Fail to prepare, prepare to fail! How to create a business plan that ensures success. In this day and age, it is imperative that your ideas are unique enough to stand out from the crowd. With a new startup occurring every 3 seconds worldwide, the competition has never been so fierce.

One of the most difficult stages of starting a business...well is actually starting! A clear, concise and most of all realistic plan is essential for success.

Here are 5 things you need to know about making a solid business plan for your startup.

1.Who and what

Who you are and what you stand for (in terms of business) tells the customer about your product and company. Be sure to pay close attention to wording and the clarity or the idea you what to project as misinformation can potentially cause damage for your business.

2.Target Market

With your product in mind, who is it designed for? For example, Tinder is targeted towards the millennial generation and Elite singles are for more established Generation X individuals. In an ideal world, you would want any and everyone to be a potential customer, however in reality you need to have a specific target market in order to research and understand that community, so that you can effectively market towards them.

3.Modesty, where?

Demonstrate and show all factors that contribute to your credibility! This builds brand awareness and trust amongst the public. Aim to publicise all achievements, such as winning awards, providing client references and other examples of social proof to boost your public profile.

4.Strategy

This stage is especially important as it connects greatly with the next point. Strategy is effectively a road map to the end goal. How and what are you actually going to do in order to reach the goal. For example, How will you reach your customers- will you use digital marketing, PR and specific sales strategies or will you rely on a physical storefront? Another example is if you now you need funding, what are you going to do to secure funding? How will you present your business? Where will this be? Be sure to consider all aspects and more. After you receive the funding, what is the next step?

5.Goal!  

The final stage I will be addressing is the goal! This is arguably the most important stage. A study conducted by Harvard university, determined no matter what opportunities people started with in their lives and no matter their background, those who set long term goals were the most successful without doubt. Having long term goals motivates you when you encounter difficult periods as the benefits at the end supersede any problems encountered.

To leave you on a positive note, the world has now become a metropolis for startups, which means there is far more understanding and therefore help available than ever before. To anyone considering starting a business, take our advice, implement it as accurately as possible and you will be sure to go far!

Also, don’t forget to write back to us with your views; and be sure to read our blogs where we provide guidance on a variety of financial services.  

Akoni helps businesses make the most of their cash. Register free for access to market-leading interest rate accounts, cash planning tools and tips at panel.akonihub.com and follow us on Twitter