A business plan reads well when each section answers one question and hands its answer to the next. The usual order is objectives, market, operations, finance and risks, with a short summary placed first.
This lesson opens business plans. The next skill is linking objectives, markets, operations and finance.
What question does each section answer?
Write one question beside each heading, and check that your section answers it. Your task sheet sets the headings you must use, so match them.
| Section | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| Objectives | What do you want to achieve, and by when? |
| Market | Who will buy, and how many? |
| Operations | How will you make and deliver it? |
| Finance | What does it cost, and what is left? |
| Risks | What could go wrong, and what will you do? |
| Summary | What is the plan in five lines? |
Worked example: an invented stall
An invented student, working on a practice idea, plans a school stall that sells reusable bags. Here is the outline in a good order, with each figure explained.
Objectives: sell 200 bags in 4 months at RM8 each. Market: the school has 800 students, and the plan targets 1 in 4, which is 800 ÷ 4 = 200 buyers. Operations: a tailor makes 50 bags a batch, so 4 batches give 4 × 50 = 200 bags.
Finance: each bag costs RM5 to make, so 200 bags cost RM1 000 and earn RM1 600. The expected profit is RM600. Risks: if fewer bags sell, the stock left over is a cost. The plan sets a limit of one batch at a time.
Notice that each section uses the figure from the one before it. The 200 in the objective becomes 200 buyers and 4 batches.
The mistake of starting with money
The common slip is to start with finance: “I need RM1 000, so I will make bags.” The reader cannot tell what the money is for.
The repair is to go from purpose to cost. Start with the objective, then show the market and the operations that lead to the RM1 000 figure.
Check yourself
An outline has these headings in this order: Finance, Market, Summary, Operations, Objectives. Put them in a better order and give a one-line reason.
Answer
A better order: Summary (written last but placed first), Objectives, Market, Operations, Finance. The reason: each section uses the figures from the one before, so finance, which depends on operations, should come after it.
If you moved Finance before Operations, check whether the costs depend on how the product is made.
What to study next
Once the order is set, make sure the figures carry from one section to the next. Continue with linking objectives, markets, operations and finance, then check your numbers with checking numerical consistency.
The business case answer planner can help you practise the question-per-section habit. For a teacher to discuss your reasoning, see online one-to-one Business tuition.