Business Plan - Business and Product Description

The next statement is going to seem obvious, but so many people miss the point when they are writing their business plan thatI have to mention it; if you can't clearly descibe exactly what business you are in, and how your product or service meets my needs, I won't know. Worse, I'll buy from someone else. Someone who can.

In this section of you business plan you get about a paragraph to explain what your business does. You get a few more paragraphs to go down your list of products and/or services and list the features and benefits of each. Don't be vague.

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Mistakes People Often Make when Creating a Business and Product Description

1. Trying to be everything to everyone. Success comes from focus. There are two ways to start a business. Innovate and then find a target that needs your innovation, or pick a target and see what needs aren't being filled. Either way you focus. Think of WalMart. They sell everything, but they have one target - people who live paycheck to paychek - and one mission - offering what they need, or want at a price they can afford. You have to be that focused.

2. Confusing Features and Benefits. A feature is what your business or product offers. You sell an oven mit with super-insulation that makes it very flexible and easy to use. What are the features your product has? It's light. It's flexible. It provides superior insulation. What are the benefits the customer gets if they buy it? Light = comfort. Flexible = easy to use. Superior insulation = Won't be burned, keeps the heat out longer so you have more time to get the cookie sheet out and on the counter. As you're writing about your product, write "feature = benefit" pairs. That way you won't have a feature dangling without a benefit, or masquerading as a benefit.