A business plan is an essential element of a commercial venture. If your magazine is not a commercial one, you may think this topic is unimportant; however, it is a useful exercise to produce a business plan so that you get all the relevant factors clear in your mind and can allow for any issues that arise.Your business plan should show the various elements involved in starting up and running your magazine.

It should include your objectives and desired results and your means of achieving them, the resources you need in order to achieve your results and the ways in which you will set about achieving them – in both the short and the long term.It is good to keep your business plan as simple as possible, and you should take into account whether it is just for your own use, or whether anyone else will need to see it – for example, your bank manager, work associates or members of a committee.

Your business plan should be written clearly and concisely, so that each section can be read and understood by anyone involved with the business. It is possible to buy blank business-plan forms, which you can use as a basis for your own plan – a good place to find these is your local bank and they are also available from bookshops and stationery suppliers.

The Main Elements Of A Business Plan

The main elements of a business plan are given here, although they do not necessarily have to be presented in the following order. Note: You may find it easier to produce your plan once you have considered the information presented in the rest of the magazine section of this book.

The main elements to consider are detailed below.

A Brief Summary Of The Business Plan

This is useful as an overview, especially if the plan needs to be presented to other people who do not need the full details. Although the summary usually appears at the beginning of a business plan, it is usually written after consideration of all the elements contained in the plan, so you will probably find it easier to complete this section last.

The Name And Contact Details Of The Publication And Its Producers

You should give the name of the magazine here. If the magazine is produced for your own organisation, you should give your own business name; if the publication is produced for another organisation you should name that too.

The Purpose Of The Magazine, Its Scope And Focus

This is the place to include your ‘mission statement’ – your major objective in starting and running the magazine. You should include some information on its aims and the nature of what you intend it to cover. It is useful to include any relevant historical information, such as the existence of any earlier versions of the magazine (for example, if it was created originally as a newsletter) or any previous moves by others to establish a publication in this particular field.

The Format Of The Magazine

Here you can include some details of the number of pages planned, their size and the style of the magazine.

Any Comparable Or Competing Publications

If there are other publications in the field, a comparison of the features and advantages of yours with others can be helpful, together with any possibilities for collaboration. To check if any comparable publications exist you can ask at libraries, where they will have directories of publications or you can contact relevant associations or professional bodies or do internet searches.

Details Of People Involved In The Magazine

You will need to include yourself here, and it is also appropriate to mention others with a major role in the venture. Perhaps you have an editorial team or board and maybe you have suppliers, such as designers or telesales agencies, whose services you use. If your business plan is designed to gain financial support from other people or organisations, the more information you can provide on the skills, expertise and track record of those involved, the better.