Business articles by Deepak MR

How to write a Business Plan?

“There are dreamers and there are planners, the planners make their dreams come true – Edwin Louis Cole”.

Entrepreneurs who start a business dream of achieving success. Their dreams would remain a mere dream without a proper plan. A business plan is a document that acts as guidance to help you realize your dreams. It is a plan that translates your vision into concrete action. Writing down what you want to achieve in the form of a plan is very important. It is this document that will help you get funds. A well-written plan will tell you clearly, what you need to do to achieve success.

Writing the business plan is half the battle done. Once the plan is ready, all you need to do is follow the plan sincerely to achieve success. Now that you have understood the importance of the business plan, let’s see what goes into a business plan.

The Structure

A business plan is a detailed document that outlines your ideas and how you plan to put the ideas into practice. As mentioned above, the document is what investors or bankers would study to decide if your business idea is feasible. The plan, therefore, should be comprehensive. The following is a standard structure that you can follow:

1. Cover page with title and table of contents

2. Executive summary: This gives an overview of your entire plan in one or two pages.

3. Company description: Here is where you need to talk about your company. Explain the type of company, brief background of promoters/owners, vision and goals of the company.

4. Structure: You need to explain the proposed organization structure and how the company would be managed.

5. Business model: The business model you are planning to follow to earn revenue can be explained.

6. Product/Services: You need to write in details about the products and services you are offering. Describe what is unique about your product/services and how it would attract customers.

7. Marketing and sales plan: You need to talk about how you would market the product/service and reach out to customers. Sales and revenue targets need to be clearly outlined.

8. Financial plan: This is the most important section for investors. You need to clearly explain how much funds you need and how you are going to use the funds raised. You also need to explain how finances would be managed, expenses, profits, plan to repay loans, and expected returns for investors. Projections of profit and loss should be enclosed.

9. Operational plan: You need to explain how regular operations would be carried out. If production is required, plan for production needs to be prepared.

10. Annexures: Any documents relevant to the business commencement can be attached. This includes statutory and regulatory approvals, land documents, etc.

A detailed plan as per this structure can help you present your ideas in a structured way. This can not just help you get funds, but can be a basis to carry out your marketing, operations, and manage your finances.

How to write the plan

Now that you are clear with what the plan should have, here are some tips to keep in mind while writing the business plan.

1) Carry out proper research

This is the most important thing to do while preparing a business plan. You need to research everything related to your business. Understand the industry sector you are working in and the market trends before making the plan. Proper research will help you to prepare an accurate plan. You can talk to experts in this field and analyze competition before preparing the plan.

2) Write the summary at the end

Even though the summary is the first section of the plan, you should prepare it at the end. Once your plan is completely ready, then prepare the executive summary. It will help you make a perfect summary of your plan. Most potential investors would decide based on what they read in the summary. If needed, get it written by a professional who is experienced in writing business plans.

3) Take your time to write the plan

Don’t hurry while writing a plan. If you have a meeting with investors coming up, start working on the plan many weeks ahead. Take your time to prepare the perfect plan. The content of the plan and the presentation are both important. Write a draft, review it, make changes, edit it and make a second draft. Repeat this process, as many times as necessary until you are completely satisfied.

4) Include a detailed profile

You need to include a detailed profile of your company and your own profile. The profile should have as many details as possible. The profile of all the promoters should be included. It should list out the qualification, experience, skills, and achievements. Both technical and business experience needs to be highlighted in the profile.

5) Don’t make a standard plan

You may need to present the plan to different people. You can customize the plan depending on who would read it. Bankers may need a different type of presentation. They would be more concerned about the financials. A venture capitalist is more concerned about your business model and your profile.

6) Be accurate and honest

When you present projections, make sure they are accurate. Be honest while presenting information. Investors are smart people and can detect projections that are bloated up to create a rosy picture.

7) Focus on customer creation

Customers are the key to a business. Your plan should focus on how you plan to create customers and how you would convince them to buy your products. Your plan to promote your product using both conventional methods and digital marketing should be highlighted.

8) Use ready templates

Ready templates are available on the internet. Search for them and use them to create a professional business plan. Ready worksheets to create business projections would be available. All you need to do is fill in the data. This simplifies the process of writing a business plan.

A professional business plan is a recipe for your business success. Put in effort to create the perfect plan that can help you achieve your dreams.

How to start a software company

We live in a world where computing power is used for virtually everything. Computers need software to run. From a mobile app to an online game and airline reservation to stock inventory, software is needed everywhere. There is a great demand for quality software, as more and more individuals and companies start using them. A software development company develops and distributes software that can be used for various purposes such as learning, performance of various tasks, entertainment, etc. 

Starting a software development company can be a lucrative business idea. The demand for software and the fast changing technology ensures quality software sells and allows its developers to earn a lot of money. Everyone knows the story of Bill Gates, who discontinued his schooling to develop software. He started developing software and founded Microsoft and the rest is history. There are many entrepreneurs who have become rich and famous by foraying into software development. 

If you have the technical skills, management skills, and the desire to succeed, then you can start a software development company. In this article, we will cover the 7 steps involved in setting up a software development company. 

1.    Carrying out a detailed market research

The most important thing is to conduct market research in order to identify competitors and clients. Software development is a highly competitive industry with many players in the market. There are already established companies as well as hundreds of startups developing software. You need to understand with whom are you competing, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how you can match up to them. Market research will give an idea as to what stage the software development market trend is in, whether that be - introduction, maturity or decline. 

This will further give clarity as to what product your company will need to create to stay aligned with the latest trends. Today Artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, Blockchain, and cyber security are the latest trending areas. Developing software that cater to these trends can help you get a market for yourself. This is where market research will be of help. 

2.    Creating a business plan

Once you decide what product to create, it is important to draw up a business plan that will list down the purpose, product, target audience, competition, and product delivery timelines. It is important to know your target audience. If you are developing retail software, then your target audience is retailers. Similarly, if you are developing a music app, your target audience could be teens. It is important to know the target audience so that you can understand their needs and develop software accordingly. 

3.    Protecting intellectual property

Getting patents and Trademarks for the ideas you conceive in starting up a software development company is the next step considering that the market is highly competitive. Trademarks are an asset and help you build your reputation. Not getting a trademark can be costly and can lead to infringement by others. 

4.    Deciding on a name

You need to name your company. Look for a catchy and unique name that people would remember. Try and related the name to your business. Remember that your company name is likely to become a brand in the future. 

5.    Choosing a business location

Your business location will depend upon the location of your target customers, purchasing power of your clients, and the strategic location of similar software development companies, such as Silicon Valley. Countries like India, China, Philippines, Taiwan, and South Korea are now working on outsourced software development for clients in the US with more than 40% US companies outsourcing their work to these countries 

6.    Hiring outsourced developers

Setting up your own team of software developers can be seen as an ideal situation since you are in control of the entire development process. H[NI7] owever, when starting up a new software development company, it is recommended to initially outsource your development process to reliable and experienced specialists. This can be useful in the initial stages of your business as it will cut down costs and is less time consuming. This will also help in delivering your projects in time, which is an important factor when dealing with new clients. A word of caution - remember to keep the ownership of the source code and refraining from getting trapped by suspicious outsource vendors. Hence, conduct a thorough check before outsourcing your projects. 

7.    Setting up a legal structure and getting insured

Defining a legal structure for the business is required to overcome situations where client contracts are involved. Also, insurance can help in situations beyond ones control such as health issues, etc  Not having insurance can be costly as you face the risk of being sued by customers for software defects. It would be worth spending money on professional liability insurance to address these risks. 

8.    Creating a prototype

While taking care of the above mentioned steps, it’s important to also create a prototype of your software and allow enough time for testing by the end users and collection of feedback. This will make it easier and cheaper to correct the mistakes before the final product is launched in the market. This prototype is known as an MVP (Minimum Viable Product). An MVP can sure help in finding investors or even attract venture capital or grants and loans. 

In the end, for a successful venture, it is important to create products that are self-explanatory, simple, and not too technical for the customers to understand. Also, provide features that are not available with the competitors’ products to have an edge. When you develop software that is easy to use, you are likely to win over more customers. Providing value-added features will help differentiate your product from that of competitors allowing you to succeed. 

A planned and systematic approach to software development as explained above will help you create a company that can taste the fruits of success.