8 Tips for Creating Your Own Business Plan

So, you’ve come up with a game-changing idea that’s a solid solution to feeding 9+ billion people, which will be sure to impress the TFF judges – now what?

Organizing the details and configuring various items, such as key resources, value proposition, cost structure, and more, is the next vital step to solidifying your idea and turning it into an attainable reality. If you’ve never seen the business model canvas before, here is a quick breakdown of questions and factors to consider, as well as 8 tips to help when creating your own model.

Quick Breakdown:

Key Partners: Based on your type of business, who are your key partners and suppliers, and what resources will you be acquiring from them?
Key Activities: What are the tasks that need to be performed in order for your business to be successful?
Value Proposition: What product/service are you providing that will meet your specific customer’s needs and problems, and what makes it unique?
Customer Relationships: What kind of relationships are you trying to create with your customers and what are their expectations?
Customer Segment: Who are the people you are creating value for, what are they like, and what are their needs?
Key Resources: What resources are necessary in order to run your business and achieve your value proposition?
Distribution Channels: How will you interact with your customers and distribute your product?
Cost Structure: What are all of the costs, fixed and variable, that are required for you to run your business?
Revenue Stream: For what value are our customers really willing to pay, how and what do they currently pay, and how would they prefer to pay?

8 Tips For Your Model/Plan:

Map It Out With Sticky Notes: When you are first developing your business model, try to draw a large version of the business model canvas that can be posted on a wall. Have your teammates map out their ideas by writing them on stickies and placing them onto the canvas. This is a great visual way to get ideas flowing.
Start with Customer Segments & Value Proposition: What fuels a business? The customers! When starting your business model, begin by establishing who your customers are, and what value proposition will meet their specific needs. These are the most important parts to your business model.
Eliminate the Fluff: Get rid of the filler language, be concise! Get to the point you are trying to cover without dragging on. Brevity is key and it will allow you to remain focused in your business model.
Visuals: After creating your business model, try re-creating it in a visual way. Draw it out! Sometimes the business model can be confusing for outsiders to understand, so drawing out your model would be a smart way to explain the ideas behind it to others.
Get Moving: Don’t worry too much about making sure that your business model is perfect. Cover what is important, and get moving. Your business model will most likely change as new ideas flow in, so don’t feel the need to make sure that the model needs to be perfect in its early stages.
Do Your Research: Make sure you do your research. Understand your target customers, industry, and competitors, and be able to support your findings with actual data, numbers, and statistics. Additionally, don’t be afraid to get outside input from potential customers. If your idea is geared towards farmers, ask for their real-world input and suggestions based on their experiences and/or needs.
Tell a Story: What prompted the idea for your business? What drove you to find the need for a solution in your particular area of interest? Be able to tell a story of what led your venture, and situations of how you imagine a potential customer will be drawn to utilize your product or service.
Key Demographics: This goes along with doing your research. Really make sure you know who your target customer and key demographic is. Know their needs, their economic standing, their preferences, and more. For example, if your product is supposed to be a sustainable way to help farmers in Africa transport their produce, try to find a way to make one that is both economical and effective.

Think you are ready to create your own business model? Try it out! We can’t wait to see the plans you have for effectively feeding our world.

Do you have an innovative idea that will help feed people in your community or around the world? We are looking for people just like you to help achieve global food security. Join the #TFFChallenge2019 today!