Building a business plan

Do you want to start a business, but don't know where to start? Don't worry, we've put together some tips to help  you with the most challenging but rewarding and profitable thing that you can do - starting your own business.

The most important step is your business plan

The most important thing any start-up business needs is a business plan. It's a roadmap of what you want to do and where you want to go. A business plan is the first step to turning your brilliant idea into a working business.

Five steps to a good business plan

• What do you want to do?

This is your goal – it will describe the product or services you want to sell or manufacture. What does your product do? What is unique about it? How is it going to change the market?

• Who or what is your market?

What kind of people will buy your product? Why will they buy it? What products or services will be your competition?

• Who is your competition?

Perhaps other companies offer similar products to yours, so you need to understand and explain who you will be competing with. How do they sell their products and how will your business differ from theirs?

• What is your strategy?

You’ve described what your business will do, who your customers will be and who you will be competing with, now you need to explain how you will do all of this. How your customers will learn or hear about your product and what you will do to convince them to choose your products over the competition. How will your business be structured – do you have partners or suppliers?

• What will it cost?

This is the big question – how much do you need to get your company going? Remember that a new business takes a while to start making a profit. You need to work out how much money you will need to do all of the above and how much you will need to run your business until it begins to turn a profit.

Getting the financial products you need for your business

With a business plan prepared, you are ready to get the finance you need. At Absa, we offer SME finance to start-up businesses just like yours. Our advisers understand business needs and requirements and can help assess your business plans with a view to giving your business a loan, transactional accounts, online banking access or credit or debit cards  as well as comprehensive insurance solutions for your business. You could also qualify for certain  SME - guaranteed loans, so it is always worth your while to talk to one of our advisers.

Get your business going

Start working on your business plan now and make it perfect. Afterwards, come talk to us. If you're going to change the world, now is the time to begin. It's exciting and challenging, but it can also be very rewarding.