Business Planning

WHERE DOES BUSINESS FAILURE START? ─A HIGH-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE

Businesses can fail notwithstanding a great idea or product, business expertise, capital financing, and digital technology. First, every business begins as a project, whether small or large scale. Large-scale corporate companies utilize high-level project management techniques. Second, many small business entrepreneurs focus on unproven ideas, products, marketing, sales, and profitability. The weak link is the passion for starting a business more than focusing on long-term business viability. There is a need to focus more significantly on business planning and capitalization as the first imperatives for starting a business.

WHAT SHOULD A COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE LOOK LIKE?

Gibbs Comprehensive Business Planning Template (GCBPT) is atypical and intended to encapsulate the broadest scope of cost elements that cut across the widest range of projects and businesses? Whether a small or large-scale project or business, a significant number of the 12 main elements and sub-elements apply. Likewise, business owners can re-arrange some sub-elements to their business preference or relevance to their project or business management modeling.

Still, the goal should include every element that can have even marginal consequences to the project or business to the fullest extent. Experientially, some projects are suspended for various reasons or fail to succeed as expected. Discussions on these and other project and business management objectives will be fundamental to the Canadian Black Empowerment Think Tank (CBETT).

COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS PLANNING TEMPLATE

GIBBS BUSINESS PLANNING TEMPLATE SUGGESTION:

CONTENTS:
  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
  2. NON-DISCLOSURE CONFIDENTIAL, AND NON-CIRCUMVENT AGREEMENT
  3. BUSINESS VISION
  4. BUSINESS MISSION
  5. BUSINESS DETAILS _11 CRITERIA:
    1. Business Address
    2. Nature of Business
    3. Years in Business
    4. Business Authorization (Charter)
    5. Business Goals and Objectives
    6. Business Timeline (Major Milestones and Key Events)
    7. Business Type (Sole Proprietor, Partnership, Venture Capitalist)
    8. Business Consultants and Qualifications
    9. Guidelines, Principles, and Values
    10. Product(s) of the Business or service
    11. SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats)
  6. KEY SUCCESS FACTORS _10 CRITERIA:
    1. Financial Feasibility
    2. Capital Financing
    3. Communication Plan
    4. Business Plan
    5. Project Management Plan
    6. Construction Management Plan (If applicable)
    7. Customer Care Plan/Soft Skills/Certification
    8. Business Expertise
    9. Business Competency
    10. Business Integrity
  7. BUSINESS LEGAL FRAMEWOK_12 CRITERIA:
    1. Date Business Established
    2. Business Registration Number(s)
    3. Business Legal Representation
    4. Business Partners & Location
    5. Business Partnership Joint Liability
    6. Business Contracts and Agreements
    7. Business Employee Salaries and Incidentals
    8. Roles, Responsibilities, and Accountabilities
    9. Business Bookkeeping, Records Keeping, and Accounting
    10. Licenses, Permits, and Authorizations
    11. Legal and Financial Administration & Reporting
    12. Business and liability Insurance
      Note: Legal framework is critical to businesses’ functioning; often, some vital areas are overlooked and not accounted for in the overall budget process.
  8. MARKET ANALYSIS_10 CRITERIA:
    1. Industry Overview
    2. Digital Infrastructure
    3. Target Market(s)
    4. Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) (Industry 4.0.) Mega-trends
    5. Overall Market Analysis and Competitiveness
    6. Customer Characteristics and Needs
    7. Throughput Analysis
    8. Customer Purchasing Decisions
    9. Industry Response
    10. Business Achievements
  9. PRODUCT PRODUCTION PROCESS_15 CRITERIA:
    1. Rental Strategy
    2. Product Sourcing
    3. Product Preparation
    4. Resourcing Planning
    5. Product Quality Control & Assurance
    6. Product Packaging (Bottling Process)
    7. Delivery Strategy
    8. Waste Management Strategy
    9. Sales and Marketing
    10. Publicity and Marketing (Social Media Strategy)
    11. Advertising and Promotions
    12. Products Sales Tactics
    13. Customer Focus
    14. Shipping Safeguards
    15. Freight and Insurance
  10. PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN 10 CRITICAL MANAGEMENT AREAS_10 CRITERIA:
    1. Integration Management (Project Mandate/Organization Structure)
    2. Scope Management
    3. Time Management
    4. Cost Management
    5. Resource Management
    6. Quality Management
    7. Human resources Management
    8. Communications Management
    9. Risk Management
    10. Stakeholder Management
  11. BIOGRAPHIES AND ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND ACCOUNTABILITIES_12 CRITERIA:
    1. Advisory Council
    2. Resumes
    3. Specific Business Qualifications
    4. Roles, Responsibilities, and Accountabilities
    5. Letters of Intent (LOI)
    6. Letters of Endorsements
    7. Membership & Associations
      Note: Project Life Cycle Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing.
APPENDICES:
  • FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY_18 CRITERIA:
    1. Letters of Endorsements
    2. Letters of Intent (LOI)
    3. Income Tax Statements
    4. Overall Development Plan (Including Estimates)
    5. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
    6. Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS)
    7. Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS)
    8. Capital Budget (Including Cost Contingency)
    9. 1 Year Operating Statement (Income/Expense)
    10. 5 Year Pro Forma Statement
    11. Product Throughput Analysis (An unfamiliar term among small business owners)
    12. Return on Investment (ROI)
    13. Breakeven Analysis
    14. Asset Management Plan
    15. Contingency Planning (Miscellaneous)
    16. Accounting Management (Bookkeeping and Payroll Management)
    17. Corporate Reporting (Corporate Taxation)
    18. Archiving Strategy

Table 02.

Note 001:

Excluded are the Construction Elements. An excellent place to start on your journey into construction management could begin with the Construction Institute of Canada (TCIC). Likewise, the Construction Industry Institute (CII).

Gibbs CMPBUSPLN
September 2021