Lesson 9: Where’s the Business Plan?
To succeed at anything, you must first have a plan, a goal, a point at which to aim. To succeed you’ll need a Business Plan!
Welcome to Module 3 of the series, How to Start a Market Stall. If you haven’t been following or have just arrived at this lesson, great. Really pleased to have you along.
Module three is about getting your ducks in a row before you step out onto the Market floor. Creating a plan of where you are going and what you hope to achieve.
It is also encouragement too.
In this lesson we are going to look at why you need a plan.
Why do I Need a Business Plan?
Good question. After all you are only going to be selling a few items from a stall. It’s not like you’re a supermarket chain. So what’s the big deal.
At its most basic level, your overall plan will serve to pull you through when times get a little tough or when you are feeling a little despondent about the whole Market Stall life.
You are travelling from here to there, meeting with people and talking to them everyday. Some days no one turns up and other days you just don’t have enough motivation to feed the fish in the gold-fish bowl!
Your business plan will focus your attention so you’re clear about what it is you are doing and where you are going.
What is a Business Plan Really?
A business plan is a comprehensive document outlining the objectives of a business and the strategies to achieve them.
It serves as a roadmap, detailing the company’s goals, market research, competitive analysis, marketing strategies, organisational structure, product or service offerings, and financial projections.
The purpose of a business plan is to provide a clear direction for your business, attract investors, secure funding, and guide decision-making processes.
It's a Commitment
When writing a business plan you are committing. Committing to an idea that it’s worth putting time and energy into it. You are saying to yourself, “I think my idea is valuable and I can see it developing into something.”
While writing a business plan you’ll discover what you are committing too. What you will be sacrificing in order to achieve your dreams and ambitions.
When it’s done, you have a document that you can say, this is my starting point. Let’s go.
It's Research
The business plan isn’t just a nice fluffy document that explains how you are going to start and grow your market stall and business. It is research into how you are going to survive in the marketplace.
After the honeymoon period there is a quiet period. You need to plan to keep evolving to be at the edge of your business to compete, to be continuously creative.
There are seasons and trends to plan in advance for. You’ll resources and have to plan for recurring inventory. You’ll need to know your market.
Know your Competition
A business plan will uncovering the competition. We may all think we have an original idea, but truth be told, there will be something similar to your idea out there already. It is you that makes it a unique idea.
How are you going to be different? What are you going to do to make your product stand out from the crowd? Can you even work with your competitors to improve your own business?
Knowing your Competition you’ll be saying to yourself – “I can see the playing field ahead of me and I am ready to play on it”.
Obstacles Ahead
Notice the obstacles you will encounter so you can be better prepared to face them. No-one goes racing without being prepared.
If Usain Bolt turned up to the Olympics 100m with boots and jeans on ready to race, it wouldn’t matter how fast he was he wouldn’t win against the other prepared athletes. He would lose the race.
The same is true for any business. Be prepared for the potholes, the slip ups, the changing space you are in. Stay creative and engaged and you’ll be successful.
Plan for the Future
No-one starts with everything all ready at once. That’s for sure!
Market Nosh was formulated in my head at 3am in the morning in 2017 and it has been developing ever since.
We can’t see the future, but we can see signs which will point us in the right direction in the short-term. Look to the next 3-5 years. Where is this going to take you? What are your objectives?
It could be a small social page documenting your journey which brings customers to your stall. Your creative talent shared with the right person who spreads the word.
Use the tools available to you and share what you have.
Mission Statement
Create a statement which sums up your business in one sentence. Consider the elevator pitch.
The elevator pitch is where you get into a lift with someone you want to sell to, and you only have the time between them pushing for their floor and the ride till they get out to ‘sell’ your idea.
They should be clear what your business does and how it is useful. Think of it as a 10 – 30 sec window of opportunity.
Market Nosh’s business Statement is:
The BEST Resource on the web to help start and run a market stall business. Offering real life experiences and interviews from the marketplace around the world.
Money Matters
If you are thinking about raising capital for your startup, then a clear business plan is needed. Your backer, whether a bank or family member will want to clearly see how you are going to use their money and how you intend to pay it back.
This point is deliberately last. You should be clear in your own mind about your business before you ask others for money.
Know how much you are going to spend and how much you are going to make. If you cannot produce revenue you do not have a business.
Create a business plan which shows your adaptability.
Create three scenarios showing how your business will react to the best possible outcome, a more realistic world view and one where it goes disastrously wrong.
Nothing is certain in the world and neither is your business. Understanding this and knowing how to adapt makes you a better business planner.
Conclusion
Your business plan will form the heartbeat of your business. It will guide you and keep you focussed.
As you grow, so your plan is refined and you focus along with it.
Follow along to learn how to use your business plan in the next lesson
Quiz
1. What is a business Plan for?
2. Why consider your goal first before you work out the finances?
3. How can competition help you make a better business plan?
