Many nervous GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize prospects ask us what they need to complete the application form. The short answer is that our judges need an outline of your business plan to determine if your company has the potential to make it big.
A business plan is that everchanging document that you need when you approach investors, apply for loans, or bring in new partners who want to know if their money and effort will pay off.
“Not only is having [a business plan] often a prerequisite for lenders and investors, it’s a road map that helps owners identify both risks and opportunities in their markets so that they’re prepared for both,” says Michael Jones writing for Success.com.
Michael says there are eight elements of a successful business plan. In this article we summarise each element and look at the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize application questions that match each one.
1. Executive Summary:
The very first bit of a business plan is also the last thing you write. Your executive summary must paint a clear and enticing picture of your business, the value it offers, how it will make money. This piece will often be the only thing people read in your business plan, so make it impressive.
GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Application:
Your entire application is an executive summary of your business. In terms of your application form, you will need to share administrative details like your company name, tagline, website, social media pages, relevant dates, and whether you are at idea stage, startup stage, growth stage, or already a mature business.
Links to any mentions in the media, and any awards or recognitions you have received are great social proof for the judges.
2. Company Description:
“Explain what your company does and how it stands out from competitors. List major customers as well as markets you plan to target in the future. You’ll want to include competitive advantages, such as expert personnel,” says Michael Jones.
GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Application:
This is where your business model comes in. GoGettaz wants to know: “How does your business generate revenue? How does it or will it achieve profit? What is your plan for scaling up your business?”
Also indicate if you are B2B, B2B2B, B2B2C, B2B2G, B2C, C2C, B2G, or NPO. To some people these are just supporting characters in the next Star Wars Movie, but to business owners these symbols describe the main transactional relationship of their business. B = Business, C=Customer, G=Government, and NPO is a Non-Profit Organisation.
Specific to GoGettaz, we also want to know, “Which United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) do you believe your venture directly contributes to, if any? How does your business have a positive social or environmental impact? And how are you minimising your negative impacts?”
3. Market Analysis:
The Small Business Forum says: “This is where you identify and provide details about your target market (size, historical and forecasted growth rates, demographics, needs, purchasing trends, etc.), and determine what share of that market you can capture.”
More than just your knowing your customers, your market analysis also includes a detailed breakdown of your competitors and looks at the ecosystem you are operating in.
GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Application:
To enter GoGettaz you need to show that you know who your customers are and what the market potential is. You’ll also be asked, “Who are your main competitors? What is your company’s competitive advantage, and why is it better than others?”
4. Organization and Management:
“Here you focus on the structure of your business. How many owners does the company have? Who will operate the business? How are responsibilities delegated? What will your promotion and incentive structures be? Many people use charts and graphs to give a visual representation of these factors,” says Natalie Tarpinian, Vice President of Media and Sales at StackCommerce
GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Application:
This is the bit where you have to tell us about your co-founders (if you have any). You also have to tell us about your team. How many employees do you have? Who is in your leadership team? What experience and expertise do they bring to the business?
As the person entering the competition, you are also required to upload a CV for yourself.
5. Service or Product Line:
This is an important bit and it is probably the entire reason your business exists. Michael Jones asks, “What do you sell, how will it help your customers, and how often will they need to replace it? … Include any patents or copyrights you own.”
GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Application:
For your application you will need answers to: “What problem does your business solve for its customers? What is its solution? How is this unique or innovative?”
GoGettaz also wants to know if you or your venture own any intellectual property for this business? E.g. patents, trademarks, copyrights, logos etc.
6. Marketing and Sales:
“Explain how you’ll find and create customers by defining your marketing and sales strategies. For marketing, discuss your communications strategy as well as how and where you’ll share your messaging. For sales, focus on who will handle sales,” says the Small Business Forum.
GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Application:
Much of this information will be evident when you describe your business model (see #2 Company Description), but you will also be required to share your go-to-market plan.
7. Funding Request:
Funding request are intended for investors and banks to whom you present your business plan. In this section you want tell investors exactly how much you’ll need, and how you will spend it to get your business to profitability. Of course, investors and lenders also want to know how you will repay the money or how long it will take for them to see a return on their investments.
GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Application:
GoGettaz wants to know how you would invest US$50,000 in order to grow your company. To ensure the investment has the highest chance of success, GoGettaz also asks “What are your key business challenges? What support would help you overcome these?”
8. Financial Projections:
“Here you express the financial goals for your business. Outline how the marketing and sales ultimately equate to a profit. Basically, you make earnings and cost predictions in this section,” says Natalie Tarpinian. To understand where your business is going, it is also necessary to understand its current position. When you flesh out your financial summary in your business plan, be honest with yourself. Using zero data to predict that your new startup will make one billion dollars by next August, is not going to help you take realistic steps to grow your business.
GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Application:
For your GoGettaz application you have to indicate your annual turnover in US dollars. You’ll also be asked questions like, “When did you get your first paying customer?” and, “Are you making a profit?” You can leave these blank if you haven’t made a sale, or you are yet to record a profit.
Now that you know exactly how your business plan informs your GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize application, head over gogettaz.africa, and start your application today! Entries close 18 June 2020.
