The business plan will feed the marketing plan. Many of the aspects within the first layer of the business plan will inform decisions put forward in the marketing strategy. Such elements can include but no be limited to aims, objectives and vision.
For most people, the aim of starting up in business is to provide a degree of personal and financial independence and the opportunity to generate a reasonable income while working in field that they are passionately interested in. Some may start up a ‘lifestyle’ business for it to fit in better with their preferred work-life balance. Others have ambitious aims to grow their
product or service, they want to see in in the marketplace, and to create significant employment opportunities with the benefits of personal wealth too.
It is important to be honest about the motivations of starting up the business and to put forward a vision of how it might develop.
To help with this it is important to consider the following questions:
• Why is the business being started?
• What does the owner want out of it?
• Will the business supplement or eventually replace the main income of its owner?
• Is the business being started as an investment to sell as soon as possible?
• Will the business provide jobs and what roles are needed?
The answers to questions such as these will have an impact on the business owner’s aims, development and it’s strategy.