Page 86 - Design Thinking C11

Business Plan
A business plan is a detailed plan of what entrepreneurs want to achieve in a company and how to achieve
it. When planning a business, an entrepreneur has to think about several factors. This includes answering the
following questions:

● Who is the customer, and which need is being met?
● What product or service do we sell?
● What are the various business activities involved?

● Which material(s) is/are required to build the product?
● What is the number of customers being targeted?
● What is the role of each team member involved in the business?

Importance of Planning the Business
Business planning is important to entrepreneurs. The reasons for making a business plan are as follows:
● Estimate of required funds: Once you know the products and sales destinations, the next step is to
estimate the amount it will take to start a business. Without an estimate of the amount of money, an
entrepreneur could make a large investment or start a business without enough money to run the
business.
● Estimating the amount of material required: Knowing the amount of material required lets the entrepreneur
determine the cost of manufacturing a product or the cost of providing a service.
● Standing out: A business plan, entrepreneurs need to think about how they can make their business
different and special compared to other similar businesses.
● Goal Setting: Another important reason for the plan is to set ambitious yet realistic goals. These goals
motivate entrepreneurs to work hard.

Improving Business Growth
After starting a business, entrepreneurs need to think about how to continue to improve and grow by adding
value to their business for attracting customers. The following principles need to be considered:

● Quality: Business owners can improve their business by improving the quality of the products or services
offered to their customers. This helps them get noticed in the business and also justifies higher prices.

More Cash flow will help your business grow. For example, in the tea business, entrepreneurs can improve
the quality of the product by offering various varieties of tea in different quantities.
● Scale-up: Scaling-up means growing your business by attracting more customers. There are a variety of
ways companies can reach out to more customers. One such path is to go to different geographical
locations where you can find new customers. For example, sell tea in various markets, office locations
where many people work, rather than in any highly competitive market.
● Offer Alternatives: Another way to grow your business is to provide some offers to your customers.
Alternatives mean products and services similar to the ones already in the market. For example, selling
phone covers with mobile phones.

Design Thinking and Innovation XI
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