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Small Medium Business Consultancy

Business consultancy and development are organizations that conduct management analyses to assist business entities in several critical areas.

A business plan should be in place right before you start your business.

These areas include management, accounting, marketing, human resources and technology. Business consultants or management analysts assess a company’s weakness and recommend effective solutions.

If you’re just starting out, most probably the question you have in mind is whether it’s the right time to hire services for business consulting for small businesses. Let’s face it, this is yet another  expense. It’s very important during this stage to be practical.

If you’re still in the process of starting your business, you have a few choices with regards to the structure of your company. It can be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, Limited Liability Company or LLC or a corporation.

So why is it important to choose the right business entity structure?

It’s because the business structure you’ll choose will affect a lot of factors, which may include, but not limited to the following:

 

  • Business name
  • Your liability
  • How you file your taxes

But don’t worry if you’re uncertain for the beginning stages. You can always reevaluate and change your structure as your company grows and require necessary changes.

Take note though that no matter what your chosen business structure is, a business plan should be in place right before you start your business.

Important reasons why there should be a business plan for any type and size of business

One of the many proven factors why entrepreneurs succeed in managing their business is they started their business right from the very beginning by having a business plan.

If you’re an entrepreneur or aspiring to be one, you want to be prepared – in all aspects of your business. You don’t want to dive into the pool without testing out the water. What if the pool is freezing cold? Of course, you would regret diving in, wouldn’t you?

 

Important Factors to Consider Before Hiring Business Consultancy and Services

In other words, being prepared gives you an upper hand when it comes to anticipating potential problems and not be caught off guard if something unexpected comes up.

In addition, business plans will also serve the following purposes:

  •  It will compel you to write down clear goals and marketing strategies for your business.
  •  Seeing all the details written down can help you in visualizing all the aspects of your business.
  •  It can be used as a tool to measure your business performance in the future.
  •  It will be a great reference for loan officers, investors and venture capitalists for them to know if they would invest in your business or approve your business loan.

Remember that not all business plans are the same. So don’t rush into it, because it’s not something that can be done over your dinner. It requires a lot of research and thinking.

To give you an overall idea of the important elements needed to create your business plan and its format, you can find below an outline of a basic business plan.

Elements that should be included in a business plan according to business consultancy services

1. Cover page

Here’s where you should put the following information:

  • Name of the company
  •  Date
  • Owner’s name
  • Address
  • Contact number

2. Table of contents

This part will allow the readers to easily find the items located in your business plan.

3. Statement of purpose

Create one to two paragraphs telling about the type of business you plan to venture in and the amount of capital needed to start such business.

4. Executive summary

It is a brief summary of the business plan. It provides the reader the general overview while enticing them to read the rest of the plan. It should be written in such a way that the readers get the gist of the document without giving too many details.

5. Main Body

Here’s the important information that you have to include in your business plan:

  • State where you get the inspiration for your business idea.
  • Specify your short term, mid-term and long term goals. Make sure that your business goals are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Rewarding and have a Timeline.
  • Describe the products or services that your business would offer and what makes it unique.

6. Management and Ownership

The people who will hold managerial positions are a critical factor to the success (or failure) of your company. Indicate your qualifications and experience and those of your staff, if you have any.

You have to show that you have highly qualified, knowledgeable and experienced people holding leadership roles in your company.

7. Sales and marketing strategies

Determine your prospective customers. Specify your plans about marketing your product or service. Information about market trends should be included.

You have to show that you have highly qualified, knowledgeable and experienced people holding leadership roles in your company.

8. Competition analysis

 

This is a very important information. Know your company’s competitors. This is very crucial in setting product or service pricing schemes, costing and profit margins. 

Learning the competitors pricing scheme will enable your business to establish a more competitive price range, discounts and even offer freebies, if necessary.

Details about the reasons why your target market should choose you must also be included. 

9. Financial plans

In this part, you have to include a financial statement. Financial statements must reflect the amount of profit or income you expect to make in the future.

You also have to be honest and identify the risk factors, doing this will make you credible to the lenders. List down the potential risks or issues your business might encounter and your plans to fix those problems.

Specify the funds needed to start your business. Indicate how you will use the funds or money to avoid mishandling of finances in the future, which could badly impact your business.

10. Appendix

 

Here you can attach supporting documents or information. It could be but not limited to letters of recommendations, legal documents and resumes.

One last tip from business consultancy and development experts is to make sure that you present your business plan in a neat, easy to understand and appealing way. Remember that content of your business plan is equally important to the presentation of it. Needless to say, it should be typed and not handwritten.

If you have any questions regarding how to manage your business or troubleshooting issues that can be detrimental to your business growth, don’t hesitate to contact the Ximura Consulting. We are more than happy to help you.