A business plan is a formal document which sets out what your business is, your business goals, how you will achieve them and what your prospects are.

The primary reasons for creating a business plan include:

• To further develop your idea and set strategies to reach your goals
• To provide direction and to focus your thinking about markets, competitors and risks
• To identify the required resources and funding
• To ensure your business stays on track by facilitating progress measurement
• To demonstrate to stakeholders that you’ve thought things through and have a realistic concept of what is involved.