Starting and succeeding in a business is no small feat. Millions have tried, but only a few have persevered and stuck long enough with the plan to enjoy the results. Succeeding in business requires great timing, entrepreneurial drive, luck, solid business skills, and a solid business plan.

While some businesses have succeeded without business plans, the odds of failing are greater without one. What exactly are you doing without a plan? How do you even run a business without a plan? The plan is your reference point and will help you run your business.

A business plan doesn’t always guarantee success, but it could be the difference between failure and success.

Refine your business with these plans:

Marketing plan

A comprehensive marketing plan is vital to the short- and long-term success of your business. It gives a feel of the market, the competition, and the products. It contains details on how a product will perform and the marketing budget required to make it a success.

A well-defined marketing plan identifies and understands the target market. You want to understand what your customer needs and how to satisfy this need. The plan should also identify your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

The marketing plan will help position your products or services as a better alternative to the competition. Marketing will help differentiate you from your competitors. But since you’re a start-up, focus your energies on the two areas that matter- penetrating the market and promoting your business.

Risk Management Plan

Every business faces unexpected risks; it could be market change, loss of funds, natural disasters, delays in approvals, or loss of investors. All these could impact operations and result in the business shutting down.

However, the impact of these risks could be mitigated by having a risk management plan. Every business or organization needs a risk management plan. It will help you identify potential risks and prepare to deal with the risks or avoid them. It also makes financial sense to have a risk management plan as it will help you shore up your funds in case anything happens.

A risk management plan will help you minimize the impact or help you cope you with the impact of a risk. As a business owner/entrepreneur, you ought to evaluate the risk level and come up with plans to mitigate the risk.

An effective risk management plan evaluates all aspects of the business from safety, business, environmental, and financial risk management. Don’t just wait till the tide rocks your boat, instead go out and talk to customers, experts, employees and conduct research. You want to know what you’ll face before you can embark on preparations.

Rank the risks and prioritize according to urgency. If you have enough resources, then prioritize all risks, if not focus on mitigating the impact. Some risks are unavoidable; all you can do is prepare for impact and reduce the fallout.

However, most risks are avoidable, especially if you’re constantly monitoring potential risks and conducting regular risk assessments. The first assessment will be resource-intensive, but the following assessments will be more efficient and less resource-intensive.

Financial Plan

Businesses succeed due to a lot of factors which include a solid financial plan. Every business needs money, regardless of whether it’s run online or offline. You need funds for your company’s expenses, whether sales are low or high. Bills keep coming, vendors and employees want their dues. A financial plan helps you budget thus prevents your business from falling into the debt cycle.

You shouldn’t wait for your business to start to begin financial planning. It should be part of your business plan. You want to know where to source funds, how to spend the funds, and how to minimize costs. Know precisely what you want. For example, are prioritizing short term profits over long term growth?

You need a financial plan before you can approach investors. A financial plan will help you understand how much it will cost to open, run, grow, and achieve profitability. You will also understand the financial risks associated with the business.

A financial plan will become the basis of comparison once your business opens. It will help you evaluate your revenue, cash reserves, dips in monthly sales revenue, and your budget.

Businesses succeed because of comprehensive plans that account for every aspect of the business from the market to resources and risks. While there will always be unexpected turns, such businesses will always weather the storm.