Business Plan (BP)

A business plan is essential for the entrepreneur and often required when using experts to assess the feasibility of the business. Potential financiers always require one.

1. BUSINESS IDEA

Write a short summary of your business idea. Start with your industry and add details as needed. Read more about business ideas.

• What am I selling?
• To whom am I selling?
• How am I selling?

2. COMPETENCE

Entrepreneurship is based on competence, where the key factors are professional skills and education. Competence may also come from hobbies or everyday experience. Important personal qualities for entrepreneurs include result-orientation, persistence, and independence. Use the following questions to describe your competences – and be honest with yourself.

• What work experience and education do you have? Or skills gained through hobbies?
• Do you have any special knowledge, skills, or expertise that are useful as an entrepreneur?
• Have you worked as an entrepreneur before? (In which field? When and for how long?)
• Have you completed any entrepreneurship courses or studies?
• What are your strengths?
• What are your weaknesses?
• Which qualities do you still need to develop, and how can you acquire them?

3. PRODUCT / SERVICE

Your product or service depends on your skills and expertise. To succeed as an entrepreneur, you must understand your customers’ needs and expectations. Try to look at things from your customers’ perspective. When your competences and your product are in balance, you gain a competitive advantage.

• What is your product or service? What are you selling? Provide price examples.
• What is unique and excellent about it? Why should customers buy from you?
• What weaknesses does it have?
• What benefits or advantages does it bring to the customer?
• Does the quality of your product or service match the price you are asking?

4. CUSTOMERS / MARKETS

It is important for entrepreneurs to know their customers: which product or service features they value, and which they do not consider very important, as well as their expectations. Business customers can be grouped, for example, by industry or location, while consumer customers can be grouped by age, gender, income level, education, family size, or place of residence. In the beginning, it is wise to focus on the customer groups most likely to buy your product or service. Competence, product, and customers form a whole that must be in balance to create a competitive advantage.

• Who are your customers and target groups?
• What are their buying habits?
• How many customers are there?
• Where are your customers located?
• If your customer is a company, who makes the purchasing decision?

5. COMPETITORS

Competition is part of an entrepreneur’s everyday life. It is important to know your competitors, their products, and their practices. An entrepreneur should differentiate themselves with something that customers value – this allows more flexibility in pricing, which means better profitability. It is useful to follow your competitors’ advertising and sales promotion, collect their materials, and regularly evaluate: how much and how often they advertise, what they advertise, and how they advertise. This helps you understand competitors better and improve your own competitiveness.

• Who are your main competitors? Name 3–5 key ones.
• What are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their products or services?
• How do their products or services differ from yours?
• What sales promotion methods and advertising channels do they use?

6. YOUR COMPANY

Plan carefully how you intend to operate. For example, location requirements and promotional activities vary depending on the industry. The key is to find solutions that are realistic with your resources and to develop your business systematically.

• Company premises and location? Do they need renovation?
• Do you need to register your business or apply for permits? What about facilities?
• What production equipment will you need? (Machines, tools, computer, phone, etc.)
• Will you need employees?
• What advertising channels and promotional activities will you use?
• How strong are your own marketing and advertising skills – do you need help?
• What insurances will you take? How will you insure yourself against illness, accident, or unemployment? Do insurances cover your business risks?

7. ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL PLANNING

In most cases, it is advisable for the entrepreneur to focus on running the business and outsource bookkeeping to an accounting office. It is also wise to consult experts in financial statement planning. Especially in partnerships and limited liability companies, using a professional auditor is recommended. Still, the actual business planning, monitoring, and development are always the entrepreneur’s responsibility.

• What needs to be purchased before your business can start? How will you arrange financing?
• How will you handle bookkeeping?
• How will you plan your operations? How will you monitor the implementation of plans?
• Do you need advice for financial statements, budgeting, or other financial planning?

Business Plan instructions (link to additional information by the Finnish Enterprise Agency).

Profitability Calculations (link to calculations provided by the Finnish Enterprise Agencies).