Business plan
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A business plan describes how your company will start implementing its business concept in practice. Use the plan to describe issues such as your company’s products and customers, and the market situation in the industry. Also prepare financing and profitability calculations and sales volume and cash flow calculations.
This text is a brief summary based on official sources and serves as a guide to key issues. For more accurate and detailed information, we recommend contacting local agencies and organizations directly.
Basic information
Business Idea. Provide a concise and compelling description of your business idea. Explain how you plan to generate revenue.
Reasons for Establishing a Business. Discuss your personal reasons for starting a business, such as the desire to be your own boss, commitment, risk-taking ability, motivation, and the potential for profit. Consider market reasons, such as demand, the prospects of the industry, and other factors. You may also mention reasons like seizing an opportunity, avoiding unemployment, or pursuing a passion.
Vision. Outline your long-term objectives for your business, such as growth, international expansion, introducing new products or services, or hiring employees.
Description of Products and Services
Description of Business Idea. Provide a detailed description of the services and products your enterprise will offer. Ensure that the reader of your business plan has a clear understanding of what you will sell.
Customer Benefits. Explain why and how your customers will benefit from your products and services. Highlight the added value they will receive.
Developing Services and Products. Describe your plans for developing your services or products in the future. Outline the implementation strategy for product and service development within your enterprise. Identify potential partners in product development and discuss how you will obtain information about your industry.
Market Analysis
Customers. Define your target customers and determine if they are corporate or consumer customers, or both. Consider the factors that are important to different customer groups when making purchasing decisions. Assess whether you have any existing customers and estimate their potential revenue contribution during your first year.
Market Size and Scope. Determine market area, consider international expansion, analyze industry competition, identify unique advantages, and compare competitors.
Future Prospects, Demand, and Market Changes. Business activities will adapt to operational environment changes, considering factors like population shifts, demand fluctuations, and technological advancements. Opportunities and risks will be identified, and sustainability and ecological considerations will be incorporated into the business strategy.
Sales and Marketing Plan
Marketing Methods. Marketing plan for first six months: target customer groups, channels, media, personal marketing activities, and customer file strategy.
Advertising and Sales Promotion. Design enterprise image, ensure business visibility, plan media exposure, leverage online marketing, explore joint marketing, and assess need for expert assistance.
Place of Business, Premises, and Production
Location. Choose a city, provide the address, and evaluate the pros and cons of the location.
Opening Hours and Time Management. Determine business and personal working hours, plan for vacations and illness, consider seasonal impacts, and outline after-hours duties.
Distribution Channels and Delivery Methods. Decide on product/service delivery, sales representatives/retailers, and cooperation partner selection.
Risk Management
Identify contracts, permits, laws, ownership rights, and insurance needs for your enterprise.
Digital Tools. Identify the software and applications essential for your business, such as a webshop, CRM, Google Analytics, e-invoicing/bookkeeping programs, and so on.
Permits and Notifications. Determine the permits and notifications required for your business, including authorization for business activities and premises.Identify the authorities you should contact before starting your business. See: https://uusyrityskeskus.fi/en/setting-up-a-business/industries-under-authorisation/
Management and Organization
Company Form and Organization. Choose a company form, explain the choice, and decide on a name, checking availability at www.ytj.fi.Consider three good name options for registration. Check https://nimipalvelu.prh.fi/nipa/en for existing names to avoid overlaps. Before registration, review your company’s industrial classification(s) using TOL 2008 https://www.stat.fi/en/luokitukset/toimiala/toimiala_1_20080101/
Outline employee roles, describe board structure, and discuss share capital and ownership.
Workforce, Skills, and Training Needs. Identify skills, past jobs, employee types, costs, and training needs.
Curriculum Vitae. Include your first and last name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address, marital status, education, training, and courses, and work experience.
Your own network and experts. Entrepreneurial success relies on leveraging networks and experts. Identify crucial experts, explore potential collaborations, and seek expert help when needed.
SWOT analysis
Strengths. Identify the strengths of your upcoming enterprise and consider ways to enhance them.
Weaknesses. Examine the weaknesses of your business idea and explore potential solutions to mitigate them.
Opportunities. Identify new opportunities for your business and develop strategies to capitalize on them.
Threats. Assess the greatest threats to your business idea and explore ways to mitigate or avoid them.
Economic Forecasts
Bookkeeping and Performance Monitoring. Determine bookkeeping and financial administration needs, including collaboration level, contract, e-accounting services, costs, and task delegation.
Purchasing and Warehousing. Estimate stock size, assess warehousing value, determine inventory turnover, decide on commission sales, identify payment periods and discounts, compare subscriptions and suppliers, and determine bid frequency.
Service and Product Pricing. Pricing basis, profit margin, payment terms, customer spending, and competitor pricing analysis are required.
Investments:Identify necessary investments, itemize costs and assets, and consider purchase price and aid eligibility.
Financing Your Operations. Identify financing sources and assess overdraft facility eligibility. Explore the various options for assistance, support, and grants! More information: https://uusyrityskeskus.fi/en/setting-up-a-business/business-funding/
Investment Calculation. The investment calculation for a startup company involves determining the amount of financing required to launch the business and planning the source of this financing. By adding the financing needed for investments and the net current assets, you can calculate the total money needed by the business. Subsequently, you can plan the sourcing of the required funding from various sources. NOTE: The difference between the sources of money and the total money needed should never be negative. If this were the case, the business would not have enough funds to start.
Business Analysis. Create a realistic three-year budget and explain how you calculated the sales figures.
Profitability Calculation. This calculation helps you understand the type of invoicing (monthly, daily, hourly) you need to achieve your company’s goals.
Cash Flow Analysis. One of the fundamental questions in an entrepreneur’s financial management is the sufficiency of funds. Determine the total amount of money coming into your company’s cash and identify the components of this cash flow. Analyze the outgoing expenses. The cash flow calculation enables you to describe and anticipate these matters. In corporate terms, it involves forecasting your company’s solvency. Be realistic about the sales growth in this calculation, as there will be ongoing expenses from the outset. It’s crucial for an entrepreneur to understand what the available cash will cover. With the cash flow calculation, you can identify potential issues during the initial stages of the company.