur, especially in a relatively young company, can pose a significant challenge. It may lead to a succession problem, potentially threatening the organization’s survival. This challenge can result in organizational mortality, where the company struggles to find suitable leadership to carry it forward.

Corporate entrepreneurship – Click here

This exploration of the entrepreneurial process delves into its fundamental elements, from idea initiation to thriving venture creation. Successful entrepreneurship is a dynamic interplay between an entrepreneur’s unique characteristics and the environment. It’s an art and science, blending individual ingenuity and environmental dynamics. Understanding this journey helps entrepreneurs navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and shape the future of business and society.

FAQs on Entrepreneurial Process

What is the entrepreneurial process.

The entrepreneurial process is the series of steps and activities involved in starting and managing a new business. It includes opportunity identification and resource acquisition. Also, business plan creation, venture launch, and growth and development management.

Why entrepreneurship is a process?

Entrepreneurship is a process because it is not a single event. It is a journey that requires continuous learning. Also, adaptation, and growth. Entrepreneurs must be able to identify opportunities and develop products or services. Then they can meet those opportunities, and then successfully launch and manage their enterprises. The entrepreneurial process is complicated and challenging. It is also one that can be very rewarding.

What are the four (4) aspects of the entrepreneurial process?

The entrepreneurial process has four aspects. 

• The capacity to spot market issues or unmet wants that a new good or service may solve is known as opportunity identification.
• The capacity to create and carry out a strategy to take advantage of a chance that has been recognized is known as opportunity exploitation.
• Value creation is the process of creating and delivering goods or services that buyers are prepared to pay for.
• The capacity to get the resources required to launch and run a firm, including cash, personnel, and tools, is known as resource acquisition.

What are the three (3) major parts of the entrepreneurial process?

The three major parts of the entrepreneurial process are:

A. Opportunity Recognition

Entrepreneurial traits and experiences influence identifying untapped market needs, while the entrepreneurial ecosystem provides necessary support, resources, and networks for successful opportunity recognition.

B. Opportunity Exploitation

Opportunity exploitation involves entrepreneurs identifying and utilizing identified opportunities, leveraging resources, and leveraging the environment to access capital, markets, and support. This process involves a step-by-step journey from idea inception to product creation.

C. Value Creation

The value-creation process involves entrepreneurs shaping products and services to cater to customer needs, transforming societal levels from personal wealth to broader economic impact.

What are the six steps in the entrepreneurial process

The six steps in the entrepreneurial process are

• Idea generation – It is the process of coming up with novel business ideas.
• Opportunity evaluation – This is the process of considering the viability of business ideas.
• Business planning – This is the process of developing a roadmap for how the firm will be launched and operated.
• Resource acquisition – This is the process of collecting the resources required to start and operate the business.
• Venture launch – This is the process of getting the business to market.
• Growth management – This is the procedure of growing and extending the business.

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The road to entrepreneurial success: business plans, lean startup, or both?

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

ISSN : 2574-8904

Article publication date: 19 February 2021

Issue publication date: 18 June 2021

The goal of this research is to investigate the relationship between two different sets of practices, lean startup and business planning, and their relation to entrepreneurial performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected data from 120 entrepreneurs across the US about a variety of new venture formation activities within the categories of lean startup or business planning. They use hierarchical regression to examine the relationship between these activities and new venture performance using both a subjective and objective measure of performance.

The results show that talking to customers, collecting preorders and pivoting based on customer feedback are lean startup activities correlated with performance; writing a business plan is the sole business planning activity correlated with performance.

Research limitations/implications

This research lays the foundation for understanding the components of both lean startup and business planning. Moreover, these results demonstrate that the separation of lean startup and business planning represents a false dichotomy.

Practical implications

These findings suggest that entrepreneurs should engage in some lean startup activities and still write a business plan.

Originality/value

This article offers the first quantitative, empirical comparison of lean startup activities and business planning. Furthermore, it provides support for the relationship between specific lean startup activities and firm performance.

Business planning

• Entrepreneurship

Lean Startup

Welter, C. , Scrimpshire, A. , Tolonen, D. and Obrimah, E. (2021), "The road to entrepreneurial success: business plans, lean startup, or both?", New England Journal of Entrepreneurship , Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 21-42. https://doi.org/10.1108/NEJE-08-2020-0031

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Chris Welter, Alex Scrimpshire, Dawn Tolonen and Eseoghene Obrimah

Published in New England Journal of Entrepreneurship . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

No business plan survives first contact with a customer – Steve Blank

This quote represents the differing perspectives on the value of business planning relative to the value of lean startup methods proposed by Blank and others ( Blank and Dorf, 2012 ). Much of traditional entrepreneurial training centers on the business plan ( Honig, 2004 ). Collective research on business planning's antecedents ( Brinckmann et al. , 2019 ) and its performance outcomes have found nuanced results ( Brinckmann et al. , 2010 ), but there seem to be at least some instances where business planning reliably increases performance ( Welter and Kim, 2018 ). Studies suggest that the majority of prominent business schools offer business planning courses ( Honig, 2004 ; Katz et al. , 2016 ), and bookstores are filled with books detailing how to write a business plan ( Karlsson and Honig, 2007 ). Nonetheless, the research is fragmented at best, and often results in equivocal findings with regard to its relationship with firm performance ( Brinckmann et al. , 2010 , Delmar and Shane, 2003 ; Gruber, 2007 ). This lack of clear indication from researchers opens the door for critique of business planning from proponents of the lean startup ( Ghezzi et al. , 2015 ).

Lean startup methods have drawn increasing attention in entrepreneurial communities ( Ries, 2011 ). In accelerators, incubators and other spaces within startup ecosystems the wisdom of Eric Ries (2011) and Steve Blank ( Blank and Dorf, 2012 ) can be heard in training sessions and everyday conversations. Some entrepreneurial programs have adopted lean startup methods as well ( Bliemel, 2014 ). On one hand, conceptual articles have described how lean startup fits adjacent to current and past academic conversations ( Contigiani and Levinthal, 2019 ). On the other hand, practitioner articles have discussed the benefits and limitations of the models ( Ladd, 2016 ). In both cases, existing literature describes how these processes aim to avoid the pitfall of launching products that no one actually wants ( Blank, 2013 ).

Despite all the popular attention given to lean startup methods, little empirical research has been completed (see Trimi and Berbegal-Mirabent (2012) , Ghezzi et al. (2015) , and Ghezzi (2019) for exceptions). Some researchers (e.g. Frederickson and Brem, 2017 ) have drawn the parallels between lean startup methods and effectuation ( Sarasvathy, 2001 ), but these parallels do not sufficiently support the use of lean startup methods. While practitioners seem to embrace lean startup methods, academics have offered little in terms of direct investigation into those methods ( Shepherd and Gruber, 2020 ). Most of the research on lean startup methods focuses on cognitive processes ( Yang et al. , 2018 ; York and Danes, 2014 ). Recent critique ( Felin et al. , 2019 ) coupled with the dearth of empirical research calls into question the efficacy of lean startup methods. To that end, more research is needed to see how lean startup methods relate to new venture success especially in comparison to business planning. This is particularly important as new venture formation activities are the practices that can legitimize the firm ( De Clercq and Voronov, 2009 ).

As such, we propose the following question: which individual aspects of business planning and lean startup methods are related to success? We study the components of both business planning and lean startup methods as there is some academic support for aspects of lean startup such as experimentation ( Carmuffo et al. , 2019 ), but limited empirical investigation into lean startup more broadly. We specifically focus on the underlying activities that make up the processes of lean startup and business planning since our initial surveying showed that entrepreneurs often employ aspects of each. To examine this question, we created a survey that captured the various activities – both from lean startup and business planning – that entrepreneurs used in pursuing their new venture and compared those with measures of success.

Our findings suggest that certain lean startup activities and the act of writing a business plan are correlated with success. These findings help to undo a false dichotomy of either lean startup or business planning by suggesting that some activities from each side can lead to success. We contribute to business planning research by offering a possible explanation for the existing equivocal findings. Namely, that the act of writing a business plan may be important, but that the uses of a business plan for feedback or financing are not necessarily associated with success. We contribute to research on lean startup by offering the first quantitative support for specific lean startup activities. Taken together, this research lays the foundation for a more nuanced understanding of the value of business planning and lean startup methods.

Theoretical framework and hypotheses

The literature on business planning is vast focusing on both antecedents to business planning ( Brinckmann et al. , 2019 ) and outcomes of it ( Brinckmann et al. , 2010 ). Honig and colleagues have driven much of the research into business planning since the turn of the century ( Honig, 2004 ; Honig and Karlsson, 2004 ; Honig and Samuelsson, 2012 , 2014 ; Karlsson and Honig, 2009 ). They have challenged prior planning-performance paradigms that suggested planning would naturally increase performance ( Ajzen, 1985 ; Mintzberg and Waters, 1985 ; Ansoff, 1991 ). This debate about the value of planning has underscored the recent research into selection effects associated with business planning ( Burke et al. , 2010 ; Greene and Hopp, 2017 ).

Brinckmann et al. (2010) address this debate directly. Their meta-analytic review of business planning literature suggests that three contingencies need to be considered in terms of the effectiveness of business planning: uncertainty, limited prior information, and the lack of business planning structures. The presence of these three suggest that business planning may be less effective. We look at each of these three contingencies in more depth next.

For uncertainty, planning scholars (e.g. Priem et al. , 1995 ) suggest that unstable and uncertain environments would benefit most from planning as planning can reduce uncertainty through facilitating faster decision-making ( Dean and Sharfman, 1996 ). However, emergent strategies seem to be more effective at controlling uncertainty ( Mintzberg, 1994 ; Sarasvathy, 2001 ). Brinckmann et al. (2010) confirms the latter intuition suggesting that uncertainty makes planning efforts less effective. This logic falls in line with research on effectuation ( Sarasvathy, 2001 ), where planning is described as the appropriate strategy for risky environments and effectuation, in contrast, is appropriate for uncertain environments. Recent work has confirmed this logic depending on how accurate the entrepreneur can be when predicting the future ( Welter and Kim, 2018 ).

Turning to the concept of limited prior information, planning proponents suggest that the shorter feedback cycles in new and small firms combined with the positive motivational effects of planning will make it more effective ( Delmar and Shane, 2003 ). In essence, despite the lack of history for de novo firms, short cycle times create history quickly and planning itself serves to motivate these fledgling organizations. However, Brinckmann et al. (2010) find that these firms lack the information necessary to make such plans effective. As firms pursue novel strategies, planning seems to be less effective or firms abandon plans all together as they move forward ( Karlsson and Honig, 2009 ).

Finally, for plans to be effective firms need to have the structures in place to both plan and make use of those plans ( Brinckmann et al. , 2010 ). New firms tend to lack the organizational structures relevant to create and use plans ( Forbes, 2007 ). While Karlsson and Honig (2009) found that firms typically ignore or abandon plans after they have been made, often due to insufficient support structures, Honig and Samuelsson (2012) show that even when firms change their plans over time there is little impact on firm performance. In general, the literature on business planning suggests that planning has more benefits for established firms with data and history to support both the plan and the planning process.

Business planning activities improve the likelihood of success for new ventures.

Typically, business planning has been analyzed as the single act of writing a business plan (e.g. Honig and Karlsson, 2004 ). However, business planning is made up of a variety of activities ( Gruber, 2007 ), which entrepreneurs may utilize as a whole, or simply choose parts of the business planning process. It is worth noting that these specific activities are not mutually exclusive with lean startup activities that we will detail later. One source of the gap between the prevalence of business planning use and research supporting the efficacy of business plans may be this holistic perspective. The constituent parts of business planning may be executed as a whole, or may be chosen a la carte. Examining the various activities that make up business planning offers insight into which aspects of the process are related to firm performance.

Arguably the first step in the business planning process is the work that precedes the actual writing of a business plan. First, entrepreneurs must collect data – typically external data ( Brinckmann et al. , 2010 ). This data collection process may or may not result in an actual business plan being written and, therefore, can be treated as a separate step itself.

Beyond the data collection and writing, the planning process can play a role in routinizing the initial practices of entrepreneurs. While entrepreneurs may engage in social resourcing ( Keating et al. , 2014 ) and collective sense-making ( Wood and McKinley, 2010 ), the act of codifying the results of these activities can objectify these practices. Entrepreneurs engage socially on a number of dimensions in the pursuit of a venture, but physically writing down a business plan that can be shared externally can serve as a commitment mechanism. Entrepreneurs may share this plan with external stakeholders simply for feedback ( Wood and McKinley, 2010 ) or they may use it to seek funding ( Richbell et al. , 2006 ).

Writing a business plan improves the likelihood of success for new ventures.

Gathering secondary data improves the likelihood of success for new ventures.

Sharing a business plan with potential stakeholders in order to get feedback improves the likelihood of success for new ventures.

Sharing a business plan with potential financiers in order to obtain funding improves the likelihood of success for new ventures.

Lean startup

The concept and the phrase “Lean Startup” stem from Eric Ries (2011) and his popular press book by the same name. The phrase borrows from the idea of lean manufacturing in the sense of eliminating waste and pushing production and supply as late in the process as possible to delay purchasing until the last moment. The book draws primarily on Ries's personal experience in founding a company along with some consulting work. Further development of the ideas around lean startup methods comes from Steve Blank ( Blank and Dorf, 2012 ). Blank (2013) described three principles of lean startup: hypothesis creation, customer development, and agile development. Hypothesis creation represents the belief that founders begin with little more than untested hypotheses. Customer development represents the approach of interviewing and interacting with customers in order to verify or discard the aforementioned hypotheses. Finally, agile development conceptualizes that minimally viable products (MVPs) are deployed quickly to verify the hypotheses that are believed to be true.

These concepts are often practiced by entrepreneurs and taught at incubators and accelerators ( Ladd, 2016 ), but there is little academic research to support these practices. Ghezzi et al. (2015) offer one of the only comparative empirical studies between lean startup and business planning. Their findings from a four-case study suggest that lean startup methods lead to superior outcomes. The majority of other papers are conceptual explorations of lean startup methods focusing on the decision-making of entrepreneurs ( Frederickson and Brem, 2017 ; Yang et al. , 2018 ; York and Danes, 2014 ). These conceptual pieces draw parallels between lean startup and effectuation ( Sarasvathy, 2001 ).

The literature on effectuation is much larger than that of lean startup (see recent reviews and retrospectives by Arend et al. (2015) and Reymen et al. (2015) ). Effectuation has been defined as entrepreneurial expertise that utilizes heuristics to make decisions focused on the means available rather than on desired ends ( Sarasvathy, 2001 ). One heuristic, in particular, has driven the comparison between lean startup and effectuation: experimentation ( Camuffo et al. , 2019 ). However, the comparisons may stem from the lack of clear boundaries in effectuation (see Welter et al. , 2016 ). While some researchers might argue that effectuation is a more robust articulation of lean startup ( Frederickson and Brem, 2017 ), there are significant departures. Effectuation makes no mention of MVPs or agile development, but instead focuses on the means at hand ( Sarasvathy and Dew, 2008 ). These means direct the venture as opposed to a focus on a specific end in mind ( Sarasvathy, 2001 ). This is in contrast to lean startup methods that create specific tests in order to verify a predetermined path ( Blank, 2013 ). Thus, researchers have suggested that lean startup intersects with effectuation, as well as other research streams ( Contigiani and Levinthal, 2019 ; Ghezzi, 2019 ).

Utilizing lean startup methods improves the likelihood of success for new business ventures.

Similar to business planning, lean startup is a process with several component parts from which an entrepreneur may select without needing to accomplish each task. Moreover, these component parts may be used in conjunction with business planning activities. Since lean startup has been developed more by practitioners than academics, there is not a clearly-defined, comprehensive list of activities that constitutes lean startup. Bortolini et al. (2018) review the academic and popular press literature on lean startup and describe the process at a more theoretical level than the work of Blank (2013) and Ries (2011) . Between these two perspectives, a specific list of six lean startup activities can be derived.

The lean startup process begins with customer discovery ( Blank and Dorf, 2012 ). In its most basic sense, the process of customer discovery begins with interviewing potential customers to surface their problems. Blank (2013) describes how lean startups “get out of the building” throughout the process to validate customer assumptions regarding all aspects of a potential business model. This validation process involves a variety of different forms of potential customer interviews.

From there, entrepreneurs craft hypotheses and build experiments as Bortolini et al. (2018) describe. This part of the process can be deconstructed into developing prototypes, showing those prototypes to customers, and running experiments. These sub-processes are discrete steps that may depend on each other, but may also occur independently. For instance, entrepreneurs may develop prototypes in their own quest to improve the product without actually showing a given prototype to potential customers. Alternatively, entrepreneurs may run experiments that do not necessarily involve the use of a prototype. These experiments may include observing customers in their daily routine to better understand customer problems. Each of these processes, however, align with the practitioner perspectives and the theoretical perspectives ( Blank and Dorf, 2012 ; Bortolini et al. , 2018) .

Beyond these specific activities, we examine two other activities within lean startup: collecting preorders and pivoting. Collecting preorders for new products has been suggested by Ries (2011) , but also aligns with research on enrolling external stakeholders ( Burns et al. , 2016 ) and the principles of effectuation ( Sarasvathy, 2001 ). By seeking out early stakeholders to make commitments like preorders or input on prototypes, entrepreneurs seek social resources to enable and direct their progress ( Keating et al. , 2014 ).

Interviewing potential customers improves the likelihood of success for new business ventures.

Developing a prototype improves the likelihood of success for new business ventures.

Showing a prototype to potential customers improves the likelihood of success for new business ventures.

Experimenting to test business model assumptions improves the likelihood of success for new business ventures.

Collecting preorders improves the likelihood of success for new business ventures.

Pivoting based on customer feedback improves the likelihood of success for new business ventures.

We began our study by conducting semi-structured interviews with five entrepreneurs to guide the construction of the survey. These entrepreneurs were selected from the authors' personal networks to represent a variety of perspectives and experiences. The group included two female founders and three male founders; two of the founders created high-tech scalable businesses and three represented small businesses. The interviews lasted 75 min on average.

All interviewees were familiar with business plans. All interviewees had heard of “lean startup” but only one entrepreneur had any education on the subject – they had read Eric Ries's book ( Ries, 2011 ). Nonetheless, none of the entrepreneurs could articulate specific aspects of lean startup or how it would be different from or related to writing a business plan.

The data collected from these interviews was used to develop a survey for distribution to a wider group of entrepreneurs. Within the qualitative data we noted how both business planning and lean startup represented groups of activities to the entrepreneurs. In discussing business planning, all of the entrepreneurs discussed more than simply producing a formal business plan. While four of the five entrepreneurs created formal business plans, each discussed a slightly different process. Some included financial planning while others mentioned secondary research. On the lean startup approach, the entrepreneurs did not specifically state which activities they pursued that were in line with lean startup, but multiple entrepreneurs mentioned each of the aspects of lean startup that we included in the survey.

This qualitative investigation altered our survey design to focus more on the activities that entrepreneurs completed rather than focusing on their understanding of the different approaches. Before distributing the survey, we tested it with two entrepreneurs to obtain feedback on its understandability – one from the original interviewees and one unfamiliar with the research project. Based on these tests, minor modifications to word choice were made.

We reached out to the startup ecosystem in a major Midwestern city. The online survey was emailed to incubators, accelerators, individual entrepreneurs, and organizations that reach outside the Midwest. Participation in the study was voluntary. Participants received a $1 USD donation to a non-profit organization of their choice for completing the survey. A total of 41 entrepreneurs responded to the initial survey request. We excluded seven of these cases because they did not adequately describe their business.

To bolster the sample size, we enlisted the Qualtrics panel development team to collect approximately 100 additional survey responses from entrepreneurs. Qualtrics, in addition to providing online survey tools, is a research panel aggregator with the ability to recruit hard-to-reach demographics. Qualtrics utilizes specialized recruitment campaigns to assemble niche survey panels based on pre-specified criteria. To fit in this group, entrepreneurs must own a business that they have started within the last ten years. Respondents in this group were compensated with $25 USD for their participation and were not offered any donation option. A total of 106 completed surveys were returned from this group. We excluded 20 of these cases because they were unable to adequately describe their business. See the Appendix for the complete survey instrument.

Participants and procedures

The participants completed an online questionnaire with thirty-two questions on the details of how they started their business, the success of the business, activities they conducted while starting the business, and demographic variables. The sample was recruited via a snowball sample method as well as through a Qualtrics panel as described above.

The majority of our sample is comprised of Caucasians (81.7%), followed by Black/African Americans (11.7%), then Hispanics (3.3%), then Asians (1.7%). The median age of our sample was 46.5 years old and the sample was 49.2% female. The majority of our dataset is currently married (61.7%) with 55.8% having at least a bachelor's degree. Table 1 shows the means and standard deviations for each of the variables as well as the correlations between them.

Dependent variables

There are various difficulties in obtaining concrete objective measures of success from entrepreneurs. Reasons stem from factors such as small business owners not always running their businesses to maximize financial performance ( Jacobs et al. , 2016 ) or running a business because it allows for a preferred lifestyle ( Jennings and Beaver, 1997 ; Walker and Brown, 2004 ). Because of this, there are a few ways researchers can gain acceptable insight into the success of an entrepreneurial venture. One approach is to use subjective measures when other types of information are unavailable ( Dawes, 1999 ). Thus, following previous research ( Besser, 1999 ; Jacobs et al. , 2016 ) which has noted that entrepreneurial success may not always mean optimal financial measures and instead may be more along the lines of maintaining an acceptable level of income for themselves and their employees ( Beaver, 2002 ) or sustaining a lifestyle more aimed at being part of a creative output than being financially successful ( Chaston, 2008 ), we first analyzed the entrepreneurs' perceived organizational success. A second approach is to ask about objective success measures. We strengthened our study by asking entrepreneurs about objective measures of their firm's success via focusing on their firm's growth, specifically, asking about objective growth indicators in terms of increased number of employees, increased number of customers, or increased revenue as previous research has used these measures to indicate success ( Walker and Brown, 2004 ). Therefore, we analyzed the full model for both the subjective and objective dependent variables.

Given that entrepreneurial motivations can vary widely ( Shane et al. , 2003 ), defining success can vary based on the individual. To address this, studies have surveyed entrepreneurs for their subjective perception of their venture's success ( Fisher et al. , 2014 ; Keith et al. , 2016 ). Walker and Brown (2004 , p. 585) find that “Personal satisfaction, pride and a flexible lifestyle were the most important considerations for these business owners.” They argue that objective, financial measures that are often used in research offer objectivity and accessibility, but may not capture the true value of success for many entrepreneurs. These alternative motivations make success difficult to quantify objectively, leading researchers to utilize more subjective measures. Therefore, in line with prior research on entrepreneurial success perceptions ( Jacobs et al. , 2016 ; Besser, 1999 ), we asked respondents “How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statement? My business is a success.” Respondents rated their agreement on a five-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Agree, 5 = Strongly Disagree).

Firm Growth:

To strengthen the findings from our subjective measure of success we also asked respondents about objective measures of firm growth. By asking respondents about obvious measures of growth we can offer a more objective view on the success of the firm. We asked respondents if their firm had grown by any of the following three metrics: number of employees, number of customers, or total revenue (cf. Jacobs et al. , 2016 ). Given the variety of motivations of entrepreneurs, we chose not to limit the type of growth that would reflect success. In some cases, an entrepreneur may seek to increase the impact of the business by providing services to a greater number of customers, while maintaining a lean staff to control pricing. Alternatively, an entrepreneur may be seeking autonomy, and therefore choose not to hire in order to create greater autonomy. However, it is likely that some firm growth – in revenue, employees, or customers – is likely to occur in successful firms. Therefore, we combined these three types of growth as a dichotomous variable, wherein growth in any one or more of these areas would be coded as a “1” for growth and an answer of no growth in all of these areas would be coded as a “0” for no growth.

Independent variables

Business planning.

We defined business planning using four activities. We asked respondents if they (1) wrote a business plan [ Write BPlan ]; (2) gathered secondary data on industry statistics or trends [ Secondary Data ]; (3) shared your business plan with people outside the company for feedback [ BPlan Feedback ]; and (4) shared your business plan with people outside the company for funding [ BPlan Funding ]. These were not loaded as a factor as these do not represent an underlying factor, but rather are individual activities that all represent a variety of activities pertaining to the use of business plans.

We defined lean startup using six activities. We asked respondents if they (1) interviewed potential customers [ Interview ]; (2) created a prototype [ Prototype ]; (3) showed a prototype to potential customers for feedback [ Show Proto ]; (4) conducted an experiment to better understand some portion of your business [ Experiment ]; (5) used customer feedback to alter the direction of your business (“pivoted”) [ Pivot ]; and (6) accepted money for preorders [ Preorders ]. Similar to business planning activities, these were not loaded as a factor, as these activities do not represent an underlying factor, but rather a collection of potential activities.

For each of the IVs, respondents were first asked which of the above activities they engaged in during their venture startup process. The order of the activities was randomized. For each activity that was selected, respondents were asked to rate “how much did each of those activities positively impact the performance of this venture?” Respondents were given a five-point Likert scale (1 = “Not at all” to 5 = “A great deal”) and if the respondent did not do the activity, the response was coded as a 0. To calculate the IVs, each response was weighted by the level of impact. For example, if the respondent rated Experiment as a 5 for a great deal of impact, then it would be coded 5. If it was rated 3, then it would be coded 3. Any activity not completed was not rated (or effectively coded a 0).

We used the ratings to allow for variance in the impact of any activity. In our preliminary interviews, we heard that entrepreneurs may have performed the same activity, such as interviewing customers, but some placed a greater emphasis on this activity whereas others performed it only cursorily. We also performed a robustness check on the data using non-weighted values for the IVs and found similar results (these are available from the corresponding author upon request).

Control variables

We controlled for the following variables: (1) the firm's age in years [Firm Age] ; (2) the entrepreneur's prior startup experience [Ent XP] ; (3) the entrepreneur's age in years [Age] ; (4) the entrepreneur's education level [Education] ; (5) the case sample [case Sample]; and (6) if the firm was a high-tech growth firm [Hi-tech growth firms] . Firm age is likely related to perceptions of success in the minds of entrepreneurs. If an entrepreneur perceives themselves as unsuccessful, they are likely to quit pursuing their venture. Thus, entrepreneurs with older businesses are more likely to have higher perceptions of their own success. Ent XP, Age , and Education have all been investigated in the past for their relationship to entrepreneurial firm performance (e.g. Hechavarría and Welter, 2015 ). We also control for the case sample since our sample was collected in two different processes. Finally, we control for Hi-tech growth firms since some firms in our sample are oriented toward accelerated growth and others may be content with stable returns, which may impact the use and effectiveness of business planning ( Brinckmann et al. , 2010 ).

Regression results for success DV

We tested our hypotheses using hierarchical regression [ 3 ]. In Step 1, we entered Firm Age (in years), the entrepreneur's prior startup experience, the entrepreneur's age, the entrepreneur's education level, the case source, and whether the firm was a hi-tech growth firm as controls ( Van Dyne and LePine, 1998 ). In Step 2, we entered our independent variables that relate to the business plan approach: writing a business plan, gathering secondary data on the industry, sharing the business plan to receive feedback, and sharing the business plan to obtain funding. We also included the variables related to the lean startup approach: interviewing potential customers, creating prototypes, showing prototypes to potential customers for feedback, conducting an experiment to better understand a portion of the business, pivoting based on customer feedback, and accepting money for preorders.

Table 1 reports descriptive statistics and correlations, whereas Table 2 presents the hierarchical regression results for the success dependent variable. As can be seen in Table 2 , consistent with H1a , writing a business plan was related to success ( β  = 0.09, p  = 0.09). However, we do not find support for our other hypotheses: gathering secondary data on the industry, sharing the business plan to receive feedback, and sharing the business plan to obtain funding were all not significantly related to success.

When we looked at the activities that contribute to lean startup methods, we found that interviewing potential customers ( β  = 0.09, p  = 0.08) and accepting money for preorders ( β  = 0.15, p  = 0.03) supported H2a and H2e respectively, suggesting these are correlated with success. Similar to the business plan approach there was not sufficient support for all our hypotheses: creating prototypes, showing prototypes to potential customers for feedback, conducting an experiment to better understand a portion of the business, and pivoting were not supported. The findings with regard to each hypothesis are summarized in Table 3 .

Regression results for growth DV

Similar to the subjective success dependent variable, we tested our hypotheses using logistic regression for our objective growth dependent variable [ 4 ]. A logistic regression was performed for each of our approaches, the business plan and lean startup since our growth DV is dichotomous ( Mason et al. , 2018 ).

Table 1 reports descriptive statistics and correlations, whereas Table 4 presents the logistic regression results for the effects of writing a business plan, gathering secondary data on the industry, sharing the business plan to receive feedback, and sharing the business plan to obtain funding had on our growth dependent variable. The logistic regression model was statistically significant, χ 2 (10) = 39.16, p  < 0.005. The model explained 39.2% (Nagelkerke R 2 ) of the variance in business growth and correctly classified 69.2% of cases. As can be seen in Table 4 , consistent with H1a , writing a business plan was related to success ( β  = 0.30, p  = 0.036). As before we did not find support for our other hypotheses: gathering secondary data on the industry, sharing the business plan to receive feedback, and sharing the business plan to obtain funding.

Next, we looked at the actions that constitute lean startup, interviewing potential customers, creating prototypes, showing prototypes to potential customers for feedback, conducting an experiment to better understand a portion of the business, and pivoting based on customer feedback had on our growth dependent variable. The logistic regression model was statistically significant, χ 2 (12) = 53.82, p  < 0.005. The model explained 51.0% (Nagelkerke R 2 ) of the variance in business growth and correctly classified 85% of cases. Our logistic regression results found that interviewing potential customers ( β  = 0.25, p  = 0.08), accepting money for preorders ( β  = 0.89, p  = 0.04), and pivoting based on customer feedback ( β  = 0.34, p  = 0.03), provided support for H2a , H2e , and H2f respectively, suggesting these are correlated with success in terms of growth. We did not find support for our other hypotheses about lean startup activities. These were, creating prototypes, showing prototypes to potential customers for feedback, conducting an experiment to better understand a portion of the business, and pivoting. The findings with regard to each hypothesis are summarized in Table 5 .

In this paper, we sought to understand the relationship between lean startup activities and success as well as the relationship between business planning activities and success. To answer this question, we began by gathering qualitative data from entrepreneurs to better understand their perspective and language regarding these two approaches. From there, we created a survey and collected responses from 120 entrepreneurs about their activities and their perception of success and the growth of their firms. Controlling for common influencers of success, we found that the act of writing a business plan ( H1a ), interviewing potential customers ( H2a ), and taking preorders ( H2e ) were all correlated with subjective perceptions of success. For the firm growth dependent variable, we found that the act of writing a business plan ( H1a ), taking preorders ( H2e ), and pivoting based on customer feedback ( H2f ) were all correlated with objective measures of firm growth. Interestingly, these results represent a combination of lean startup and business planning activities. What is more, the two activities that are supported by both dependent variables, represent the most well-researched activities. As mentioned, the literature on business planning is well developed ( Honig and Karlsson, 2004 ), and the use of preorders is most directly tied to research on enrolling stakeholders ( Burns et al. , 2016 ) as well as effectuation ( Sarasvathy, 2001 ).

Our results give some understanding to the prior equivocal findings on business planning ( Brinkmann et al. , 2010 ). The qualitative data we gathered suggests that entrepreneurs complete different activities in their business planning process. In the past, there has not been much discussion about separate aspects of business planning or the impact they may have. Our findings suggest that the act of writing a business plan is related to success, but the other business planning activities – gathering secondary data, sharing the business plan for feedback or funding – are not related. This suggests that the planning process itself may mean more than the uses of a business plan. Even if a business plan is not revised or revisited as an entrepreneur pursues their venture ( Karlsson and Honig, 2009 ), the act of writing the plan is still connected with success. Entrepreneurs going through the exercise of planning are likely to gain a better understanding of the entire endeavor of launching a new business. This would give entrepreneurs a better grasp of what the range of possible outcomes would be and likely temper any overly optimistic and unfounded hopes. Therefore, it is likely that simply writing the business plan helps calibrate entrepreneur expectations, which, in turn, helps entrepreneurs achieve success.

Rather than viewing lean startup as a cohesive whole, our qualitative data suggests that entrepreneurs make use of differing combinations of lean startup activities. This discovery informed our survey which offers some of the first direct quantitative evidence of the efficacy of lean startup methods. What we find, however, is that not all activities are linked to success. Perhaps the most straightforward finding is that taking preorders is correlated with both subjective and objective measures of success. If entrepreneurs are able to complete their first sales prior to actually creating their products or services, then success seems much more likely. Venture success, in this case, is agnostic toward the level of innovation in the firm. As such, the critique of lean startup from Felin et al. (2019) as a method that helps orient entrepreneurs to ideas that can be quickly and transparently tested still requires further investigation.

The other relevant activities are those most aligned with customers. Interviewing customers ensures that entrepreneurs design businesses that serve customers rather than building something that no one wants ( Blank and Dorf, 2012 ). However, it is worth noting that interviewing customers must be done with an awareness of the entrepreneur's own cognitive biases ( Chen et al. , 2015 ). Furthermore, pivoting as a result of these discussions with customers also shows a response to customers' desires.

The most interesting aspect of our findings is likely the combination of activities across business planning and lean startup. While lean startup proponents might argue that “no business plan survives its first contact with customers” ( Blank and Dorf, 2012 , p. 53), the act of writing a business plan is correlated with success. It is worth noting that the separation between lean startup and business planning may be a false dichotomy. The underlying activities are not mutually exclusive and do not seem to be detrimental to each other. It is entirely possible, and based on these results advisable, that an entrepreneur would interview customers throughout the process of creating a business plan and use customer feedback to alter both the plan and the business itself. Furthermore, taking customer preorders serves to solidify the relationship between customers and the firm which would only improve that communication.

Limitations

In order to create one of the first quantitative, empirical investigations of business planning and lean startup practices, some tradeoffs needed to be made. We believe that while these limitations may restrict the strength of some of our findings, the direct nature of our approach offers a contribution to the ongoing conversations among scholars and practitioners.

Our sample size is 120. Obviously, a larger sample may lead to more robust and generalizable results. Furthermore, we gathered the sample using two different methods and controlling for the sample method was a significant predictor. We leave it to further research to expand upon our findings and investigate various entrepreneurial samples for differences that may arise.

One of our dependent variables was a subjective measure of success, which may be considered a weakness. We used this measure given the variety of preferred outcomes an entrepreneur may be pursuing – financial objectives, personal objectives, or mission-based objectives. Our other dependent variable was an objective measure of growth across three categories and serves to bolster confidence in the subjective measure.

Another area of concern may be common method variance given that we collected both independent variables and dependent variables from the same instrument. To address this concern, we collected data from individual entrepreneurs that all represented different companies and utilized two different samples so as to minimize the issues that may arise from common method variance ( Chang et al. , 2010 ). Lastly, our independent variables are more objective. For example, writing a business plan is a discrete event as is creating a prototype. For these reasons, we do not believe the common method variance is a major concern for this study.

One other potential weakness is the degree to which entrepreneurs actually utilized the activities of lean startup or business planning. The weighting scheme we employed aims to address this issue by weighting the degree to which entrepreneurs found each activity useful. However, we cannot be sure whether or not an entrepreneur executed the given activity well and this variability goes uncaptured in our study. Quantitative studies like this one will typically suffer from this limitation but case studies may be able to overcome these weaknesses (see Ghezzi et al. , 2015 ).

Finally, our design is cross sectional and does not allow us to make causal inferences. We can only imply the relationship between our independent and dependent variables. Our hope is this is a first step to future research which may be better able to test the causality of the various aspects of business planning and lean startup as they relate to entrepreneurial success.

Implications for research and practice

This manuscript has important implications for research and practice. With respect to research, we have demonstrated that aspects of business planning and lean startup both are associated with success. Furthermore, entrepreneurs seem unlikely to enact either business planning or lean startup wholesale but are likely to pursue individual aspects of these concepts. Future research can investigate how entrepreneurs select between activities as well as how training and education regarding these practices impact the entrepreneurs' choice. The training and education surrounding the entrepreneur represent aspects of the organizing context ( Johannisson, 2011 ), which influence how entrepreneurs construct their firms. Therefore, future research could add further institutional aspects or conduct randomized controlled trials to see the impact of these practices in the organizing context.

In terms of implications for practice, this research highlights the use of a variety of activities when it comes to entrepreneurial success. Some of the activities from both lean startup and business planning are useful for entrepreneurs. This also offers insight for educators as they seek to equip the next generation of entrepreneurs. Educators can offer potential entrepreneurs a wide range of activities without prognosticating one aspect of the false dichotomy between lean startup and business planning.

In this paper, we provide one of the first quantitative empirical studies investigating lean startup methods and business planning. In breaking down these areas, we undermine the false dichotomy between these two startup tools. Our findings demonstrate that truly understanding customers through preorders and interviews can lead to better business plans and better pivots. Ultimately, this results in firms with a greater chance of success. Understanding the variety of activities that entrepreneurs can pursue helps entrepreneurs and educators increase the chances of success for new businesses.

Correlations

Summary regression results for the growth DV

We do not believe that business planning exists as a latent construct necessarily comprised of these activities, but rather each of these activities are potential components of the concept referred to as “business planning” in prior research.

Similar to business planning activities, we believe that lean startup is not a latent construct but rather these activities in some combination is what is meant when practitioners and scholars refer to lean startup. As such we test each of the activities individually rather than as a construct.

Following the extant guidelines on regression assumptions ( Osborne and Waters, 2002 ), we tested our model to ensure the regression assumptions were met. First, to check if our error terms ( Flatt and Jacobs, 2019 ) are normally distributed, the P - P plot suggests normality as the plot is largely linear. Second, to check for a linear relationship between the independent and dependent variable, our residual plot showed a linear relationship. Third, as our variables were not latent, there is no concern for measurement error for this approach. However, we did follow best practices suggested by Flatt and Jacobs (2019) and tested the Durbin–Watson statistic. Our value for this measure is 1.5 and their guidelines are that this statistic should be close to 2. Values between 1.2 and 1.6 represent only a minor violation of the statistical independence of error terms. Finally, to address the assumption of homoscedasticity, inspection of our standardized residuals showed our residuals scattered around the 0 (horizontal line). Therefore, for our dependent variable of success, we can feel comfortable our data meets the assumptions of linear regression.

As this dependent variable was analyzed using logistic regression, we analyzed our data following best practices from Garson (2012) . First, our dependent variable is dichotomous. Second our scatterplot showed no outliers in our data. Third, the correlation table showed no evidence for multicollinearity as no correlations were above 0.9 ( Tabachnick et al. , 2007 ). Hence, we feel our data meets the assumptions for logistic regression.

Appendix Qualtrics Survey

[Business Background]

Started (or am starting it) myself

When you first started pursuing the business, how many people were on the founding team (including yourself)?

High Tech Startup (External/Venture funded)

Steady Growth Business (Internally/Self-funded)

Lifestyle Business

Business Idea

Decision to Start a Business

Occurred Together

Month (1–12)

Year (YYYY)

[Lean Start Up, Business Planning Practices]

Interviewed potential customers

Created a prototype

Showed a prototype to potential customers for feedback

Conducted an experiment to better understand some portion of your business

Wrote a business plan

Accepted money for pre-orders

Used customer feedback to alter the direction of your business ("pivoted")

Gathered secondary data on industry statistics or trends

Shared your business plan with people outside the company for feedback

Shared your business plan with people outside the company for funding

[Demographics]

How old are you? 0.5

Prefer not to answer

Black or African American

American Indian or Alaska Native

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Living with a partner

Never married

Up to 8th grade

Some High School

High School Diploma

Some College

Associate's Degree

Bachelor's Degree

Some Graduate School

Master's Degree

More than 1

[Success Criteria]

My business is a success

Increased Annual Revenue

Increased Annual Customers

Increased Number of Employees

Thank you for completing the survey!

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Acknowledgements

A portion of this research was funded by the Downing Scholars research grant at Xavier University.

Corresponding author

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Business plans for new inventions, how to write a description for a business plan.

• What Can You Learn by Comparing Successful & Unsuccessful Businesses?
• What Is the Business Planning Process?

Ventures that are thoughtfully planned are more likely to succeed than those based primarily on guesswork and hope. The business planning process in entrepreneurship helps an entrepreneur identify exactly what needs to be accomplished to build the venture, and what human and financial resources are required to implement the plan. It is a planning tool that helps entrepreneur startups get where they are going. The forecast profit and loss statement provides a means to compare actual results to what had been forecast, and make corrections to business strategy if shortfalls in revenue occur.

Aspects of a Business Plan

According to the Small Business Administration, business planning for a start-up venture or an established company does not have to be complicated. You start by describing your products and services in relationship to those of competitors. You describe what you will be doing that is superior to what customers have seen from these other companies. This answers the critical question of why your products solve a significant, current customer need. You then devise strategies for introducing your products and services to the market. You determine the costs of producing the products or delivering the services and the marketing costs required to attract customers. You also plan the managerial and staff resources required to accomplish all of these tasks, when they will be hired, and what their compensation will be.

Know Your Customer

It is vital for entrepreneurs to understand who their target customers are--those who can benefit the most from the company’s products or services. According to Forbes , knowing your customer can help you show that there is significant opportunity and a good market for the goods or services you are trying to provide. Knowing these prime customers’ demographic characteristics allows you to tailor the marketing message so it is most effective. Communicating with teenagers requires a different message and possibly different media than reaching seniors. A depth of understanding about your competition is similarly important. You want to identify their strengths so you don’t attempt to compete with them head-on in a market where they have built an insurmountable advantage. Knowing their weaknesses shows you where you can capture customers from them.

Skills for Success

The ability to envision how you want your company to evolve over the next three to five years is important. These long-range goals help you determine the steps and strategies you need to implement to reach them. A basic knowledge of finance concepts helps you prepare logical financial models and projections using spreadsheet software. Entrepreneurs should also have an understanding of all the functional areas of a business so they can accurately project the costs of running the business.

Planning Versus Writing

Entrepreneurs don’t always understand that the planning process itself is of value. They have been advised they should have a business plan document ready to present to potential investors so they--sometimes reluctantly--devote the time to writing a business plan. Ideally, the document is the final product of a planning process that would be completed whether or not the company was actively seeking capital. The plan is very much like a road map. It helps you choose the best route to get to your destination--creating a successful venture.

Common Financial Miscalculations

Entrepreneurs often underestimate how difficult it will be to launch a company. Gaining the attention and trust of potential customers may take longer than the entrepreneur envisioned. This can result in start-up capital being quickly depleted. In a worst case scenario, the company can go out of business because its funding runs out. Adding five to ten percent more capital to the start-up budget is a prudent way to allow for both lower than planned revenues and higher than anticipated expenses.

• Forbes: Basic Structure of a Business Plan for Beginners

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Stages of Entrepreneurial Process

• Post author: Anuj Kumar
• Post published: 18 September 2023
• Post category: Entrepreneurship
• Post comments: 0 Comments

The entrepreneurial process is a leadership function that centers around the dynamics of entrepreneurial growth and change. It is a process comprising several distinct stages.

Table of Contents

• 1 Table of Contents
• 2.1 Exploring Entrepreneurial Context
• 2.2 Identifying Opportunities
• 2.3 Starting Venture
• 2.4 Managing Venture
• 2.5 Choosing Competitive Strategy
• 3.1 What are the stages of the entrepreneurial process?

Exploring Entrepreneurial Context

Identifying opportunities, starting venture, managing venture, choosing competitive strategy, faqs about the entrepreneurial process, entrepreneurial process.

From exploring the various aspects of the entrepreneurial context to identifying opportunities, starting and managing the entrepreneurial venture , and choosing the competitive strategy in action. Let’s look at each of these decisions and activities and the following are the stages of the entrepreneurial process:

Why is it important to look at the entrepreneurial context? Because the context determines the “rule” of the game and what decisions are likely to be successful. The context includes the realities of the new economy, society’s laws and regulations that compose the legal environment , and the realities of the changing world of work.

Entrepreneurs should be aware of the context within which entrepreneurial decisions are made. Only through exploring the context can entrepreneurs discover the untapped opportunities and competitive advantage(s) that may lead to the development of a potentially successful entrepreneurial venture.

A crucial aspect of the entrepreneurial process is identifying opportunities. What are opportunities? These opportunities are positive external trends or changes that provide unique and distinct possibilities for innovating and creating value. There are thousands of opportunities available to an entrepreneur .

Some of them are not real opportunities with high potential. Some opportunities have growth prospects. Entrepreneurs search for profitable ones and then select an attractive business opportunity.

However, just identifying an opportunity isn’t enough. The entrepreneurial process also involves pinpointing a possible competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is what sets an organization apart; it’s an organization’s competitive edge. Having a competitive advantage is crucial for an organization’s long-term success and survival.

Once entrepreneurs have explored the external context and identified possible opportunities and competitive advantage(s), they must look at the issues involved with actually starting up their entrepreneurial venture.

Included in this phase of the entrepreneurial process are the following activities; researching the feasibility of the venture, planning the venture, organizing the venture, and launching the venture. Financial, physical, and managerial resources must be collected to launch the venture.

Once the entrepreneurial venture is up and running the next step in the entrepreneurial process is managing the venture. An entrepreneur also must effectively manage the venture by managing processes, managing people, and managing growth. This requires the talents of leading, decision-making, executing, controlling , and various managerial skills.

Once the entrepreneurial venture is up and running, the last step is to choose the competitive strategy. Peter Drucker mentions the following specific entrepreneurial strategies. These are

• Being fastest with the most.
• Creative imitation.
• Entrepreneurial judo.
• Finding and occupying a specialized ecological niche.
• Changing values and characteristics by creating utility, by delivering what represents true value to the customer, by adopting the customer’s social and economic reality, and by appropriate pricing .

What are the stages of the entrepreneurial process?

The stages of the entrepreneurial process are: 1. Exploring Entrepreneurial Context 2. Identifying Opportunities 3. Starting Venture 4. Managing Venture 5. Choosing Competitive Strategy.

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📖 4 Entrepreneurial Process Stages [Model]

• Carlos Barraza
• October 23, 2018
• Business Planning , Entrepreneurship

The  entrepreneurial culture  and spirit is on those who decide to take one step ahead to achieve success. It is a long-term process, that visionaires will have to keep on working to transform their environment. There are several models created by academics, that shows what is the entrepreneurial process about.

Entrepreneurial process definition

The entrepreneurial development of a person goes beyond education, which requires various factors to take place this complex process. I added the definition of  William Bygrave , a professor at Babson College, about the entrepreneurial process.

The entrepreneurial process is a set of stages and events that follow one another. These entrepreneurial process stages are: the idea or conception of the business, the event that triggers the operations, implementation and growth.  A critical factor that drive the development of the business at each stage as with most human behavior, entrepreneurial traits are shaped by personal attributes and environment.

The attitudes of the people are those who are shaping their own surroundings, if an entrepreneur looks for the characteristics of successful people, their chances of success increase, specially if they belong to an  entrepreneurial ecosystem .

Entrepreneurial process stages

In the rest of the article it can be found two models that reflect what the entrepreneurial process is. In this section I will mention the stages of the model of the University of Pretoria, trying to simplify main points that an entrepreneur should consider.

1. Idea generation

The entrepreneur begins to wonder why there is not available a product or service, why not improve certain things, how to generate income to cover their expenses, etc. Thousands of questions might rise, so them will help to identify opportunities to meet the market needs. In previous years, there where not enough amount of goods and services. It was a little bit easier to position a business, however now it requires a search for information and market analysis to see the possibility of success. It is possible that at this point in the entrepreneurial process, there are many people, since the generation of ideas can be much easier. However, the step towards a decision making is where many can stop and perhaps even abandon the idea from the starting a business.

2. Decision making and business planning

A critical point in the entrepreneurial process is deciding to start the project. Be active and stay motivated are the main factors for the entrepreneur to start landing his idea. Asking what resources are needed and where he will get them, is vital to generate at least one way forward for the entrepreneur. The development of the business plan will mark only a guide that can be used as reference.

3. Project creation

The project is conducted when the entrepreneur decides to seek and obtain resources. Getting financiation is difficult, and perhaps one of the main obstacles to start a business. When the entrepreneur begins to invest the resources and and begin operating, it is a point release of stress, as the entrepreneur will see the first steps of his company.

4. Management and control

After having pass through the first months of operation, the company will see if it decreases, maintains or increases in sales. The entrepreneur should strive to maintain revenue growth before worrying about having a nice office. Managing a business is not easy, but the experience that entrepreneurs acquire over time will surely ease the handling of all resources. Perhaps one could say that the entrepreneurial process ends here, but I think it is no longer an entrepreneur, and he becomes a full businessman or businesswoman.

The entrepreneurial process model of the University of Pretoria

Within the study and analysis of the University of Pretoria, they made its own model, which mixes different ideologies of different authors to adapt their entrepreneurial model. This model stands out more for its definition of stages and events throughout the process.

4 Entrepreneurial process events stages

Within the entrepreneurial process, there are different events that are generated along the process.

1. Innovation

It is the time when the entrepreneur generates the innovative idea, identifies the market opportunity, and look for information. Also, it begins to see the feasibility of ideas, the ability to get value from it and how to generate the development of the product or service.

2. Triggering event

This event is the gestation time of the project. The entrepreneur begins to motivate himself to start a business and to decide to proceed with. The business plan is created, as well as the identification of the resources required, the project risk, the source of the funds and how they would use them.

3. Implementation

This event includes the incorporation of resources and arm the project to launch their new business to the market. The strategy and business plan begin to develop day by day, and the use of resources are invested in favor of building a successful company. Marketing is vital in every company, especially for a start-up. Once you launch your business to the general public, you need to market your products or services to attract customers and generate more sales. Online marketing is a promotional technique with great promise, and SEO is the primary method to make a mark in today’s digital landscape. A surefire way to appeal to search engines is to tap the help of the appropriate SEO expert. Hiring an experienced SEO expert can help with keyword research and target the most relevant ones for your industry and audience, ensuring that your content ranks well for the terms potential customers are searching for. They can optimize your website's structure, meta tags, and content, enhancing its search engine visibility and user experience. SEO experts can guide your content strategy to create informative, engaging, and valuable content that attracts search engine traffic, keeps visitors engaged, and converts them into customers. They use various tools and analytics to monitor your website's performance, track keyword rankings, and make data-driven decisions to improve your online presence continuously. For instance, if you are a home service business, hiring an SEO company like Digital Shift can help you optimize your website to increase your search engine rankings, drive more web traffic, and establish a solid online presence. Aside from SEO, entrepreneurs can leverage other digital marketing strategies. Build a verified email list and send promotional emails or newsletters to nurture leads, retain customers, and drive sales. The same is true with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. PPC allows businesses to display targeted ads and pay only for clicks. Affiliate marketing, influencer collaborations, and video marketing are additional strategies to expand reach and credibility. Remarketing, local SEO, and data analysis provide opportunities for further engagement and insights. By employing these diverse digital marketing strategies, entrepreneurs can create a comprehensive online presence and achieve their marketing objectives.

The ideal event for any entrepreneur is to see how their company is constantly growing. The activities of the previous event, ideally lead the business to a stage of maturity to maximize profitability for better benefits. Growth is the stage of the entrepreneurial process in which is reflected time and effort spent by the entrepreneur. At this time, to keep up the pace of the business growth, the entrepreneur must keep up his personal development to continue also his internal growth. This growth is eventually collaborative it there is an entrepreneurial ecosystem improvement that also aids the mutual work.

The entrepreneurial process model by Hisrich and Peters

One of the models on the entrepreneurial process is of Robert Hisrich, a professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management and Michael P. Peters author of several books on entrepreneurship. This model establishes the various factors and events surrounding the entrepreneurial process.

Developing a business plan early on your entrepreneur path

It is generally advisable to write a business plan as early as possible step in the entrepreneurial process of starting a new venture.

A business plan is a written document that describes in detail how a business, usually a new one, is going to achieve its goals for entrepreneurial success.

Creative individuals bring together their ideas in such plan and develop a clear roadmap for moving forward.

It is also a good idea to update your business plan regularly as your business grows and changes, as it is a big picture of your idea and it can help you to be guided of what new products or services should be implementend when you are about to start and are already on the go.

Often, a business entrepreneurial plan is prepared for investors or as a way to get a small business loan by many entrepreneurs.

A business plan lays out a written plan from a marketing, financial and operational standpoint. 

The components of a business plan vary depending on the type of business, but generally, they should include an executive summary, a business description, a market analysis, a competitive analysis, a service or product line section, and a marketing and sales strategy.

Additionally, a business plan should include financial projections for the business, including a balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.

In creating a business plan, you should also consider some of these tips:  

• Define your audience : Make sure you know your target market so you can tailor your content according to what’s relevant, helpful, and appropriate for them.   
• Establish a clear vision : It’s essential to have a clear vision or an image of where you want to be in the near future.   
• Conduct a business analysis : Doing this will help you find some crucial factors which aren’t initially considered in your business plan. You can also detect threats, discover market gaps, and maximize specific business opportunities.   
• Write plans with different time frames : This will let you know which plan can provide the most value to your target audience. Generally, a time frame can help your business attain goals and how you’ll do it over a certain amount of time.   

A business plan is essential before kickstarting your business. It serves as a beacon in order to stay productive and strive for the best practices to be profitable and competitive.

The Entrepreneurial Process Video Example

What is entrepreneurial process, what are the components of entrepreneurial process.

4 components in the entrepreneurial process are Idea generation, decision making and business planning, project creation and management and control.

Why entrepreneurship is a process?

Entrepreneurship is a process because there are different events that have to occur in order to develop a project.

As stated before, there are a set of events such as innovation, triggering event, implementation and growth.

To become an entrepreneur, different set of skills are develop under time, that is why along the entrepreneurial journey, he or she will learn along that path.

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Business Planning Process and Strategy - Steps & Plan

Starting a business is one thing, but sustaining it requires planning. Business planning strategies and processes are crucial to get ahead of the competition. A business growth plan and strategic development for sustainable growth is significant for business expansion.

Developing a business plan is essential to the strategic management planning process. It helps you to set goals, establish priorities, and develop strategies for achieving them. Business planning involves many critical steps, including market analysis, competitive research, financial forecasting, and risk assessment. With the proper business planning process and business planning strategy, you can build a roadmap for the future and take your business to the next level.

This blog will explain business planning and explore the steps involved in creating a successful business planning process, appropriate business strategy for growth, and a business growth plan. As we explain business planning, we will also discuss business strategic development and how to develop a business development plan that aligns with your goals and objectives.

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What is a Business Plan?

How to explain business planning? All businesses require a business planning strategy. A business planning strategy is the basic step while setting up a business. A business planning process is like a map of a company's success that includes the process of achieving the objectives.

An attempt to understand and explain business planning or business development plans involves systematically analyzing an organization's current state, defining its goals and objectives, and developing a business plan and strategy well-suited to the company's specific needs and circumstances.

For successful business strategic planning, it is essential to follow the steps outlined in the business plan steps. For new entrepreneurs, the business planning process in entrepreneurship is critical. It is also crucial to consider trademark registration . It helps prevent competitors from using similar marks or confusing consumers about the origin of products or services.

Objectives of a Business Plan

When it comes to the business planning process, an entrepreneur must be concerned about every aspect of the business and have clear goals. Any business planning strategy must include the following:

How to Prepare for a Business Plan?

Preliminary investigation.

Businesses must review the available business planning process and look for threats and opportunities to create a new business planning process and business planning strategy.

Business Planning Process

While working on the business planning process, determine the essential goals for your business and create a business planning strategy. Identify the company's strengths and weaknesses and lay down all necessary steps to initiate the proposed business.

Key Components of a Business Plan

Executive Summary

An executive summary is a brief business plan overview highlighting its key points and objectives. It serves as an introduction to the plan and gives a clear understanding of the business, its goals, and how it plans to achieve them. An executive summary serves as a quick snapshot of the entire business plan.

It has a critical role in the business planning process and business level strategy in strategic management. It helps business owners and managers focus on their business plan's essential elements. It helps them to articulate their objectives of business , strategies, and tactics concisely and compellingly.

Company Description

A company description in a business plan is a section that provides an overview of a business. It should include information about the nature of the business, its products or services, target market, competition, management team, and financial outlook. This section aims to give investors or potential partners a clear understanding of what the business does and what sets it apart from competitors.

Strategic management planning and business strategic development require a clear understanding of the company's objectives, which should be outlined in the company description. The objectives of the business should be aligned with the customer acquisition strategies to ensure a successful business process outsourcing.

Market Analysis

Market analysis is a crucial aspect of a business plan that involves researching and understanding the target market for a product or service. It includes identifying the needs of potential customers, analyzing competitors, and evaluating industry trends to create a strategy for market development.

Market analysis helps businesses understand their customers, their requirements, and how to reach them best. A company can develop a more effective market development and growth strategy by conducting a thorough market analysis.

Financial Plan

A financial plan is a detailed projection of a business's economic activities and outcomes over a specific period. It helps business owners plan and manage their finances effectively.

Financial planning is an essential component of strategic planning for small business growth and development. A sound financial plan is critical to overall planning and strategic management for any business.

Steps to a Successful Business Planning Process

Idea Generation

Idea generation is an important step in strategic management planning, integral to planning in business management. Generating new ideas involves several steps in the business planning process for creating a successful business development plan. Idea generation can be a powerful tool for planning in business management and can help in developing a business plan that aligns with the company's vision and mission.

Sources of New Ideas

For generating new ideas for the business planning process, businesses can obtain insights from various sources:

• Market research and development
• Competitors
• Vendors and retailers

These sources can provide a wealth of information to be analyzed and used to develop business plan steps, new ideas, or solutions to existing problems.

Methods of Generating New Ideas

• Data obtained through surveys and questionnaires
• Market research
• Group discussion and brainstorming activities
• Social media research
• Mind Mapping
• Adding value to existing products and services

2. Environmental Scanning

Several internal and external factors impact the success of every business planning process. An environmental scan helps to understand the factors that affect your business directly or indirectly.

External Environment

The external environment can be competitors, customers, suppliers, demographics, socio-political situations, or economic conditions.

Internal Environment

These are factors that exist within the business:

• Raw Material : Identify the availability, quality, and cost of raw materials needed for production.
• Production/ Operation : Assess the production processes, machinery, equipment needed, manufacturing capacity, and production costs.
• Finance : Analyze the financial resources available, including startup capital, cash flow, and potential funding sources.
• Market : Understand the target market, including their demographics, preferences, and buying habits.
• Human Resource : Evaluate the personnel needs, including their skills, knowledge, and experience, as well as their availability and cost.

3. Feasibility Analysis

Feasibility Analysis is one of the most important business plan steps in the business planning process. It analyzes different alternatives to achieving a successful business planning process. A feasibility analysis identifies the best and the worst scenarios in which the company can be.

The different variables included in a feasibility analysis are:

Market analysis provides data on the niche that the business wants to explore. Making the ideal business planning process and business planning strategy is critical.

Technical/ Operational Analysis

It analyzes the operational aspects required to carry on the business successfully. For instance, an idea discussed might have great potential. Still, it may not be feasible when it comes to operational costs. The primary parameters examined during the operational analysis are:

• Material Availability : Evaluate the availability, quality, and cost of raw materials needed for production.
• Plant Location : Assess the location's suitability, including access to raw materials, labor, transportation, and infrastructure.
• Choice of Technology : Analyze the production processes, machinery, equipment needed, manufacturing capacity, and production costs.

Financial Feasibility

The financial feasibility assesses the business's financial issues, including monthly operating expenses, forecasted income statements, cash flow, balance sheet, and capital expenditure.

Functional Plans

The top executives must ensure that functional business strategic planning and process sync with the business goals in a business planning process. Once the feasibility analysis gives the go-ahead, you can draft a business plan.

4. Project Report Preparation

Project report preparation is a critical part of every business planning process. Experts prepare the project report. This report acts as a plan of action that describes the goals and objectives of the business.

Project reports allow the business idea to shape and become a productive venture with a clear-cut business planning strategy. It tracks the progress of the business planning process and compares it with the original plan. It also identifies any risks or challenges and to take corrective action whenever necessary.

5. Plan Your Marketing Strategy

A well-planned marketing strategy and business development plan will help the business reach its target audience.

6. Evaluation, Control, and Review

All the strategies prepared for a business are open to modifications due to internal and external factors. The critical evaluation, control, and review activities include measuring performance based on the current strategy and taking corrective action to enhance or improve the business goal.

What is Business Strategy Planning?

The business planning strategy outlines the goals, objectives, and actions needed to achieve success in a business. It involves analyzing the company's current state, identifying areas for improvement, setting targets, and developing strategies to achieve them.

As part of the business planning process, it is essential to consider the competitive landscape and market trends and the strengths and weaknesses of the business.

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When it comes to the business planning process and planning in business management, having a solid strategy for market development is critical. By identifying and targeting new markets, businesses can expand their customer base and increase revenue. Strategic planning for small businesses is essential, as these businesses often have limited resources and must make every dollar count. Small companies can overcome challenges and succeed by focusing on planning and strategic management.

What does Strategic Planning Involve?

Business planning strategy involves analyzing the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and identifying the best methods for success.

For example, utilizing dropshipping business in India and GST tax invoice system can be highly beneficial. By taking advantage of these resources, businesses can simplify their operations.

Essentials of Strategy Planning

In planning and strategic management, it is essential to consider the unique challenges facing small businesses. Strategic planning for small businesses should prioritize flexibility and adaptability, as these businesses often operate in highly dynamic environments.

Past and Present Data Analysis

Past and present data analysis is essential for the business planning process and the business planning strategy. By examining historical data and current performance metrics, businesses can gain insights and identify opportunities for growth and development.

For example, past and present data analysis can help to make informed decisions about inventory management techniques and the purchasing process . By analyzing past sales data and inventory levels, businesses can determine which products are most popular among customers and ensure sufficient inventory to meet demand.

Insightful Analysis of Market Dynamics

Insightful analysis of market dynamics is an important component of the business planning process, particularly in the supply chain management process . By analyzing past demand and supply fluctuations, businesses can identify trends and patterns in the market and develop effective strategies for managing their supply chain.

In addition, insightful analysis of market dynamics is also essential when developing a business plan.

Following a Unique Approach to Planning

Following a unique approach to planning is critical to the business planning process, particularly in business strategic development. With a unique strategy, businesses can create a competitive advantage in the market.

Business level strategy in strategic management also plays a key role in following a unique approach to planning. Focusing on a specific market niche or target audience, businesses can tailor their strategy for market development to meet customers' needs.

Scenario Analysis Based on Relevant Inputs

Scenario analysis is an important aspect of the business planning process and is particularly relevant in business strategic development and business level strategy in strategic management. As businesses develop their strategies, they must consider a range of possible future scenarios and their potential impact on the company's value.

This process is also important in the business planning process in entrepreneurship, as entrepreneurs develop their business plans and strategies. By conducting scenario analysis, entrepreneurs can identify potential risks and opportunities and focus on developing a business plan and strategy to mitigate risk and capitalize on opportunities.

Risk Mitigation Measures to Minimize Loss

Risk mitigation measures are crucial in minimizing the losses a company may face due to unforeseen events. These measures help to identify and evaluate potential risks that could negatively impact the company.

Strategic management planning plays a crucial role in identifying potential risks and creating a risk mitigation plan in the business planning process. A risk management plan should be part of the business plan steps.

Business strategic planning should incorporate risk assessment and mitigation as a part of the overall planning process. A comprehensive understanding of potential risks is necessary for a successful business planning process in entrepreneurship. 

BMGI's Approach to Strategy Planning

After working with different kinds of businesses, BMGI has developed a robust process for business strategy planning. It encompasses all the aspects required for the best business strategy planning.

For long-term goals, BMGI focuses on the following three aspects:

• Defining the strategy
• Establish how to implement the strategy
• Implementing the strategy and managing the changes

BMGI has a process in place for businesses to define how to implement their strategy as follows:

External Assessment

BMGI recommends the analysis of-

• Market and Customers
• Competition
• Probable Trends of the Future
• PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal)

Internal Assessment

Discover your business's SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and compare them against various scenarios to determine your position.

The assessments mentioned above, along with the understanding of its impact, in the long run, enable businesses to plan their business strategy efficiently.

Impact Areas of Strategic Planning

While the impact areas of strategic planning may vary depending on the organization and industry, here are some common areas where business strategic planning can have an impact:

Organic Growth Strategy

Organic growth strategy focuses on growing the organization's existing business lines.

Business Unit Strategy

This growth route focuses on analyzing and implementing strategies for each business unit.

Corporate Strategy

Corporate strategy requires knowledge of the business level strategy in strategic management. In this strategy, the senior management steers the direction of the entire organization based on its core principles and values.

Emerging Markets Strategy

In this strategy, businesses look out for opportunities in places with the potential for promising growth. Entrepreneurs must have a solid business planning process to successfully enter and expand in new and emerging markets. A well-defined business planning process in entrepreneurship can be the difference between success and failure.

Sustainable Growth Strategy

The sustainable growth strategy is a critical component of the business planning process. This strategy involves taking meaningful steps toward the future while considering the unpredictable changes that may arise.

Measuring the Success of Your Business Plan and Strategy

Here are some key steps you can take to measure the success of your business plan and strategy:

Setting Measurable Goals and Objectives

It is essential to set measurable goals and objectives to measure the success of your business plan and strategy.

• Determine your business goals: First, you need to identify your goals with your business growth plan. It could be increasing revenue, expanding market share, or improving customer satisfaction.
• Define your objectives: Once you have identified your business goals, break them down into specific, measurable, and achievable objectives that are relevant and time-bound.

By setting measurable goals, you can track your progress over time and measure the success of your strategy.

Tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Here are some steps to follow to measure the success of your business plan and strategy by tracking KPIs:

• Identify the relevant KPIs: Once you have defined your objectives, identify the KPIs that are relevant to each objective.
• Set targets for each KPI: Once you have identified the KPIs, set targets for each one. These targets should be realistic and aligned with your business objectives.
• Track and analyze the KPIs: Once you have set targets for each KPI, start tracking them regularly.

Conducting Regular Performance Reviews

• Adjust your strategy: Based on your data analysis, adjust your business growth plan or planning in business management as necessary.
• Implement Business Process Outsourcing: Consider implementing business process outsourcing to help you achieve your strategic planning for small businesses. What is Business Process Outsourcing? It is a business practice where a company outsources non-core business functions or processes to a third-party provider.
• Review your performance against benchmarks regularly and adjust your strategy as necessary. This planning and strategic management process will help you stay on track and achieve your business goals.

Soliciting Customer Feedback

• Collect customer feedback: Collect customer feedback through surveys, focus groups, or social media platforms.
• Analyze the feedback: Once you have collected customer feedback, analyze it to identify areas for improvement.
• Implement changes: Use your collected feedback to change your business strategy.
• Measure the impact: Use the same KPIs you used to track your progress before to determine if the changes have positively or negatively impacted your business.
• Adjust your strategy: Based on the impact of your changes, adjust your business strategy as needed.

Examples of Successful Business Planning Process and Strategy

Toyota's US invasion in the '70s

Cars have had an enormous impact on Americans since the good old days. The three biggest American car companies ruled over the car market in the US. However, the Japanese car manufacturer, Toyota, did a market analysis and started selling cheaper and more efficient cars during the '70s.

The US car companies did not worry about Toyota at first. They thought Toyota must lose money exporting their vehicles to the US at such low prices. However, within a few years, Toyota started production in the US.

Toyota soon became the largest car company in the US. But what was their business strategy for growth?

Of course, Toyota was using the cost leadership strategy. However, Toyota's manufacturing process was so efficient that it cost them far less to produce cars than American companies. Besides, Toyota's supply chain management was their business strategy for growth, and it made a crucial difference in Toyota's survival. It was also a part of its business planning process.

The multi-billion-dollar idea began with the founders of Airbnb renting their mattresses to strangers. It was a business space no one had explored before.

They struggled to meet ends initially but saw potential in their idea. So, the founders created a website where people could rent their mattresses to travelers and strangers.

There were some scattered online bookings, but they needed to be more to be sustainable. The founders conducted an operational analysis and discovered the problem with poorly presented listings.

They visited all the nearby locations where people were renting out their mattresses. They moved things around to make them look more pleasing and clicked photos. After adding images to their website, the bookings started pouring in.

Then, they hired professional photographers to click photos of all the listings and their owners. The online orders kept skyrocketing. The founders of Airbnb analyzed data to discover the one problem keeping them from succeeding in their revolutionary idea. Airbnb is now valued at over 100 billion Dollars!

A clear understanding of the business planning process and a well-developed plan can help set the foundation for growth and profitability.

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What questions should be asked in a business plan?

The vital questions to ask in a business plan are as follows:

• What makes you different?
• Who is your audience?
• How will you make profits?
• How will you promote your business?
• How will you get started?

What is the most important part of your business plan?

The executive summary is the most important part of your business plan. It contains the overview of your entire business plan and everything it encompasses.

How many years should a business plan cover?

It is recommended to have a business plan of at least one year to 3 years to address your business goals and possible objections.

How do you overcome lack of planning?

• Automate repetitive tasks such as data entry
• Set up a network between all your software so that your position is constantly getting updated
• Improve the communication between all the departments in your company
• Deploy cloud-based technologies for effectively sharing information

What are the barriers to planning?

Here is a list of things that become barriers to planning:

• Incompetent leaders
• Continuous distractions
• Limited resources for task completion
• Impractical expectations in senior management

How to define companies Vision and Mission?

A company's vision statement lists what an organization wants to represent in society. A mission statement lists the things a company does to achieve its vision.

What financial projections should I include in my business plan?

Common financial projections that most business plans consist of are sales forecast, profit and loss statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet, break-even analysis, and capital expenditure budget.

How do I revise and update my business plan as my business evolves?

To revise and update your business plan:

• Set aside time for review
• Analyze your financial performance and other key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Identify new opportunities for growth and challenges that may require adjustments to your business plan.
• Use the insights you have gained from your evaluation to update your business plan.
• Communicate changes with stakeholders
• Set new targets and milestones for your business.

How do I identify my target audience and develop a marketing strategy?

·        Identify your target audience's demographics, preferences, behaviors, and needs through market research.

·        Use the insights from your market research to create detailed profiles of your target audience.

·        Determine your unique selling proposition (USP)

·        Define your marketing goals.

·        Choose your marketing channels.

·        Tailor your marketing content to your target audience and communicate your USP.

·        Test and refine your marketing strategy to optimize your results.

Who benefits from a good business strategy?

A good business strategy can benefit both the business and the consumers.

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Entrepreneurship Development Process

Entrepreneurship development is the means of enhancing the knowledge and skill of entrepreneurs through several classroom coaching and programs, and training. The main point of the development process is to strengthen and increase the number of entrepreneurs. 

This entrepreneur development process helps new firms or ventures get better in achieving their goals, improve business and the nation’s economy. Another essential factor of this process is to improve the capacity to manage, develop, and build a business enterprise keeping in mind the risks related to it.

  In simple words, the entrepreneurship development process is about supporting entrepreneurs to advance their skills with the help of training and coaching classes. It encourages them to make better judgments and take a sensible decision for all business activities.

Related link: What is Entrepreneurship?

Process of Entrepreneurship Development

The below-mentioned steps will illustrate how to build an effective entrepreneurship development program for an entrepreneur to organize and launch the new ventures.

• Discover – Any new process begins with fresh ideas and objectives, wherein the entrepreneur recognizes and analyzes business possibilities. The analyzing of opportunities is a risky task, and an entrepreneur looks out for inputs from other persons, including channel partners, employees, technical people, consumers, etc. to reach an ideal business opportunity. 
• Evaluation – The evaluation of an opportunity can be done by asking several questions to oneself. For instance, questions like whether it is worth taking a chance and investing in the idea, will it attract the consumer, what are the competitive advantages and the risk linked with it are asked. A reasonable and sensible entrepreneur will also analyze his skills and whether it matches his entrepreneurial objectives or not.
• Developing a plan – After the identification of an opportunity, an entrepreneur has to build a complete business plan. It is the most important step for new business as it sets a standard and the assessment criteria and sees if a company is working towards the set goals.
• Resources –  The next step in the process of entrepreneurial development is resourcing. Here, the entrepreneur recognizes the source of finance and from where the human resource can be managed. In this step, the entrepreneur also tries to find investors for his new business.
• Managing the company –  After the hiring process and funds are raised now its time to start the operation to accomplish the desired goals. All the entrepreneur will decide on the management structure that will be assigned to resolve the operational problems whenever it occurs.
• Harvesting –  The last step in this process is harvesting, where an entrepreneur determines the future growth and development of the business. Here, real-time development is compared with the projected growth, and then the business security or the extension is initiated accordingly.

You might want to know:  Difference between Businessman and Entrepreneur

The above mentioned is the concept, that is elucidated in detail about ‘Entrepreneurship Development Process’ for the Commerce students. To know more, stay tuned to BYJU’S.

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Entrepreneurship Development Process

Overview of Entrepreneurship Development Process

Entrepreneurship is the dynamic process of developing something new with value by devoting the required time and effort, taking up financial risks and relishing the monetary rewards\ associated with it. This product may or may not be new, but the entrepreneur has infused its value. He/she has done it by using the skills and resources effectively and efficiently.

An entrepreneur is a person who is responsible for an entrepreneurship venture. Even though it is widely believed that entrepreneurs are born with the necessary skills; however, it is not entirely true, anyone can learn how to become one by undergoing an entrepreneurship development process.

What is Entrepreneurship Development?

Entrepreneurship development is the process of enhancing the entrepreneurial knowledge and skills via structured training programmes. It deals with the study of entrepreneurial behaviour, dynamics of business, and its development and expansion. The objectives of entrepreneurship development programmes are to increase the knowledge and skill of existing entrepreneurs and encourage others to become one. Ultimately, it helps in increasing the number of such individuals in an economy.

Entrepreneur development focuses on training individuals who are interested in commencing their venture or expanding their existing one. Furthermore, it concentrates more on encouraging innovation and evaluating the growth potential of an enterprise. This development process helps new firms to perform better and achieve their goals and expand their businesses. As a result, the economy of a nation also improves. Moreover, it enables entrepreneurs to develop and manage their business better along with the financial insecurities associated with it.  

An increase in the rate of development of entrepreneurship ventures alleviates the problem of unemployment in an economy. Additionally, it decreases the issue of stagnation and increases competition in the market. A process like this aims to develop the competence of an entrepreneur and his/her venture. Therefore, it enhances entrepreneurial objectives and encourages more people to become entrepreneurs.

Objectives of Entrepreneurship Development Programme

The objective of Entrepreneurship Development programme are listed down here - 

To Develop Entrepreneurial qualities and habits among the upcoming youth via the help of proper training and expert counselling.

To search and identify the best existing and upcoming business ideas and opportunities.

Motivating and guiding various individuals for launching their own new businesses and startups. Thus, becoming a contributor to the economy.

To reach risk mitigation to the youth of the nation.

Provide and conduct various programmes to spread the idea of Entrepreneurship in rural areas and villages.

To generate employment and self-employment with the help of Entrepreneurship and the growth of small scale businesses.

To inform about various schemes launched by various Government (central, state or regional governmental bodies) and also about various taxes put on enterprises. 

Every entrepreneurship development process comprises several steps. Here are the vital steps of building an effective development programme to help individuals –

Learn about the Business Idea

It is the starting process of entrepreneurship. Once an individual has generated the idea for a business, he/she will subsequently need to evaluate and identify its business opportunities. Hence, he/she has to learn more about the business and its consumers.

However, it is not an easy task. To find relevant information, an entrepreneur has to talk to his/her employees, the marketing team, product designing team, etc. Apart from these, consumer surveys often unearth various new pieces of information. They can help individuals to learn more about their business ideas.

Thorough Evaluation

Before moving forward, entrepreneurs need to evaluate a business idea or opportunity thoroughly. It is considered one of the most crucial parts of the Entrepreneurship Development Process. An entrepreneur can do it by himself/herself by considering the following points –

Whether an opportunity or idea is worth investing in or not.

What are the requirements for this product?

Is it feasible or not based on its cost?

What are the competitive advantages?

The capital that is required to put in the business, before the launch of that certain product or service. And where to get this capital.

Associated risks that are inherent with the product or service?. Such risks can be of many types like Technical risks, Economic risks, Social and Environmental Risks.

Whether it coincides with the company’s goal or not

Additionally, an entrepreneur must evaluate his/her skills and if he/she can manage such it.

Business Plan 

After identifying the opportunity and gathering information about it, an entrepreneur needs to create a comprehensive business plan to make most of this opportunity. It is one of the vital stages of the entrepreneurship development process. Such a plan acts as the base of a venture as well as the benchmark. It shows whether the business is on track or not.

Creating a business plan requires time and effort, and an entrepreneur must be dedicated to it. The significant pieces of a business plan, i.e. its vision, goal, objectives, capital and the product itself must be figured out in this process.

Finding Resources

Once the entire business plan is ready, the next step of entrepreneurship development and management is to locate sources of finance and human resources. Here entrepreneurs find investors for his/her venture. Moreover, recruits individuals as per their skill and abilities to carry out different business activities. 

Especially the marketing team, as it is the most important aspect for the growth of businesses nowadays. Special care is also needed to find the HR person, who will manage the entire human resource of the company.

Framing out the Management Structure

It is a crucial concept of entrepreneurship development. After raising funds and hiring the required employees, this is the next process on the list. An entrepreneur must frame out the hierarchy in the organisation. Thus, it becomes easier to resolve any problem through this chain of command.

Plan the Future

Once a business is up and running smoothly, an entrepreneur has to consider its future. In this final point of entrepreneur development programme notes, businesspersons decide the next step of the business. Based on actual data generated by the company and pitting it against the projected one gives a clear idea of how the business is performing. If everything is positive and on track, then an entrepreneur decides to invest in expansion.

In a nutshell, an entrepreneurship development process is about assisting individuals in improving their skill via training. Thus, it aids such individuals to make better decisions in their existing ventures or encourages them to start a new one. Moreover, it is an important topic for commerce students. Additionally, students who want to know more on other topics of this subject can visit the official website of Vedantu.

Entrepreneurship Development and Start up India

India has the world's highest number of start-ups and has had great success attracting large amounts of foreign direct investment (FDI). Furthermore, the government is actively removing administrative barriers and bottlenecks to promote entrepreneurship growth. To support the development of an entrepreneurial culture, the subject has been integrated into the curriculum at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels across disciplines.

Indian Entrepreneurship Development Challenges

Capital: India has a very low per capita income compared to other countries. The allocation of resources to futile endeavours is the primary cause of this. Youth have limited access to technical and vocational education institutions. Students' broad education in school is insufficient to support entrepreneurs.

Motivation Centres: There aren't many training facilities, and the ones that exist are mostly in cities.

Low Mood: Typically, children are advised to pursue lucrative careers to secure their futures. As a result, there is little desire to start a business.

Competition: Major corporations dominate both domestic and international markets. This presents a significant challenge for business owners. The government incentivises public firms to operate in the public sector.

Corruption: Bureaucracy, delays, and incompetent government agencies stifle the nation's entrepreneurship.

Backward Thinking: Uncertainty about innovative ideas has led to hesitancy and the rise of anti-progressive thinking.

Case Study - Entrepreneurship Development and Start up India

The Adani Group, founded by Gautam Adani, is used as a case study to demonstrate the concept of entrepreneurship development. Gautam Adani moved to Mumbai from his hometown of Ahmedabad at a young age. When he was 18, he left his family and travelled to Mumbai. He began working as a diamond sorter for Mahindra Brothers. After two years of working for Mahindra Brothers and gaining sufficient knowledge, he established his own diamond brokerage firm. He made a sizable profit of roughly ten lakh rupees in his first year of business, which was a sizable sum in the 1980s.

In the latter half of the 1980s, he founded Adani Enterprises. He specialised in agricultural and energy-related products. Adani Group and Cargill, an American multinational corporation, have joined forces to export salt from Gujarat. As time passed, the company grew, and the partnership ended. Adani Group now owns nearly 5,000 acres of land as a result of this arrangement. The policy regulations enacted in 1991 allowed for several improvements, which boosted and supported Indian businesses and helped the Adani Group generate enormous profits.

A choice between a seaport in Gujarat that must be lent to private businesses. A decision was made in 1993. However, the Adani Group later received this deal. The group worked hard to develop the port to the point where it can now handle approximately 8 crore tonnes of cargo annually and is considered India's largest private-sector port. Adani imported coal as a result of projections it made about future energy demand. As a result, Adani decided to enter the energy and electricity industries.

Adani Power Ltd. was established along these lines. And as of now, it is one of the largest privately owned thermal power companies, with a capacity of approximately 4620 MW. According to the most recent data, Gautam Adani is the 11th richest person in India, with assets worth $40 billion USD and a workforce of over 60,500 people.

Running a business necessitates a great deal of dedication, careful planning, and attention to detail. Your ideas can be properly coordinated to ensure the company's success. There are various types of businesses. Some are known as start-ups, while others are known as entrepreneurs. It is critical to understand that not all entrepreneurship is startup-related, and there are several key differences between the two. This distinction must be well understood for a business to be successful.

FAQs on Entrepreneurship Development Process

1. What is Entrepreneurship Development?

Entrepreneurship development is a process that enables individuals to learn more about building a business from scratch. Additionally, it aids the existing entrepreneurs to evaluate their skill and knowledge and pick up on new techniques and ideas. It is a comprehensive training programme. It covers aspects like entrepreneurial manners, dynamics of a business, and its development and expansion. If a student wants to Pursue Entrepreneurship Development as a career, he/she will have to work with new entrepreneurs or newly started small firms to facilitate the development of skills among them and also to assist in the issues they are facing as a business.

2. What is the need for an Entrepreneurship Development Programme?

The concept and need of entrepreneurship development programmes are important in every economy. It aids existing entrepreneurs and aspiring ones to develop and manage a successful venture. A comprehensive training program such as this covers various aspects of building and maintaining a business. The need for such programmes is to encourage entrepreneurship in an economy. Doing so reduces the stagnation in the market and increases competition. Furthermore, it generates employment in an economy. So, one can say that Entrepreneurship Development Programmes are needed in an economy to supply skilled entrepreneurs.

3. What are the Stages of an Entrepreneurship Development Programme?

Entrepreneurship Development Programme is designed in order to bring skilful and knowledgeable entrepreneurs to the economy, by teaching the budding ventures how to build and manage an enterprise. Various such programs consist of many different levels or stages of their programs. But majorly all of them can be divided into these six steps. These six stages of an entrepreneurship development programme are, learning about the business idea, its evaluation, forming a plan, accumulating resources, putting a proper structure in place, and planning the future.

4. Which skills or habits will be helpful to grow for an entrepreneur in an Entrepreneurship Development Programme?

It will help full for an entrepreneur to grow these certain things or habits with the help of an Entrepreneurship Development Programme - 

Consistently dedicating around 2 hours to learning about the projects and the field they are working in. They can learn from the industry leaders, big companies, other Entrepreneurs and from customers feedback. History teaches us a lot, learning from past experience or projects is a must.

Digital marketing is a necessity nowadays, one should learn to build a perfect marketing team.

Trying to find market gaps, market gaps refers to the untapped areas of the market, which can provide massive returns and expansion.

Meet with other successful entrepreneurs and industry leaders, to share and discuss new ideas and also to get a deeper knowledge of the market.

Arranging Skills development training programs for the employees or team members.

Living a healthy life and developing various healthy habits.

5. Give details about the Thorough Opportunity Evaluation step of the Entrepreneurship Development Process or in an Entrepreneurship Development programme.

The entrepreneurship development process enables an individual or a new entrepreneur to learn more about building a business from scratch. And a critical element of this entrepreneurial process is to identify various opportunities, screen these opportunities and evaluate them. A well-executed Thorough Opportunity Evaluation can easily tell if an idea or an opportunity has the potential to give the demanded returns that can justify the investment needed to put in it and the risk an individual has to take. Many people in this field had given some questions to ask to check whether the opportunity was worth it. Some of these questions are - 

Questions regarding the product or service : How easy or difficult is it to produce that specific product and what will it cost

How much capital is required before one can start selling the service or product?

Market Demand: If the product is in market demand, if yes, where does this demand lie? is the product or service generic or a niche? 

Understand the various risks involved with the Business ideas with respect to the returns it can provide.

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Hinduja Tech Raises USD 50 Mn from Private Equity Fund Creador The Chennai-based company will use the raised funds to augment its existing capabilities in research and development through organic and inorganic means, enhance its global footprint and expand its state of the art labs.

By Entrepreneur Staff • Mar 15, 2024

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

As a subsidiary of Ashok Leyland and a part of the Hinduja Group, Hinduja Tech Limited (HT) has announced the raising of a USD 50 million investment from Creador, a PE firm focused on long-term investments in growth-oriented businesses in India and Southeast Asia, acquiring 19.6 percent shareholding in the company.

This investment places Hinduja Tech at a post-money equity value of USD 255 million.

As per the official release, the infusion of capital will allow Hinduja Tech to augment its existing capabilities in research and development through organic and inorganic means, enhance its global footprint and expand its state of the art labs to gain momentum in its journey towards emerging as a global leader in sustainable engineering mobility services.

Kumar Prabhas, CEO of Hinduja Tech Limited, said, "This investment is a testament to HT's innovative spirit and proven track record in automotive and adjacent industries. The capital will empower us to pursue exciting new opportunities that will help further our position towards achieving our vision of being a global leader in the sustainable mobility engineering landscape."

Founded in 2009 by Kumar Prabhas, Hinduja Tech is a global commercial vehicle manufacturer and integrated product engineering and digital technologies solutions provider for the mobility industry.

It claims to work with automotive organisations (OEMs and Tier-X Suppliers) and disruptive mobility players in North America, Europe, APAC and India.

HT has its presence in over 38 countries and employs about 200,000 people with multiple industry verticals like mobility, lubricants and specialty chemicals, banking and finance, digital technology, energy, media and entertainment, realty, healthcare, project development and trading.

In 2023, Hinduja Tech had acquired Drive System Design, a UK and US-based company, specialising in e-powertrain design.

Anish Kedia, Director of Creador, said, "HT has established itself as a key player in the mobility ER&D industry with marquee customers across the globe. With its deep capabilities across engineering, powertrain and electronics, we believe HT is well poised towards creating sustainable and profitable solutions for the future of mobility."

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City of Lawrence seeking economic development proposals as part of 2025 budget process

photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., is pictured on Jan. 31, 2023.

The City of Lawrence on Tuesday announced that it’s seeking proposals for economic development services related to attracting businesses, helping entrepreneurs and small businesses, workforce development and business retention.

According to a news release from the city, a new process in conjunction with the 2025 budget will allow agencies to propose external economic development services related to those areas through the city’s budget process for next year. From there, the city will prioritize funding services that best align with its organizational capacity.

The city issued three requests for information that are available to applicants online . According to the release, all proposals are due by Tuesday, April 9, and the city welcomes minority- and women-owned businesses to engage in the process.

All proposals received as part of the process will be evaluated by city economic development staff for inclusion in the 2025 budget recommendation. Once the budget is approved, whichever agencies are selected will be authorized to work with city staff to develop a final scope of work and funding agreement.

Questions from agencies that wish to submit proposals should be directed to Purchasing Manager Eileen Phillips at [email protected] or 785-832-3234.

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