Table Of Content

Writing a Business Plan Resourcing new ventures is all-important for entrepreneurs, and creating a successful business plan can be make or break when it comes to attracting investment. Written by an experienced academic and consultant, this book provides a concise guide for producing the optimal business plan. Business plans are vital when it comes to making strategic decisions and monitoring progress. Writing a Business Plan is designed to teach you how to write your business plan without relying on someone else or internet templates. It will take you through each stage of business-plan writing, with chapters on generating ideas; describing business opportunities; drawing a business road map; and considering marketing, fi nancial, operations, HR, legal and risk. The book includes a range of features to assist you, including worked-through examples. T his unique book provides a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs and students of entrepreneurship to hone their skills in writing a useful and comprehensive business plan. Ignatius Ekanem is Senior Lecturer in Business Management at Middlesex University Business School, London. Dr Ekanem specializes in economic regeneration and small-business research, with particular focus on the fi nancial management practices of small and medium-sized businesses. Routledge Focus on Business and Management The fi elds of business and management have grown exponentially as areas of research and education. This growth presents challenges for readers trying to keep up with the latest important insights. Routledge Focus on Business and Management presents small books on big topics and how they intersect with the world of business. Individually, each title in the series provides coverage of a key academic topic, whilst, collectively, the series forms a comprehensive collection across the business disciplines. ISSN: 2475–6369 For a complete list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com/ business/series/FBM. The Search for Entrepreneurship Simon Bridge Neurobusiness Stephen Rhys Thomas Auditing Teams Dynamics and Efficiency Mara Cameran, Angelo Ditillo and Angela Pettinicchio The Reflective Entrepreneur Dimo Dimov The Spartan W@rker Konstantinos Perrotis and Cary Cooper Writing a Business Plan A Practical Guide Ignatius Ekanem Writing a Business Plan A Practical Guide Ignatius Ekanem First published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 Ignatius Ekanem The right of Ignatius Ekanem to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-20602-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-46581-4 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. (Habakkuk 2:2) To Ekemini, Edidiong and Etieno Contents List of illustrations xi About the author xiii Acknowledgements xiv 1 Introduction to this book 1 2 The contents of a business plan 6 3 Introduction to the business plan 9 4 Idea generation 11 5 Business strategy 17 6 Market research and marketing 24 7 Financing the business 31 8 Operations management 52 9 HR-related tasks and legal compliance 56 10 Risk analysis, growth and exit planning 62 11 Conclusion 65