Module 2: Effective Resource Management and Entrepreneurship

9. Drafting a Basic Business Plan

A business plan is a written and detailed document presenting your business idea, the strategy for developing it, the target group it's aimed at, the main activities, what marketing tools you'll use to reach a wider group of people, how you'll generate income, and how you'll manage the challenges you're likely to encounter along the way to making it real. It is not a guarantee of success, but it is very important for putting everything into a structured strategy. It also doesn't stay static - quite the opposite; business plans are often revisited many times, as ideas are further developed and refined.

In other words, this plan is a way to think through your idea clearly and systematically, before you commit some of your most valuable resources to it - time, funds, or energy. And even more importantly, it is often required if you decide to seek grant funding, apply for a loan, or a place in a start-up incubator, since all organisations and institutions offering this kind of support are very likely to require some form of business plan from you.

This section presents the main components involved in creating a business plan. Each component is explained in accessible language, illustrated with concrete examples based on our experience and work, along with practical guidance and tasks for you to follow, so that you can write a plan for your own idea.

Callout box listing the key components of a business plan, from the executive summary to the go-to-market strategy.

9.1. Introduction to Business Planning and the Executive Summary

The summary is a very interesting element. Although we start the business plan with it, our advice is to write it last, once you have fully clarified and shaped the idea in your mind. It gives the reader, whether that's a funding organisation, a mentor, or a potential partner, a clear picture of your business within one page or less. It answers the most basic questions: What exactly is the business? Who is it for? What makes it viable?

For your introduction to be impactful and convincing, you don't need to fill it with big promises. Its purpose is to be a short and direct description of what you're building, and why you believe it can succeed. It should be written in simple, understandable language, even for people who aren't experts in your field, so that it can have an impact on every reader.

Callout box listing the elements to include when writing a business plan summary.

Callout box presenting a sample business summary scenario for Birgit Hofer, founder of Accessible Content Studio.

This summary works because it gives concrete detail. It doesn't simply present the business as “helping people communicate better” in general terms - it frames the target group in detail, presents the clear service and its measurable goal for the first year. It is precisely this kind of concrete detail that makes a business plan meaningful and gives it the potential to have an impact.

9.2. Creating the Idea and Value Proposition

In this section, it's important to present your value proposition, meaning answering the question: why would someone choose your business over a competing option? This isn't about simply claiming you're the best at everything, but clearly demonstrating the specific added value you provide to the group of people you plan to reach.

A well-defined value proposition is made up of three key components:

• What you offer: the specific service or product

• Who it is for: the specific target group

• Why it is unique or particularly significant: what are the features, approach or quality that set it apart from alternatives already available on the market

The example given is for a service where accessibility matters a great deal. If your ideas follow a similar direction (in language, format, way of delivery, or setting), then the accessibility angle should be very important for you too, right from the early stages, and it's important to describe it explicitly in your value proposition. There is a growing demand for services that genuinely meet accessibility standards, not only from companies, but also from public sector bodies and organisations affected in one way or another by the European Accessibility Act.

The framework is not limited to accessibility-focused or disability-related services - it applies to any kind of business idea. Here is an example from a different sector:

Callout box inviting the reader to write their own value proposition.

9.2.1. Finding Your Ideal Client

Before finalising your value proposition, you need to be able to describe specifically who you're creating it for. The ideal client is a real person/organisation with specific needs, challenges, and current ways of dealing with those problems. The more specifically you can describe this type of client, the more effective everything you do afterwards will be: how you communicate with them, how you set your prices, where you show up to find them, and what you offer them.

The chart below walks you through, step by step, describing your ideal client. Fill it in for the entrepreneurial venture you want to develop.

9.2.2. Understanding Client Needs

The best and most reliable approach to help you prepare an impactful value proposition is to actively seek out and talk directly to people in your target group before finalising your idea. You don't need to carry out a formal study - your approach could include a series of short live conversations, online meetings, or observing how people currently deal with the problem you're trying to solve. But the key is to talk to real potential users, to hear from them, their needs, their challenges, how they currently cope with them, and what they would like to get instead because this is exactly what will help you prepare the foundation for successfully realising your venture.

The questions it's key to answer together with your potential clients are:

• What is the specific difficulty they're facing?

• How are they currently dealing with it?

• What would a better solution look like and feel like for them?

• How much would they expect to pay for it, if anything?

• What would build their trust in a new provider?

Here it's great to get familiar with one specific approach to having this kind of conversation:

Callout box introducing "The Mom Test" by Rob Fitzpatrick as a guide to talking with potential clients.

Here are examples of the kind of questions to avoid, and how to structure ones that will give you useful information.

Callout box with a practical tip on being transparent about the purpose of a client conversation before asking for a meeting.

9.3. Business Modelling and Go-to-Market Strategy

A business model describes how your business creates value, delivers it to clients, and generates income from it. There are many types of business models, but to choose the one that fits you best, it's important to know exactly what you're offering and to whom you're offering it.

9.3.1. Exercise: Fill In Your Business Model Canva

The Business Model Canvas is a standard tool used by entrepreneurs around the world to structure a business idea on a single page. It's a great, simplified complement to your detailed plan, made up of nine fields that show exactly how your entrepreneurial idea works. There are two versions - choose the one that matches the type of venture you're developing.

Callout box introducing the Business Model Canvas and the Social Business Model Canvas as tools for structuring a business idea.

💼 BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS

Developed by Alexander Osterwalder. Fill in each field for your business idea.

9.4. Go-to-Market Strategy

Once you've completed the exercises and filled in all the fields in the table relevant to your idea, you have the chance to think a bit more specifically about your approach to entering the market, and how exactly you'll reach your first clients.

For small businesses, the most effective routes to first clients are usually direct ones: personal networks of contacts, word-of-mouth recommendations, gaining entry and building trust within specific communities where your target group is active, and working directly with potential clients.

Think specifically about where your target group can already be found, through which communication channels (online, in professional networks, in communities), and how you can become visible and earn trust there.

9.4.1. Exercise: Build Your Go-to-Market Strategy

Fill in the following exercise step by step. It will help you create a concrete action plan for the first eight weeks of developing your venture.

9.5. Marketing Strategy and Sales

Advertising and marketing help people learn that you exist, exactly what you do, how you can help them, and get to know your business better. Small businesses and freelancers don't need large budgets or complex campaigns. If you have a clear picture of the aspects described above, the next step is to start communicating them in a structured way through channels where your target group is already active and uses daily.

9.5.1. Digital Marketing Basics

Digital marketing is a subset of standard marketing, and it is key for small businesses; it mainly follows this logic: creating a clear and accessible online presence, actively using one or two social media channels, and providing an easy way for potential clients and interested people to contact you or book your service. Right from the start, it's important to create:

• Website: even a simple, one-page site in the early stage of the project, presenting who you are, what you offer, and how to contact you, is enough to start.

• Email marketing newsletter: building a simple email list of people who have shown interest in your work is one of the most reliable and low-cost marketing tools.

• Social media: having a strong social media presence is very key to reaching and informing users; choose one or two channels based on where your target group spends their time, and be consistent in using them. For most professional services, LinkedIn is a good starting point. For businesses in a visual or creative field, Instagram and Pinterest may be more suitable. For community-focused services, Facebook groups and local networks can be very effective.

9.5.2. Exercise: Monthly Social Media Communication Strategy Table

You can use the table below to plan your content month by month. Fill in at least 2 or 3 posts per week. Each post should serve a specific communication goal, which could include informing, engaging, or building trust.

Before filling in the table: choose one or two platforms suited to your target group. Don't try to be everywhere at once.

9.5.3. Business Development

Business development is an additional activity that falls under marketing, and it represents an ongoing process of building relationships with potential clients, which in the long run leads to opportunities for new projects and work for your company. For most start-up ventures, this happens through conversations, presentations at conferences and business events, and, of course, building a good reputation over time, rather than through formal sales processes. It's precisely a good image and word-of-mouth recommendation that remains valid over time, despite the constant development of technology.

It's also important to have the main commercial terms in writing before you start working with a given partner. Over time and with experience, you'll see in practice that sometimes there are mismatches between what people agree verbally and what's actually carried out. This is why it's very important to have a written, legal framework of agreed terms, covering what you'll deliver, by when, for what fee, and what happens if something changes. This protects both you and the client.

9.6. Financial Projections and Resource Planning

Financial planning for a new business, especially in the early stage of the venture, doesn't require deep accounting knowledge. For now, it's important to think through three things: how much income you'll generate, what your running costs will be, and whether the difference (your profit) is enough to live on.

9.6.1. Basic Budgeting: Income and Expenses

Start by estimating your monthly expenses. They fall into two categories: fixed costs, which you pay regardless of how much work you do, and variable costs, which depend on the results you achieve with the company and the sales of your products/services.

Next, estimate your income. How many clients or sales could you realistically achieve in the first month? The third month? The sixth month? At what price? Multiply these, and you'll get a projection of your potential income. Subtract your costs, and you'll get a projection of your profit.

These are projections, not predictions, and sometimes they can turn out to be wrong. But the process of making them forces you to face the question of whether your business idea can generate enough income to be viable. If the numbers don't add up at a realistic scale, that's important information to have before you invest significant resources, such as time, energy, funds, commitment, and so on.

Callout box directing the reader to an attached Excel file for completing financial projections.

Callout box with an important note on how to interpret financial projections.

9.6.2. Identifying Funding Opportunities and Support Programmes

Starting or growing a business often requires an initial investment, which is often spent on equipment costs, professional registrations, marketing and other items. It's important to keep in mind that, especially in the early stages of the company, when it's not yet well recognised and doesn't generate enough income, it will be important to have financial security and a way to support yourself through alternative sources for the period before the business generates reliable income. We recommend looking into the following mechanisms and tools available for support in EU countries:

Callout box with practical tips for applying for funding.

9.7. Presenting and Pitching Skills

Just as your marketing efforts matter, so does making an impactful presentation of your venture, and it carries a lot of weight in its successful development. The more often you have the chance to present your company, the better, because more people will find out about it. This could be to a potential client, a funding body, a mentor, a partner organisation, or a friend who could become a collaborator, and it could also be at a big conference with hundreds, or even thousands, of people. That's why it's very valuable to be able to communicate your idea clearly, confidently and briefly, with ease, charisma and impact. All of this is, simply put, a practical skill that can be developed.

9.7.1. What Is a Pitch?

A pitch is widely used in front of a range of audiences, including investors. In entrepreneurial circles, it's common to create a structured, short presentation of your business idea, based on a few slides. This kind of presentation aims to give the audience a clear understanding of what you're building, why it should matter to them specifically, and how it can make their everyday life easier.

9.7.2. Pitch Deck Structure

Here we share a good basic structure for a pitch deck, which you can follow and further adapt when creating one for your own start-up idea. Use the following sample slides, inspired by Guy Kawasaki's concept of 10 slides.

To make this more concrete, here is a short example of what a one-minute pitch could sound like, following this structure, based on Johan's data engineering business:

“Small businesses often can’t afford a full-time data team, but still need reliable, well-organised data to make good decisions. I’m Johan, a data engineer with over ten years of experience, and I help small and medium companies set up and maintain data pipelines, without the cost of hiring in-house. I started this business after adapting my own career to a chronic health condition, and I know first-hand the value of flexible, expert-led services. In the past year, I’ve worked with six clients, and every one of them is still with me. This year, I’m looking to grow to fifteen ongoing clients, and I’d love to talk about how this could work for your business too.”

It can also help to study a real example. Uber's original pitch deck, the one used to raise its first $200,000 in funding, is publicly available here, and is a widely studied example of a clear, simple structure: it states the problem, the solution, the market, and what the founders were asking for, in plain, concise slides.

9.7.2. Storytelling in a Pitch

The most effective presentations combine factual information with a clear narrative.

Your own story carries a lot of weight. Tell them why you started this business, what led you to this particular business idea, and what you know about the problem from personal experience. Very often, this is actually the most compelling part of your presentation for your audience. You don't need to share personal medical details or present your experience with disability as a disadvantage. What matters is showing that you genuinely understand the problem you're solving, and that you have real commitment to the work. Investors invest in people, in the founder and the team, first and foremost.

Callout box with practical tips for presenting according to different communication needs.

Callout box with a practice exercise for recording and reviewing a personal pitch.