Preparing the venture plan
This section covers the development of the venture plan; the business model is an integral part of this plan. This activity will use the work you have done in Chapters 4 and 5 on exploring the opportunity and the work from earlier in this chapter on future-thinking, opportunity planning and business modelling. By now you should be familiar with the use of mind-maps for key concepts and we will work on the venture plan in the same way. Figure 6.5 (page 143) shows an overview of a venture plan, and a template.is included in the toolkit. It is suggested that you work on the venture plan using flipchart paper on the- wall or a white board. The advantage of working on the venture plan in this way is that you can start from the*'vision' of what you aim to achieve through the venture in the centre, and then work on each of the other boxes, starting with the opportunity, then the strategy, and the plans for marketing and sales, operations, finance, and people. The final step is the action plan which summarises the priority actions which need to be completed. Additional information under each of the headings can be pasted up and the venture plan¬ning map can become a 'header' or summary of the information in the plan. Notes on what to include in each section of the plan follow in the next section.
Table 6.1 (page 142) builds on the map of a venture plan by showing the headings and sub-headings of a typical venture plan as they might be used on the contents page, with links to where the information can be obtained from activities in this and preceding chap¬ters. This will help you as you develop your venture plan in the next section.
Vision and strategy were covered earlier in this chapter. Opportunity was covered in Chapter 4. Guidelines on completing the other parts of the venture plan are given in the next section.
Marketing and sales plan: key questions to address
- What are the vital success factors which you have to get right? These factors will differentiate the venture from competitors. They may include superior technology, service, choice or other benefits to the customer. Beware of claiming to offer lower cost unless the business model really provides a lower cost structure.
- Who are the target customer segments? This was covered in Chapter 4.