You may have heard the saying several time, “If you fail to plan then you are planning to fail”. This statement is true both in life and business. This statement emphases the importance of planning and we must take it seriously. We should therefore have plans for every area of our lives in order to have a successful outcome in them. In this post we shall talk about the place of planning in our business, namely; business plan.
A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals. A business plan is an essential roadmap for business success. This living document generally projects 3-5 years ahead and outlines the route a company intends to take to grow revenues.
A business plan is a written document that gives a detail description that explains a company’s plans and goals in the start-up and the future. Your business plan should support your objectives and goals and is your “road map” for your business. It should cover every aspect of your business and should reflect findings based on your market research of your industry.
A business plan may take a lot of time to prepare but it is so important that the time taken to prepare one is worth it. It is a way of translating your ideas from your head to paper. Business plans may be internally or externally focused. Externally focused plans target goals that are important to external stakeholders, particularly financial stakeholders. Internally focused business plans target intermediate goals required to reach the external goals.
A business plan helps you face reality. It is quite easy to get an idea on starting your own pharmacy then you tell your family and friends who in turn commend what great idea it was and support you on it. Quickly you get a location, rent a shop and stock it up, get staff and open for business. You blindly wait and hope for business to come and you become rich. This is usually how many pharmacists go about starting their pharmacy business.
It is a different thing when you go the business plan route. When you start to put the true steps in writing you begin to see reality. You will have a clear view of what your business entails and requires. Location and rent costs, costs of getting started, licenses and permits, advertising, employees, and a list of other expenses that never seem to show up in the “dreamer” stage.
The process of developing your business plan will require you to focus on exactly what you are trying to achieve, precisely where you want to be going, and exactly how you plan to get there. It will force you to detail the many expenses involved in starting your business and the amount of business you will need to meet your financial obligations and monetary goals.
Many pharmacists do not prepare a business plan for their pharmacies because they think they are not necessary without realizing that it is an essential step to the success and growth of their business. Every pharmacy owner should prepare this document as it will be a guide for growing a successful business.
Read the benefits of preparing a business plan for your pharmacy, click here