How to start a business in Oman
BUSINESS PLAN
A business plan outlines the plan for your idea, explains your market and how the product or service aims to make money.
The document helps you describe an idea that makes sense, plan your sales, set your objectives, finances and budget, and describe operations. It’s an essential document if you are raising finance from a bank or venture capital firm.
The key details are:
- Keep your plan concise
- Include product details and description in appendix
- Focus on forecasts that can lead to sales, be realistic in terms of future finance
- Explain the history of the business and your background
- When describing your product, use less technical jargon
- Describe your market and potential competition
- Conduct a SWOT analysis – Describe your strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats
- Describe your product position and pricing policy
- Provide a forecast for the next three to five years
The business plan can be divided into the following sections:
Summary
Includes your business summary, aim, mission and vision, and financial summary.
Elevator pitch
This is a short, concise pitch that you use to create interest in your business or company.
There could be different versions of the pitch deck. But in all cases, the key principles are:
- Keeping it clear and simple
- Make it compelling
- Design it to be easy on the eyes
For example, when raising investment you should follow the structure below:
- Problem
- Solution
- Market
- Product
- Traction
- Team
- Competition
- Financials
- Amount being raised
Here are some useful resources to find free pitch decks:
Canva Free Pitch Deck Templates
About company/team
Details of your team members, owner’s background, previous work experience, qualifications and details of your advisors. Clarify how you cover the critical areas of production, sales, marketing, finance and administration.
Market need/research
Describe the nature of your business (B2B/B2C), details of your customer type and include details from the Define Target Customer segment from the previous section. You should also include details from the Test Your Product segment and explain how you already have a market for your potential customers.
Product and outreach plan
The outreach plan defines your overall game plan to reach out to potential prospects and convert them to customers through different online and offline channels.
It can include value proposition, branding, platforms for promotion such as Google Ads and other high-level details. With regards to the product and its marketing strategy, you can use the 4P theory (Product, Price, Plan and Promotion) to develop a refined strategy for your business.
Competitor analysis
Include all your competitors and their details. You can include your SWOT analysis here to complete the full picture of how your company stands out in the process.
Finance and budget
Describe the cost and pricing of your product, potential sales targets, and future forecast for the company. The forecast could be a three-to-five-year plan; however, you may want to include month to month details for the first or second year.
Here’s a great template that you can use for a business plan.