How to write a successful business plan by chew mark

How to Write a Successful
Business Plan
• Open Your Mind

• Create a Winning Strategy

• Produce That Persuasive Plan

• Plus Bonus Videos to Learn Proven Methods to
Break Free from the Rat Race of Life

Done by: Chew Mark
Author of Discover Your Leadership Style,
Business Developer, and Leadership Coach
5/15/2011 (c) Chew Mark 2011 All Rights Reserved World Wide
http://chewmark.com/
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Why Learn How to Write a Business Plan?
1. If you believe that vision is first needed in achieving great
results, then by writing your business plan, you’ve taken the
first steps to reaching your dreams and goals.

2. Let me show you what I mean by first having vision . . .

(c) Chew Mark 2011 All Rights Reserved
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Do you believe me if I said that a Building
was Built with Blueprint and Hard work?

VISION ACTION

VISION ACTION RESULTS
1. Results are Output

2. Vision is the Input

3. Action is the bridge that BRINGS your vision to reality.


3. These slides are therefore meant to lead you through writing
your own business plans and to be accountable for your
business.

4. While it is fine to get someone else to write it for you,
nothing beats the fact that the owner of the dream owns this
intellectual property – and that is YOU!

5. Now, business plans are usually written to raise finance for a
new venture, sell a business, or even to provide a blueprint
for management.

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6. Therefore, who you are writing this business plan for is very
important.
a. For potential investors?
b. For fellow partners?
c. For your boss?

7. By standing on the shoulders of giants, one can learn much
faster.
a. As a business developer, I’ve written countless of business proposals
and while some have seen the light of day, many have not!

b. I’m also able to use my experience in leadership coaching to
determine if a company can make or break, just by looking at a few
factors.
i. To me, management is a key area. The success of a company
depends on the management which is otherwise known as the
Corporate HQ
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8. Hence I’m sharing with you how to write a business plan so
that you can succeed in your work and be the best that you
are meant to be!

9. Remember, how you do anything is how you do everything. So
schedule your time wisely to finish writing this, and you would
be convinced that your new business can go, grow, glow!

10. In the next slide, the “Scope” would show you the typical
chapters found in any professional business plans.

11. Thereafter, I would show you a sample business plan that I’ve
specially created for a friend WRT the Health and Wellness
Industry.
a. Let’s call this widget, PSVM, and he intends to place PSVM in selected
outlets. So let’s see what the PSVM Business Plan is all about!
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TYPICAL SCOPE IN A BUSINESS PLAN
1. Executive Summary
2. Business Background
3. The Market
4. Operations
5. Management
6. Proposal
7. Forecast
8. Financial Information
9. Risks
10.Questions
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1. Essentially, this chapter is done last.

2. I liken this chapter to a book synopsis .

3. Only the key points from chapters 2 to 9 are placed
here so that potential investors or business partners
may screen through this chapter first.

4. Therefore I’ll not cover this part as critically as the
other chapters.

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1. This chapter is for you to describe your
current company structure if any.
Healthy Holdings
2. After all, nobody would back anything that
they don’t understand. Educate your readers
quickly. HVM Pte Ltd HFS Pte Ltd
Health Health
vending Fitness
3. Outline what this business is all about machines System
a. What is it, what does it do? Pte Ltd Pte Ltd
b. How was it established?
Example of a Company
c. By whom? Structure
d. Why?
e. Has it been successful?

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1. Do note that if you decide to set up a Holdings, LLP or Pte Ltd,
I would highly suggest a Certified Public Accountants (CPA) or
lawyer to go through the details with you.

2. For those who wish to set up companies in Singapore, while
you may be able to set up a company online via the ACRA
website, or http://www.acra.gov.sg/ you would need a
proper set of annual accounting documents that only the CPA
(it’s their rice bowl after all) professionals can help.

3. For those who wish to set up companies in Singapore, feel
free to contact me, because I have a business partner who
owns her own CPA firm since 1975. I am currently helping her
in her website development.

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3. The Market

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3. The Market
1. The ideas in this chapter are not exhaustive, because there
are indeed many aspects of market that need to be covered
in your plan

2. Briefly outline what the market you compete in, or propose to
compete in is.

3. Ask yourself, why do or will people buy your goods or
services? Will they benefit in any way?

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3.1 Overview
1. The Health and Wellness Industry is concerned with
prevention of illness and disease, or Preventive Medicine.

2. This is different from the typical Health industry which
includes doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and pharmaceutical
companies. The health industry focuses on treating the
symptoms of illness, and not on prevention of sickness, or
helping people feel healthier. Also known as Predictive
Medicine

3. The Health and Wellness Industry industry is a booming
trillion dollar industry world wide. This industry includes
nutritional supplements, juices, health/fitness clubs,
chiropractic, naturopathy, homeopathy, and holistic health
care.
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3.1 Overview
4. Even as we face an ageing society, there are also the
generation X and Y group who are recognizing the benefits of
healthy living. This is due to the proliferation of health
knowledge, advances in science and research & development

5. The rate of growth for Baby Boomers who are people born
between the years of 1946 and 1962 will explode between
the years of 2010 and 2030.

6. These Boomers have strong purchasing power. They
represent the richest generation in history, and one of their
main concerns is health, looking and feeling younger. They
are turning to the Health and Wellness Industry to not only
slow the aging process, but also to reverse it.
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3.1 Overview
7. Boomers want to live their lives with health, energy, and
vitality. They want to stay healthy to continue pursuing
dreams, goals, and living a fulfilling life. So they are willing to
invest in their health.

8. Always look for, or create a credible system that would
enable you to work ON the business, and not IN the
business.
a. For more Information on such systems, please watch The Brilliant
Compensation, 2 remarkable business owner and lecturer speak
about what are the latest trends that a new business owner should
look out for: http://www.simplyworkathome.org/system

b. Your password is 3285981.

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3.2 Trends
1. Look in terms of recent development in the industry that may
shape the business. Eg: Do you think people will want to buy your
product if you decide to come up with a pay phone that uses
coins? Also, would you consider it trendy to carry a really big
mobile phone the size of a brick?

2. By examining trends, you are showing your business partners and
investors a level of anticipation that they are on the right track
because of “predictive” patterns.

3. The following 2 sites by, are a good trend indicator that you may
wish to read up on with regard to the Health & Wellness Industry.
a. Paul Zane Pilzer :
http://thewellnessrevolution.paulzanepilzer.com/trends.php

b. BBC: http://www.simplygoodhealth.org/truth
i. Your password is 3285981.
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3.2 Trends

4. Deeper Pharmaceutical concerns
a. As people get more educated, they began to realise that the traditional
Health Industry that sells drugs may be harming us with side effects,
instead of truly helping us

5. Increasing Entrepreneurial Opportunities
a. Has the Real Estate Boom passed us by?
b. Since the wellness industry is not yet a mature industry, this is the next
boom market

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3.3 Market Structure
1. Understanding the market structure will help you shape your
marketing campaign, cost structure and further business
analysis
2. Is this a Perfect competition, whereby everyone sells the
same goods?
3. Is this a monopoly, whereby you are the only one selling these
good?
4. In my opinion, PSVM can be a unique monopoly as no other
brands seem to be selling in this manner.
5. What is important to note is that, PSVM is just one way of
reaching out to customers.
a. In other words, they are merely an extension of the company’s sales
division increase sales.
b. Initially, there may still be a need for a salesperson to explain what it
is all about

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3.4 Customers (Follow a T-P-M-M approach)
1. Your target market.
a. Athletes or just your average Joe who goes to the Gym
b. People who wants to be healthy

2. What is your positioning?
a. Are your products so good that it would benefit them at the right
places? Are you an expert in this area?

3. What is your message?
a. Formal, friendly, sarcastic, humorous?

4. And how do you intend to reach out to them?
a. Which Medium eg: online, printed, social media?

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3.5 Competitors (You may need to do a complete SWOT analysis)

Local
1. GNC, and your typical off the shelves supplement providers,
in Watsons, Guardian and supermarkets
2. There are also some online providers like Nutrifirst
a. http://www.nutrifirst.net/index.asp
b. http://www.nutritionpark.com/?gclid=CPGnkf23z6gCFYl66wodAlqK
hg
3. Competent Direct Selling Health and Wellness Companies,
which have knowledgeable distributors and a robust
logistical system, which would assist the customers in every
way.
a. From Pharmanex, Amway, to Usana Health Sciences.
b. All selling high quality supplements to the market for at least 20-30
years.

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3.5 Competitors

Overseas
1. A quick search reveals the following
a. http://www.intelligentvending.co.uk/
healthieroptions.htm

b. http://www.vendingconnection.com/
healthyvending.html

c. http://www.healthclubvending.com/
machines.html#machines

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3.6 Our Competitive Advantage

1. What do you have that makes you unique from your
competitors? List the ways (non-exhaustive).
a. Cost (Workers in developing countries)
b. Technology (Open source like Linux or paid like Microsoft)
c. Brand (Soft drinks e.g: Coke)
d. Location (Airports e.g: Singapore Changi Airport)
e. People (smartest team around e.g: Team Skype)
f. Product (sexy appeal: e.g iPhone)
g. Distribution (some unique distribution agreement with a big chain
eg: Groupon and Live Nation)

2. These are essentially your Unique Selling Points (USP),
something that gives you the edge, and keep you at the
sharp end of the spear.

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3.7 What Differentiates Us?

1. How can you differentiate your business from them? List the
ways.
a. Benefits / Features
b. Service Quality
c. Product Quality
d. After Sales Support
e. Appearance
f. Image

2. Explain what your differences are because they may be
crucial for you to explain why you would succeed. In Value
Investing, we call this Economic Moat. It’s like even though
newer brands of soft drinks keep sprouting up, Coke will
never lose out. Because it has been entrenched in our
minds.
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3.8 Distribution & Selling of Services
1. How do you intend to distribute?
a. Do an online search or even go to places to have
a look for these machines.

2. Here are two Vending machines that I found
over the weekend at a local hospital.
a. Pictures beside are two possible vending
machines which can be used.

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3.9 Products & Pricing

1. Come out with the list of products that you want to sell, and
their pricing.
a. Protein Shakes
b. Meal Replacements
c. Glucosamine
d. Vitamin C
e. Multi-Vitamins

2. Pricing can be either based on Cost Pricing or Competitive
Pricing

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4. Operations

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4. Operations

1. Depending on your type of business, you may need to explain
how it operates. Educate your readers what they need to
know.

2. People may not fully understand what you do as their map of
the territory is different from yours. So this portion is really
about effective communication. Make them understand YOUR
map of the territory
a. Describe your Processes
b. Demonstrate Control
c. Highlight the Differences
d. Show experience

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4.1 Processes

1. Come up with your supply chain process flow

PSVM at
Overseas Assembly
Warehouse Trucks respective
Suppliers Area
outlets

2. Come up with your operational process flow

3. Come up with your replenishment process flow

4. Come up with your customer relation process flow

5. Come up with a contingency or risk management plan

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4.2 Systems
1. This sub-section is a really detailed one, and a whole course
can be dedicated just to it. However, I will talk about this in a
very generic viewpoint.

2. Your ability to come up with the processes in the earlier
chapter provides stability into your business system.

3. A reliable and robust system would be when you don’t have
to think about it, e.g.: 3 years down the road because
everything is already in place.

Robust
Vision Management Team Good Systems Results!
Processes

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4.3 Controls

1. Ability to tweak the controls in our business model would
enable us to achieve better ROI.
a. There is a need to do financial modelling to determine this.
b. You can look into issues such as how you identify a quick or slow
moving stock
c. Or you can look into issues such as ensuring that the stock is always
in supply because it’s a popular one.

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4.4 Location

1. Location may be important for the retail and F&B business,
but in a soft skills business, such as IT, accounting, law,
consultancy services, it may not be that important.

2. So, in this case of the PSVM, find a list of locations that you
want to place this widget, and their pricing must be known.

3. Some places may charge you rent, while others just charge
for the usage of utilities.

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4.5 Regulatory Control

1. Check that all F&B hygiene and quality control certification
are met according to global standards first, then local.

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5. Management

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5.1 Experience
1. This chapter is to show your business partners and potential
investors, your team, in other words, your A Team

2. List out your credentials, and most importantly, what each of
you can do to enhance this team

3. This is an example of the credentials of my business partner:
a. Sean Seah holds a First Class Honours degree in Business Studies
Majoring in Economics from the Nanyang Business School of
Singapore. He is the author of Winning the Money Game and a
Master Trainer in Money and Value Investing. Sean had been invited
to speak at the Suntec Convention Centre, where he shared his
perspective on Finances and his methodology in Investing. Till date,
he has successfully trained hundreds of participants to strategize
their finances and how make their money work for them.
b. You may access http://chewmark.com/collaborations/ to see the
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5.1 Experience
4. Whatever you do, don’t hide blemishes on your CV because
it would bite you in the future. Demonstrate an effective
team which can cope with day to day issues on its own,
without having to depend on one superstar.

5. A good management team can make it in a poor market or
even a declining industry. However a weak team won’t
survive even in a boom market.

6. As a leadership management coach, I’ve seen how weak
teams collapse under pressure. It is therefore important to
note that as much as there are “Thinkers” in the team, you
need “Tinkers” or “Do-ers” as well.

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5.2 Personnel Establishment Structure

Board Of Directors

Director

Legal support

Development &
Operations Branding/Marcom Finance Franchise Systems Logistics

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5.2 Experience
7. To summarize this chapter, ensure that you have a team that
works alongside with you, and not against you.

8. It may not be easy to find all the gems, but the core team
that you are showing to your potential investors must be real
and impressive.

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6. Proposal

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6. Proposal
1. Coming up with a good mission statement would encompass
the following factors,
a. Who
b. What
c. Where
d. When
e. Why
f. How

2. Your ability to come up with a terse and impactful mission
statement would sum up your business plan.

3. Subsequently, your mission statement must be SMARTER
enough to be robust. I’ll share the SMARTER concept in a
separate session.

6.1 Proposal

So, can you identify the six factors in the following mission
statement?

I, XXX, is to set up a wellness company that sells nutritional
supplements via PSVM & direct-selling, at selected locations,
by 15th July 2011, so as to reach out to busy gym-goers and
athletes.

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6.1 Proposal
This is to be achieved in the following phases:
Phase I (From now to Dec 2011)
1. Selection of vendors
2. Selection of products
3. Selection of office (if needed)
4. Selection of warehouse providers
5. Securing of interested business partners and customers
6. Securing of funds
7. Testing of PSVM and business system
8. Approval of customized PSVM
9. Setting up of company, with legal support
Phase II (Jan 2012 to May 2012)
1. Signing of contracts
2. Delivery of PSVM
3. Delivery of goods
Phase III (15th July 2012)
1. Roll out of PSVM in selected stores
2. Replenishment of Supplies & Maintenance

6.2 Limitations
1. There are flaws in every plan.

2. In my opinion, time and space are two limitations. because
most people are employees, still trapped within the rat-race
of life.
a. So you have to schedule time to ensure that this business
plan of yours remain on track, while you fulfill your job
that provides you with your active income.

3. Find out what is yours, and the earlier you remove this blind
spot, the better is it for you.

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6.3 Why This Would Succeed
1. Why would your team succeed? List the ways.

2. Could it because you have found better alternatives to reduce
the transport cost?

3. Could it because your products are far superior to others in
the market?

4. Remember that having more money poured into your
investment doesn’t mean anything.

5. I’ve set up a successful online home-based business using only
around $65. So your initial investment of $250,000 into your
traditional business may not be such a show-stopper.

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6.4 Any Requests?

1. This sub-chapter is really to soothe the investors nagging
doubts if any.
a. Request for more time to do the formula for the protein shakes
b. Request for more time to develop the machines because the current
ones are not suitable.

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7. Financial Forecast

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7.1 Forecast
1. Strictly speaking, since forecast is a financial matter, Chapter 7
and 8 are meant for you to check how much you can make,
maintain or lose.

2. Once you have done your sums in this chapter, you will know
if you business venture is a GO or a NO-GO.

3. You may wish to download profit and loss statements to see
what may be needed to compute your profit and loss.

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7.2a Key Assumptions

1. Assumptions are made to keep certain factors in your financial
forecast stable

2. Factors such as rate of inflation, product development costs
and rental costs etc . . .

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7.2b Sensitivity

1. Sensitivity just a calculation of what happens if . . .

2. You may wish to do up a financial model of 3 scenarios
a. Optimistic eg: sales increase by 15%
b. Pessimistic : eg sales decrease by 30%
c. Realistic: nothing happens or at least the most realistic growth of 3-
5%

3. Always be more pessimistic in your costs and sales inputs so
as to manage expectations

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7.2c What the Numbers Mean

1. Analyse your figures and interpret them!

2. Your first meeting with either your business partners or
potential investors can’t be the time that they say, “I don’t
understand why you show us that you’re showing us a gradual
decline in gross margin, when your other charts show us that
your sales mix are changing.”

3. Data are just numbers. They must be analyzed so that
everyone can comprehend what the numbers mean.

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8. Financials

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8. Financials
1. The amount of financial information that you need to put
into a plan will vary with the situations :
a. Size and complexity of the business.
b. Is the company already trading?
c. Who the audience of the plan is.

2. Whatever you do, don’t spend too much time sweating the
details, because if you do intend to start a company, you
need a finance-trained business partner to sweat out these
details, while you handle the vision and operation.

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8.1 Financials
1. Profit and Loss Account (Excel Sheet)
2. Balance Sheet (Excel Sheet.)
3. Cash Forecast
a. From the cash flow forecast, there is the implication that there must
be a minimum of $100,000 in the bank account every month to pay
off the expenses and costs.
b. Need to at least $500,000 from interested investors for the first 6
months, to cover anticipated losses in month 2 and 3. Please refer to
Appendix A for more details.

4. Funds Flow
a. Investment funding required for this development is expected to be
a low figure of $500,000.
b. There is a need to monitor course cancellations to reduce returns.
c. There is a need to lower cost of manuals and office supplies
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9. Risks

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9.1 Sales are Low
1. Greater competition, & lower sales than anticipated resulting
in 25% below forecast.

2. Service offerings not attractive enough.

3. Pricing of the products too high.

4. Insufficient awareness of the program, either by insufficient
marketing or through wrong channels
a. Hence pricing and marketability are identified as the biggest threat
to low sales.


9.2 Margins are Low
1. High cost of raw materials. Can it be outsourced locally or
from regional locations

2. High construction costs of the good quality vending machines
affecting rental rates and bottom line

3. Promotional activity not focused

4. Not considering sales mix or product range to cater to the
local taste

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9.3 Costs are High

1. Only possible if Margins and Sales are not looked into
carefully.

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9.4 Major Operational Issue Occurs

1. Increased cost of Raw materials or stoppage of Raw
materials due to Supply side challenges such as strikes, or
natural disasters

2. High crime rates in the area leading to loss of sales

3. Outbreak of hygiene and sanitation challenges such as SARs,
or other contagious diseases, thereby affecting human traffic

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10. End Note

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1. That’s it!
2. Thanks for taking the effort to go through all these points.
3. Once you schedule the time to finish your business plan
either via PowerPoint or even via word document, you
would have gained enough information to decide "green
light: advance" or "red light: stop" your business.
a. Try to complete this within 4 weeks, and don't take too long.
4. Expect a high investment and operating costs, and more
importantly higher risk in a traditional business model like
this.
5. Incidentally, there are other proven lower cost, higher
returns, successful business models that can save you time
and money, so that you can reach your financial goals faster.


6. If you have 10 minutes, click on this link to find out why you
should build your own pipelines to help you achieve your
financial goals faster
a. The Formula : http://www.simplyworkathome.org/formula
b. Your password is 3285981

7. With regard to business plans and other leadership
management issues, please feel free to contact me at
mark@chewmark.com

8. So here’s wishing you all the best to your future endeavours!

Chew Mark
Author of Discover Your Leadership Style,
Business Developer, and Leadership Coach
5/15/2011
(c) Chew Mark 2011 All Rights Reserved World Wide http://chewmark.com/
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How to write a successful business plan by chew mark

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