It is time to formalise all your validation and plans into a well-written business and operation plan, which should be considered your safety device at all times.
What do we mean by a safety device? If this business idea doesn’t work out and you will quickly forget all the hard work you have put in. A ecommerce business plan allows you to return to all the hard work when you think of starting a different venture later in your journey.
How to Start an eCommerce Business Plan
At the beginning of the planning stages, it’s a good idea to develop a framework for your business model. This ecommerce business model will continue to evolve as you create each section. So don’t strive for a perfect completed plan on the first try. You will be making tweaks to the plan at specific steps along the way.
Business Model
When you’re figuring out your business model, then you have to consider four different areas also:
- Monetization strategy: The monetization strategy delves into the methods you will use to sell your products also.
- Product/industry: The product industry section is where you summarize your main niche.
- Target market: In the target market section, you will write a sentence on who your target market is in the community.
- Sales channel: The sales channel refers to where you’re going to sell your products.
In the previous articles, we have already prepared all the required information for a business model and can be filled in immediately into this Lean Canvas Business Model
Once you have your business model written, you will expand on each section in the Business Model by writing your Business/Operation plan, which will be split into four main areas also:
1- The Opportunity
2 – The Strategy
3- The Management
4- The Financials
The Opportunity
This section should explore the what… what is the opportunity at hand is and should also include:
- Identifying the Problem or the Gap
- The solution or the product
- Market Analysis
- Market Segmentation
- Competitor Analysis
The Strategy
This section should explore the How… How do you intend to launch your product and should also include:
- The Unique Value Proposition
- The Content Strategy (Social Media)
- The Retention Strategy (How do you make your customers come back for more)
- The Measurement Strategy (how do you measure your success)
- Go-To-Market Strategy (how do you launch your store)
- Operations Strategy (how do you fulfill your products)
The Management
This section should explore the personnel needed for the business to grow and progress for the next three to five years and should also include:
- The yearly Corporate Structure consists of the required skills
- Projected Personal Expenses
The Financials
Finally, this section should explore your projected financial model for the next three to five years, and which needs to take into consideration external factors such as the economic situation as well as your expansion plans and should also include:
- Projected Profit & Loss
- Projected Balance Sheet
- Projected Cash Flow Statement
When your business plan is completed, you should have achieved the following goals:
- Knowledge: A greater sense of expertise in the business aspects.
- Resources: The resources you will need to make your business successful, such as partners, money, employees, etc.
- Road Map: Have set goals to take you from the very beginning of your business and onward.
- Viability: In other words, is your business possible?
