Whether you’re set to refresh your business or explore new ways to grow, make sure you first understand the advantages of a business plan.
It’s the key to several ‘end goals’, as well as supporting financial planning or offering clarity. That also includes all aspects of your business strategy, from marketing and finance to operations, products, services, and people - or even gain a competitive advantage.
In this piece, we’ll take a look at what a business plan could bring to your operations, what to expect, and how Time Finance can help you take the next step.
Our finance solutions can alleviate some of the issues that arise from poor cash flow by injecting working capital back into your business, providing cash flow financing around your key investments or aiding growth.
To find out more, get in touch with our dedicated team today.
What is a business plan?
At a glance
In a nutshell, a business plan is a document that plots out a company's goals and how it intends to achieve them. For both start-ups and well-established businesses, these plans can be used to evidence your ideas, helping to win over investment, funding - or simply give other people on your team a better understanding over a set timeframe.
Writing a business plan can also be useful for staying on track and not losing sight of your goals, as well as laying out objectives for:
- Overall structure
- New employees
- New or ongoing products and services
- Promotion
- Finances
And much more.
What’s the purpose of a business plan?
When it comes to expanding into new markets, product launches, or general growth plans, a business plan can help you map its viability - especially when used as part of a wider business strategy. This is crucial when providing insights into your next steps, resources, timescales, and whether a financial solution could move things along.
Ed Rimmer, CEO of Time Finance, said: “For existing businesses, providing forecasts and business plans are typically a very key part of securing finance - for example, an invoice finance facility.
“It helps us understand future growth plans, obstacles or opportunities..”
Time Finance has many years of experience structuring and securing invoice and asset-based solutions, as well as business loans for several different clients, helping them achieve their goals.
Our flexible solutions not only meet your needs now, but can also scale to meet demand over time, so your business and services can develop naturally.
The advantages of a business plan
Businesses should update their business plans annually to guide growth, through explicit objectives for hiring new employees, establishing a structure, supplying products and services, and marketing activities.
With this, you’re more likely to enjoy the benefits outlined in the following sections.
Help with funding
Whether you’re seeking alternative business finance to help support cash flow or want to explore asset-based lending, which uses your existing assets to help secure vital funds, a business plan is essential.
It can paint a better picture for your finance broker or advisor while answering questions about profitability and revenue generation. This helps us tailor a better solution to suit you.
Structuring support
A business plan provides structure and defines business management objectives. Usually, a plan can become a useful ‘guide stick’ when it comes to keeping things on track, helping you set realistic targets and milestones over the 12 months.
As your business grows and changes, regular consultations can also help you manage and measure your priorities - suggesting new areas of focus where required.
Clear and concise planning
A business plan can bring clarity to the decision-making process regarding key aspects of the business - like investments, resourcing, and more.
When it comes to identifying critical business milestones, a business plan makes it easier to spot what needs changing. This is especially useful for continual or seasonal forecasting.
Bringing in new people
Businesses are nothing without their people.
One of the main benefits of business plans is that they can help ‘define’ benefits and help you better understand how new personnel can help you secure long-term goals.
As such, these are all key to bringing in new people who understand your vision.
To ensure the right talent is brought on board at the right time, a business plan plays an important role.
Support marketing efforts
A business plan can help consolidate a marketing roadmap, which defines your target markets, ideal customers, and how you will promote your offering.
From here, you know exactly what - and who - you are investing in, helping you better place and promote your business.
Why should you choose Time Finance?
By implementing these best practices, businesses can harness the advantages of business plans, helping them make informed decisions for growth, plot milestones more accurately and protect their cash flow over time.
While a business plan is not always needed for our experts, it can help us get a better understanding of what you need. It can also give us a more thorough picture of which finance solutions will work best for your end goals, so it's certainly worth spending some time on.
But no matter what industry your business operates in, Time Finance has an impressive range of products to help you navigate changing markets, tap into new avenues, or get the most out of your existing assets.
This includes invoice finance options and asset finance solutions - which have all helped our clients achieve their goals.
To find out more about how Time Finance can support you and your business with leading financial solutions, get in touch.