1. How to Create a Business Plan

2. Purpose of Graphic Design
What is the purpose of graphic design?
To persuade, inform and to influence.

3. What creates the success of a media business?
A business plan, a marketing plan and a financial plan contribute to the success of a media business

4. Business Plan
A business plan is a formal statement of business goals, reasons they are attainable, and plans for reaching them. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals.
This is the first step in launching a media business.

5. Marketing Plan
A marketing plan is a comprehensive document or blueprint that outlines a company's advertising and marketing efforts for the coming year. It describes business activities involved in accomplishing specific marketing objectives within a set time frame.

6. Financial Plan
In general usage, a financial plan is a comprehensive evaluation of an business’s current pay and future financial state by using current known variables to predict future income, asset values and withdrawal plans.

7. Creating a Business Plan – 12 steps
1) Write an executive summary 2) Write an elevator pitch 3) Talk about yourself 4) Define your offering 5) Describe your clients 6) Present your market research 7) Define your marketing strategy 8) Do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis 9) Define your USP 10) Explain how you’ll make money 11) Forecast your revenues 12) Outline your backup plan

8. Write an Executive Summary
An executive summary essentially summarizes your design business and is a quick pitch: the part that investors or banks will read first. So it needs to be concise and relatively short - no more than a couple of pages. Above all it needs to explain your business idea. For example:
Why are you different?
What are your services?
Who are you selling your services to?
What is your studio's name and why did you choose it?
Your executive summary should also list your goals in the short term, mid-term and long-term: where exactly do you see your business in five or so years? Which areas will you be working in and what clients do you envisage having?
Financial goals are also important. Explain the turnover you expect to make and the cash you think you'll have at the end of the first year; where you'll get money from (grants etc); and what money you are putting in yourself to start up your studio.

9. Create an Elevator Pitch
An 'elevator pitch' is a quick summary of your business that can be read in two minutes or less (the time it takes to ride an elevator, in other words). It should include your name, your mission, what your business does, who for and why it's different. It should be straight to the point and free from waffle.

10. Talk About Yourself
The next section to think about describes you (and your partners if you have them). You should explain:
Why you want to start this business
Your experience
Your training
Why you will make this business a success
Detail these points for each of the partners in the business (if any). Attach well-crafted resumes. This will help show investors why your business will be successful.

11. Describe your Clients
Next, talk about your customers - which in the case of a design studio will mean clients. Describe who they are and everything about them. Be sure you understand them, and your investor will as well.
Draw up detailed information about your potential clients. If you've already worked for a specific client in some capacity (maybe a freelance job) explain this here.
If you already have potential clients from past encounters, it proves that you can generate business. You need to describe your typical client, where they are based, what makes them buy into design services, whether you have worked with them before and whether you have any future jobs lined up already.

12. Research Your Market Who is currently buying your product or service?
What are these people's lives actually like?
Why are other people not buying it?
Who would be interested in buying it in the future?
How many people like this are there?
What general trends are affecting these people's lives at the moment?
Where would people buy your product or service from?
When, where and how would they use or consume it?
Why would they buy it? What need are they wanting to satisfy?
Who is your real competition?
What image do people have of your brand vs your competitors'?
What would be the ideal image for your brand to have?
What do they think about the different aspects of your product or service (name, packaging, features, advertising, pricing...)?
What improvements could be made to your product or service to meet people's needs even better?
What is the single most important benefit your brand should be seen to be offering - and why would people believe this to be true?
How can you best communicate that benefit to the people you're interested in attracting?
What is the right price to charge?
What other new products or services could your brand offer people?
So what is your vision for your brand?
And what would be the best roadmap for getting there?

13. Define your Marketing Strategy
Market research will inform your marketing strategy. How are you going to reach potential customers? Word of mouth? Advertising? Self promotional material? Social media? Your own website?
Make sure you factor in the costs for all of these things in your cash-flow section. They aren't free.

14. SWOT Analysis
Draw up a list of competing businesses, both big and small, in your discipline. What do they do well and what do they do badly? What gives your studio the edge? This will enable you to do a SWOT analysis - which stands for 'Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats'.
For strengths, show how your business will stand out against competitors. What do you do best? For weaknesses, do the same but opposite.
Opportunities are external things that could make your business thrive (is the market changing and clients demanding a certain kind of work that you do well, for instance?). Threats are the same but opposite (if you're an illustration studio and budgets dry up, what will you do?).

15. Define your USP
What is your unique selling point (USP)? It's incredibly important that you include this in your business plan. Why would a client choose you over another business? What do you do best?

16. Explain How You’ll Make Money
By now, we're getting into the detail of the business plan, and the next section should look at how you'll earn income. Consider details such as:
how long you spend on projects (if this is likely to be determined by the client then state this clearly)
how you'll get paid (invoice, almost certainly)
equipment you'll need (including Macs, MacBooks, iPhones, iPads etc)
your premises – are you working out of bedrooms to start with or renting a space straight away?
insurance; staff and even legal requirements such as registering for sales taxes
Also define what your costs are likely to be. This will be of great interest to your potential investors, so pay great attention to it. And if you do charge an hourly rate for some services what will it be?

17. Forecast Your Revenues
Including a revenue forecast in your business plan can be a good idea. Calculate your total costs per month – including salaries, rent, equipment, bills and other costs of running the business. How much will you get in each month and can you realistically live on the profits?
Also do a cash-flow forecast, which shows how much money will be coming in and out of your studio and - crucially - when. Will you be able to pay the bills on time? An 'IOU' note often offends.
At this point take a step back - can you actually afford to do this? It may be a sobering moment.

18. Outline Your Backup Plan
Finally, you must have a back-up plan. If things aren't working out, what could you change in the short- or long-term to make your business more profitable? Could you sacrifice international clients/pitches for local ones? Could you employ freelancers as and when they are needed instead of hiring a junior designer?