Creating a Business Plan for a Social Enterprise

A business plan describes what the business will do, how it is going to do it, and why. When developing a social enterprise- the business plan will be one of the most important tools in developing that business into a success. The creation of a social enterprise business plan is no different than that of a nonprofit organization or traditional profit based company. It requires careful thought, and a defined purpose for the intended venture. This document is the key to securing financial support and upon operation will be the guiding force for the management of the organization and the measure to which you will accomplish thosegoals.

The business plan is devided into specific elements. It attempts to investigate and describe the various activities that the business will undertake, the schedule to which the activities will take place, the required staff, the anticipated expenses and the projected results. It generally requires the expertise of several individuals within the organization and a clear understanding of the relationship and connection between the business venture being formed and the equal social mission of the organization.

Although the flow of the document may differ the elements of most business plans are the same. It is not necessary to conform to a specific outline for the document, so long as the document is coherent and comprehensive. When developing a business plan specifically for a social enterprise it is necessary to make sure that the reader understands the mission of the organization and the reason why this social organization is being structured as it is.

The table of contents for a social enterprise may look something like this:

I. Executive Summary- this is an overview of your full plan. It helps explain the broad concept of your business before you go into detail further .

II. Description of your business (including a mission statement)- outline the structure of your business, the legal formation, and the purpose it will serve in the industry. This is where you will craft your mission statement; however, it is sometimes helpful to leave this section of the plan for last, as it may be easier to devise a mission statement once all of the other elements of the paper have been created.

III. Industry and Market Analysis- Analyze the market to which your business will be operating. You will want to discover your competition and who is also performing like services. Find out what are the trends of your intended industry and how are the clients reacting to the services being offered, and how they will benefit from your addition to the market.

IV. Marketing Plan- This is basically a plan within a plan. Within this document you will outline how you plan to market your business and the anticipated expenses that will be incurred. It necessary to be specific and realistic when devising this plan. Within this plan you will develop a market-driven strategy that will respond to what customers wantand are willing to pay for- not what you think they need and what you are willing to provide. This information requires that you go back to the industry and market data that you acquired when producing your industry and market analysis. When developing a marketing plan it is important to understand that you cannot perform the social good works of your business if you are not known to the public, so it is necessary for you to create a marketing plan that will allow for sufficient quantities of customers/clients to allow your business to meet its goals, thrive and grow.

V. Management Plan- This will outline how your staff will be structured. Here you will outline the board duties (if there are to be any), the executive level staff and the job descriptions of everyone to be employed. It is important that you remain specific throughout this process and avoid vague, ambiguous statements.

VI. Operations Plan- This is going to be your implementation manual. Here you will outline the strategies for the operation and how you plan on executing your mission. Again, I cannot stress the importance of being specific- as those you approach for financing will not be interested in fuzzy details about how their money will be spent. They want to know that you have a clear and definable measure of your goals. You want to develop an action plan that delineates each task and the person responsible, and required budget. You will also want to include a calendar with sufficient time to cover the various stages of concept, development and start-up.

VII. Financial Plan- Within this portion you will outline the legal structure and performance measurement milestones. You will detail your capital requirements and operation expenses. It will be necessary to serparate your start-up costs from your on-going operating expenses. Most business plans forecast for the first five years.

VIII. Risk Assessment and Contingency Plan- This is exactly what it sounds like. Investors will want to know that you have evaluated all potential threats and risks open to your business. And when evaluating these risks that you have created contingencies for those situations. It may be prudent to perform a SWOT analysis whereyou evaluate all potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to your social enterprise.

Planning will ensure that your idea is brought into reality. It helps you move away from the theoretical framework of your idea and allows you to focus on the impact your idea will have on society. The plan should be laid out in a clear and concise manner, so that it can also be presented to community leaders, investors, donors or other stakeholders for support of your aims.

As always, let me know what you think!


Photo Credit: The Company Line