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Integrating Innovation Strategy into Your Business Plan

February 15, 2023 Innovation

Jeff Bartel

Chairman and managing director.

Developing and driving innovative ideas are essential to business success and growth. Innovation—whether in products, services, operation, or delivery—allows organizations to improve value for their customers, which can boost satisfaction and build loyalty. However, an innovation culture can only take hold if there is action, testing, adaptation, and collaboration throughout the organization and alignment with the business goals.

Often, businesses fail to implement innovative ideas correctly or allow them to lie dormant despite their potential. Innovative concepts that remain dormant jeopardize business success. Your company can avoid these issues by integrating an innovation strategy into your business plan. 

The Importance of Innovation Strategy in Your Business Plan

Several Fortune 500 companies, including Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon, are synonymous with innovation. Among these corporations, innovation is at the forefront of their business strategies. Embedding innovation into your business offers a range of benefits, such as the following.

• Alignment with Company Goals: You can ensure that all key players work toward the same goals and objectives with an innovation strategy.
• Greater Value for Customers: Strategic integration of innovation within the company typically results in better products and services to the customer.
• Better Collaboration: With an innovation strategy, various departments can work toward different goals. For instance, your sales team focuses on finding new customers, your research and development team may want to introduce new products, and your marketing team may target a new audience. However, with a strategic plan, these goals can work in unison toward one goal. 
• Diverse Ideas: Collaboration can spur a greater diversity of innovative ideas.
• Cost Control: The right innovation strategy can not only help you better select which ideas deserve additional research, but it can also help control research and development costs.

Considering today’s fast-paced, forward-moving market, integrated business innovation strategies are critical to achieving long-term success .

Using Different Types of Innovation Strategy

When it comes to integrating innovation into your business plan, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Your innovation method depends on your organization’s capabilities, risk level, financial investments, priorities, and scope. The four most common innovation strategies are provided below.

Proactive strategies focus on the innovation of new products. This requires a significant financial investment and has a higher risk factor than other strategy options. Apple is a prime example of a company that takes a proactive approach by introducing new technologies to the consumer market, including the iPhone, iPad, and iWatch. Organizations considering this approach must realize the risks involved since future markets are uncertain.

Companies taking an active innovation approach focus on improving their current offerings while knowing they may need to switch gears quickly to meet emerging consumer demands. As a result, these organizations build upon technology and tools already available in the market.

This strategy requires a high investment but comes with lower risks than proactive strategies. Microsoft is one company that often takes this approach. For example, as the global pandemic forced companies to rely on remote work, Microsoft introduced new collaboration tools .

As the name suggests, companies using a reactive strategy tend to take a wait-and-see approach. They track trends and typically only take action on innovative ideas that are already successful in the market, which can reduce the risk level. For example, discount airline Ryanair took an innovative approach to build a business model that mimics many of Southwest’s successful trends, lowering costs by eliminating offering snacks and drinks during flights.

Companies taking a passive approach to business innovation strategies focus primarily on customer demand. These companies wait for customers to demand change before building an innovation strategy. This strategy requires a smaller investment and comes with fewer risks. For example, app development companies often wait for customer feedback before making app changes or building innovative technology.

How Do You Develop an Innovation Strategy?

The first step in developing an innovation strategy is to set clear goals and objectives. These goals must align with the overall mission of the company. For example, are you working toward developing new goods or services? Are you looking for innovative ways to acquire and retain talent? Do you want to expand your customer base?

When setting these objectives, determine what value you want the innovation to bring to the company and customer. For instance, do you want to improve hiring outcomes? Improve customer satisfaction, Meet customer demands, Enhance the customer experience, and lower labor costs.

Finally, you must develop a plan to communicate innovation goals and objectives to all key players. Then, once you are in the development phase, determine how to introduce this innovation to the customer.

How Do You Implement an Innovation Strategy into Your Business Plan?

Once you set goals and objectives, communicate the plan to all key stakeholders, including executives, managers, employees, clients, contractors, and vendors. Expanding communications to even those outside the company permits all key players to offer suggestions and ideas. This step, in turn, helps to build a culture of innovation.

Corning is a prime example of a company that maintains a culture of innovation . Over its 170-year history, Corning has continuously invested in innovation. From developing the glass enclosure for light bulbs in 1879 to bringing Pyrex into millions of homes for more than 100 years to developing GorillaGlass for modern-day smartphones and cars, Corning’s innovations have made it a leader in glass science, ceramic science, and optical, physical industries. 

Pillars of a Business Innovation Strategy

Keep several pillars of business innovation strategy in mind when developing and integrating them into your business plan.

Business Model vs. Tech and Development Innovation

Determine if you want the organization’s strategies to focus on business model innovation or tech and development innovation. For example, do you want to improve business processes or develop new products? While these two objectives may overlap, understanding the company’s priorities can help determine which innovation techniques to use and what areas to invest in first.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Cross-functional collaboration is critical to innovation success. Not only do all key players need to work together, but each department must also fully understand the overall goals and objectives of the strategy. Multiple teams may work toward different purposes without this collaboration, which often hinders outcomes.

Advanced Ideation

It is rare for an innovative idea to come from just one source. Instead, innovation is typically a collaborative effort among multiple players. Encourage your employees, even those unrelated to research and development, to share their innovative solutions and ideas. These ideas can come to life through a collaborative effort.

Measure Success

Once an innovation framework is in place, develop metrics to measure the success of its implementation. Only through practical analysis can you ensure any innovative idea’s long-lasting success.

Including Innovation Strategy in Your Business Plan

Innovation is practical only if it aligns with your business goals and objectives. That is why it is vital to integrate a comprehensive innovation strategy into your company’s business plan. The first step to making this happen is to secure executive buy-in. Company executives must approve any strategy and understand the total value of strategic innovation. You also need to focus on communication because an innovation strategy has no impact if it is not actively promoted.

The need for continuous innovation cannot be overstated. Strategic innovation must be integrated into the business plan of any company. Contact Hamptons Group to begin integrating an innovation strategy into your business plan.

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Start » strategy, how to write a business plan for inventions.

Attract investors and formalize processes by developing a roadmap for commercializing your innovation.

An inventor’s business plan is a framework for bringing a concept to market and achieving profitability. It’s similar to a regular business plan but adds details about intellectual property protection and prototypes. Ideally, a business plan for inventions builds upon a feasibility study. It should highlight your findings from a comprehensive competitive analysis and be tailored to its intended audience, such as investors.

An invention business plan is crucial for getting funding and securing strategic alliances. But you can also use it internally to guide operations, from marketing to hiring. Here’s how to craft an effective report.

Determine your audience and purpose

Although most business plans for a new invention follow a basic outline, you can tailor your approach to appeal to specific readers. Suppose you want to pitch your idea to investors or accelerator programs. In this case, it’s essential to mention funding requirements. But you should also emphasize the skills and experience your team brings to the table. According to Heer Law , “Often, investors and other stakeholders care as much or more about who the people are behind an invention than the potential of the invention on its own.”

However, if you’re looking for co-founders and employees, modify your document to clarify the skills required and long-term benefits for early joiners. Once you understand what drives your intended audience, you can write a business plan that excites them while answering their questions.

[ Read more: How These Innovation-Driven Startups Reached an Elusive Milestone: Profitability ]

Outline your invention business plan sections

The Small Business Association (SBA) said, “There’s no right or wrong way to write a business plan. What’s important is that your plan meets your needs.” You can use a basic template , take a free course , or start from scratch. Begin your process by outlining commonly used sections, then modify your document to include invention-specific content.

Often, investors and other stakeholders care as much or more about who the people are behind an invention than the potential of the invention on its own.

Christopher Heer, Annette Latoszewska, and Daryna Kutsyna, Heer Law

Consider adding the following components:

• Executive summary: Keep it concise but touch on each aspect of your plan. Remember to pique interest and compel your audience to read more.
• Company overview: Discuss your industry and niche, including what makes your invention and business stand out. Explain how you will commercialize your design (selling to consumers, wholesale, or retail).
• Organizational structure: This is where you describe your legal business structure (sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), or corporation). Provide details about inventors, executive team, and current or prospective employees.
• Market and competitive analysis: Share insights from your feasibility study, including an analysis of your industry, competitors, and market. Add statistics about market size and growth. Plus, offer a customer profile and explain what differentiates your invention from others.
• Invention: Tell readers about your design (features and functions) and how it benefits customers. Mention your product research, prototypes, and intellectual property registrations .
• Marketing and sales: Explain how you will apply competitive and market insights to earn a return. Topics may include sales, pricing, promotional strategies, positioning statements, and marketing campaigns.
• Financial information: Show how your invention will be profitable and use spreadsheets, charts, and graphs. Include projected revenue , profit and loss, cash flow, and a balance sheet. Also, detail any funding needs, how you’ll get the money, and what you’ll do with it.
• Appendix: Add all supporting evidence for your invention business plan. For instance, Chron.com said, “Investors respond well to business plans that include endorsements of the product from potential customers.

Add sections for your new invention

In addition to these regular sections, you can expand your business plan to include research and development, intellectual property protection , and owned or future IP assets. According to Heer Law, the research and development component helps readers understand “future products that can be commercially exploited.” Likewise, details about your intellectual property protection ensure investors that you’ve taken action to defend your innovation from unwanted duplication.

Provide information about any assets going through the application process and how various trademarks, patents , and copyrights will impact profitability. Also, discuss if you plan on developing new inventions or have prototypes available.

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Solo Innovator

A Complete Guide To Creating Your Business Plan

Whether you’re a solopreneur or are part of a team, developing the initial foundations of your startup, including your business plan, is incredibly important for ensuring the success of your business.

By taking ownership of this first, most important step you will gain far more than a crisp document to be read by others. You will develop a deep understanding of what it will take for your business to succeed.

In this article, we’re going to cover the exact steps on how you can create your own business plan so that you can get your business off on the right foot.

If you’re more of a watcher than a reader, then I’d recommend that you check out this great video by Gillian Perkins, where she covers everything that you need to know about writing a business plan.

Page Contents

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a roadmap that outlines a company’s goals and how it plans to reach them.

It’s helpful for both new and established businesses. Startups use it to attract investors, while established companies use it to stay focused on their objectives.

Why Do I Need a Business Plan?

A business plan can help you achieve a lot, including:

• Secure a business loan
• Raising equity funding
• Setting clear business objectives
• Getting a review of your business idea
• Formalizing agreements between partners
• Establishing the value of your business for sale or legal purposes
• Evaluating a new product line
• Defining a unique selling proposition
• Planning for promotion and expansion

How to Write an Effective Business Plan: 10 Steps

Step 1: write an executive summary.

A well-crafted executive summary is crucial for attracting investors. It should succinctly outline all the key information about your business, such as your goals, expected returns, and selling points.

Step 2: Business Description

A strong business description should meet your customers’ expectations and provide insights into your business’s legal structure, location, type, and the products or services it offers.

Step 3: Operations Plan

Your operational plan should include cash flow forecasting, work plan preparation, budget analysis, variance reports, and an overall mission statement to guide your business development.

Step 4: Organization and Management

This step details your company’s ownership, management team, and board members. An organizational chart should be included, outlining each manager’s responsibilities, education, and experience.

Step 5: Legal Structure of Your Business

Choose the appropriate legal structure for your business, whether it’s a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or limited liability company (LLC).

Step 6: Products

Highlight your most popular products and services and provide descriptions that showcase the essence of your business.

Step 7: Marketing and Sales Strategy

Develop a strategy that targets your specific customer demographic and includes your goals, marketing channels, and revenue targets.

Step 8: Competitive Analysis

Analyze your competitors by categorizing them, assessing their promotional strategies, examining their products and services, and identifying their strengths and weaknesses.

Step 9: Unique Selling Proposition

Define your unique selling proposition (USP) by emphasizing what sets your offering apart from the competition. It could be faster delivery, specialized expertise, or any feature that benefits your customers.

Step 10: Financial Planning

Estimate the funds needed to start your business, covering startup expenses and ongoing costs. Create a clear financial plan that outlines every expense and be prepared for unexpected situations.

Overall, a well-structured business plan serves as a blueprint for your business’s success, guiding you through the first crucial 12 months and beyond.

It’s not just a document; it’s a strategic tool that demonstrates your seriousness, adaptability, and vision for the future.

Writing a business plan may be a challenging task, but it’s an essential one for any aspiring entrepreneur. Share this step-by-step guide with your business partners and friends who are embarking on their entrepreneurial journey.

If you’re looking for more advice about starting your business I’d recommend that you check out our 40-step checklist to launching your product and our complete guide on validating your business idea.

Tom is a passionate software engineer turned solo entrepreneur, who loves to build businesses from the ground up and write about his findings.

After launching a handful of SaaS businesses himself, Tom has turned to writing about his research as he explores the topics of entrepreneurship and solo innovation further.

To learn more about Tom and his journey, check out the about page or the Solopreneur Journey section of this site.

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Making Time for Innovation in Your Business Plan

RELATED TAGS:

blog , business plans , Innovation , Strategic Planning

If you’re living in a world of, “If I just had more time,” you’re not alone. Most leaders who are in charge of executing large plans – operational plans, strategic plans, cost reduction, or process improvement plans – have trouble prioritizing initiatives. While you start out the year with a good idea of which projects should be crowned the most important, focus tends to be distracted by “shiny objects.” By mid-February, you’ve accepted 15 more initiatives, and your plan has shifted from looking at the future to just trying to stay on your feet and make your numbers.

If you read one of our latest posts, you learned that typical American corporations spend 40% of their time working on operations-related activities. This is made up of all the time you spend answering emails, updating your budget, hiring and training people, and doing exactly what your job description calls for to keep the lights on. The other 60% of US employees’ time is spent reacting to urgent and important matters. This time is typically unplanned, unexpected, and is referred to as “firefighting.”

This is a stressful way to spend a day. I think we all prefer to work in a way that allows us to be prepared to face what could happen, so we can handle situations swiftly and adeptly – and then spend the rest of our time being creative and problem-solving for the next big breakthrough.

A fellow Achiever here recently found a quote about the definition of “status quo,” since we refer to it so much. Ronald Reagan claims that, “Status quo, you know, is Latin for ‘the mess we’re in.’” While it’s not a literal translation, it does strike a chord with today’s business community.

If this statistic is the norm, how do we break free and start making room in our busy schedules for innovation?

Why Do We Need to Focus on Innovation?

Forcing time for innovation allows our organizations to get ahead.

Think about it. If all we can concentrate on is walking and chewing gum at the same time (operations), and dealing with the occasional black cat that crosses our path and tries to trip us up (firefighting), how are we ever going to take the time to learn to spit out the gum, suck on a mint instead, tie our shoelaces, carry cat treats, and take a different route home?

We can only refine our current processes up to a certain point. An anecdote my colleague, Joe Krause, shared recently painted this picture perfectly for me. No matter how fast you can make your horse with maintenance, training, and care, it will never be a car.

If you concentrate all your energy on operating within the status quo, someone who has learned to set aside time for innovation is going to come along and invent a car while you’re busy maintaining your current process.

How to Free Up Your Business Plan

Strategic plans give us hope. Once a year, we get to brainstorm together to put new ambitious ideas up on a whiteboard and say – “We’re going to commit to making this happen this year.” Unfortunately, we either a) get bogged down with the little things we forgot to include in our plan in the first place (white space risk), or b) we’re so focused on executing on our big ideas that we let our operations sit on the sidelines – and then pay for it when we’re forced to put out fires.

What we’ve seen work best with our AchieveIt customers is that they use our tool to help prioritize.

1. Keep your strategic initiatives important.

According to the Stephen-Covey matrix, they may not be urgent, but they should remain important. Progress on these initiatives should be highly visible to everyone in the organization. We should know, at a glance, whether these initiatives are On Track, Off Track, or At Risk – and how we can help.

On a personal level, blocking off 1-2 hours a week to make steady progress on an innovative project will help keep it in your schedule. Also, just having a reminder once a week will help keep the project in your mind, and let it sit on the backburner while you’re thinking about other tasks.

2. Use an aligned roll-up view to identify what you might be missing.

AchieveIt’s customers use our “Tree View” that shows how each small task relates to each larger initiative. In terms of trying to be prepared for anything that might come your way – and having a crisis management plan to help deal with it – this kind of view will help you spot any holes you have in your plan.

This way, you’re helping your Future Self not lose so much time to firefighting when things inevitably do pop up – a PR disaster, or even a printer jam – and you can go back to pondering the world and your organization’s place in it.

3. Review your plan regularly.

The thing that helps AchieveIt customers most is having a set cadence when reviewing their plans. Most people lose track of all those awesome, innovative plans because they just never look at them again in the eleven months following the initial launch.

Looking at your plan regularly and assessing what’s working, what isn’t, what’s relevant, and what needs to be adapted, will help you tailor your initial ideas into what you need to focus on today.

Commit to Innovation and Your Business Plan Will Thank You

The number one thing you can do to propel your organization forward is to give it some TLC. Pounding your way down the same dirt path until you’re stuck in a muddy rut is far less helpful and less effective than tilling your soil, planting seeds, and growing something new.

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Innovation Strategy: Developing Innovative Strategies in Business

Published: 27 February, 2024

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Table of Contents

Innovation has become an imperative for organizations worldwide, yet the multitude of methods and frameworks available often lead to confusion rather than clarity. While various approaches focus on specific aspects such as user experience or design thinking , they often fail to provide a cohesive strategy for innovation from start to finish. An innovation strategy is key to capturing and  sustaining innovation , it serves as a detailed roadmap, comprising a series of strategic steps that propel an organization toward its future objectives. Beyond being a mere guide for business success, this roadmap is essential for ensuring a company remains competitive in its industry by continually devising new and innovative approaches to address challenges.

At Digital Leadership , our core belief is that by harnessing emerging technologies and innovative business models , we can revolutionize customer experiences. Crafting an innovation strategy is crucial for a company’s success. It entails fostering collaboration within the organization to stimulate new ideas and establishing a well-thought-out framework for future growth. It’s crucial to understand that no two innovation strategy plans are identical. 

We specialize in making and putting into action creative plans that work and help organizations not just accept innovation but to do well in the always-changing digital world through our innovation consulting services to bring business growth through innovation as an essential roadmap that leads enterprises towards their unique success. Utilizing our Innovation Blueprint service as a starting point provides a robust foundation for your business. We carefully assess how you currently approach innovation and smoothly integrate those practices into your overall business plan .

Find out how we can help you

Corporate training, innovation consulting and much more.

What is Innovation Strategy?

An innovation strategy is a planned and organized way of using new technologies and creative ideas to bring about significant changes in a company. It involves creating a detailed plan that closely matches the company’s main goals, encouraging a culture of constant improvement. Think of an innovation strategy as a commitment to a shared goal of innovation, including a structured set of activities designed to drive the future growth of the organization. 

Each innovation strategy is unique. This innovation strategy plan is more than just a guide for business success; it functions as a compass, steering the organization through new and creative approaches to address challenges. Developing a company innovation strategy includes clearly defining an innovation mission, aligning activities with long-term business goals , and promoting a culture that welcomes change and creativity. Following such a strategy ensures that organizations stay ahead in their industries, always adjusting and evolving to meet emerging needs.

Much more innovation approaches, you will find in our book  “ How to Create Innovation “.  Recognizing that innovation is a dynamic process, this guide emphasizes adaptability. Stay ahead of the curve by understanding how  innovation strategies  evolve with market dynamics, ensuring sustained relevance and competitiveness.

The Only Book On Innovation You’ll Ever Need

+FREE access to 50+ complimentary download packages covering the details with plenty of helpful background information

Business Innovation Strategy: What is Innovation Strategy In Business

In the business environment, remaining competitive necessitates ongoing evolution to address evolving customer demands. Establishing an innovation strategy becomes imperative for organizations aiming to excel in this dynamic setting. One prevalent initial step in crafting such a strategy involves gaining a comprehensive grasp of the organization’s innovation initiatives and overarching business goals . This encompasses identifying the market landscape, comprehending customer requirements, and discerning the most effective strategies to optimize customer satisfaction while utilizing resources efficiently.

Once you have a grasp of your organization’s innovation landscape, the next step is to define a common innovation mission. This mission should align with your overall business strategy and focus your innovation efforts on creating value for your customers. An effective innovation strategy must also include setting specific innovation goals and metrics to measure success. By establishing clear objectives, businesses can better track their progress and adapt their innovation programs as needed.

So, Why are Innovation Strategies Important in Business

• Generating and capitalizing on returns from innovations serves as a primary source of competitive advantage.
• Complex and resource-intensive activities like R&D, product design, and collaboration can impact a firm’s competitive standing. Without strategic guidance, these efforts may yield fragmented and short-term outcomes.
• With globalization, firms face a multitude of opportunities and threats across various markets. A strategic approach to innovation helps navigate this landscape effectively.
• Organizational structures and innovation processes must align with the overall corporate strategy. For instance, R&D efforts may differ depending on whether the firm aims to lead or follow in innovation.
• Articulating long-term strategic objectives for innovation is crucial for engaging with public-sector policies, fostering collaborations, and attracting patient investors.
• A firm that prioritizes innovation strategically is more likely to attract talented individuals seeking opportunities for creative engagement.

The “UNITE Innovation Approach” Model acts as a guide for entrepreneurs to build a strong innovation strategy framework. This model smoothly combines market insights, aligns with business goals, and offers a structured way of generating and implementing ideas. By employing the UNITE model, entrepreneurs gain a strategic advantage, ensuring that their innovation efforts are intentional steps toward lasting success, not haphazard. 

Your download is now available!

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The UNITE Innovation Approach | Overview

Steps of developing innovation strategy framework.

Innovation is crucial not only for large corporations but also for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It serves as a vital competitive advantage and is often considered a core capability of firms. For SMEs, innovation is particularly important due to resource constraints, making it an effective means to enhance productivity and performance. However, research findings on Heineken Beverage Industry reveal that the organization’s innovative strategies, particularly in process, market, and product innovation, are weak and fail to significantly contribute to its performance and productivity levels. To strengthen their innovation efforts, SMEs can follow several steps in developing an effective innovation strategy.

Step 1: Innovation Strategy Setup

In the crucial first step of Setup within the innovation strategy , organizations lay the groundwork for success. This involves defining the business intentions and direction, outlining high-level Search Fields, and identifying detailed Opportunity Spaces. By articulating the Business Intention, organizations clarify the problem they aim to solve or the legacy they aspire to leave behind, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.

You can now access the complete Business Intentions Package, including a full presentation, related models and instructions for use.

The UNITE Business Intentions

Utilizing tools like the Search Field Matrix aids in analyzing dimensions like trends and market segments, guiding prioritization of areas for innovation within the overarching innovation strategy. Opportunity Spaces then pinpoint specific intervention sites, outlining Jobs to be Done and target customers in alignment with the innovation strategy’s objectives. Building the core team, led by an experienced entrepreneur, is essential for executing the innovation initiative effectively. Operating in a protected environment, clear goals are set for each stage, with regular updates provided to stakeholders, ensuring smooth organizational setup and progression through subsequent stages.

You can now access the complete UNITE DEFINITION OF SEARCH FIELDS & OPPORTUNITY MATRIX, including a full presentation, related models and instructions for use.

THE UNITE Definition Of Search Fields & Opportunity Spaces

Step 2: problem/solution fit.

In step 2 of developing an innovation strategy, the focus is on achieving Problem/Solution Fit , and aligning customer needs with viable solutions. This involves three key streams of work: Stream A delves into understanding Jobs to be Done, Stream B crafts a Value Proposition, and Stream C defines the Business Model. Bringing the team up to speed is essential, involving active briefings with stakeholders and thorough research to refine objectives. Properly framing the broader objective, clarifying the JTBD, and conducting initial market research are vital steps before proceeding further, ensuring a solid foundation for subsequent actions.

You can now access the complete UNITE PROBLEM / SOLUTION FIT, including a full presentation, related models and instructions for use.

The UNITE Business Model Innovation Patterns

The Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework is a powerful tool for understanding customer needs and driving innovation. By focusing on tasks rather than demographics, businesses gain deep insights into their target market. Through qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys , companies validate insights and identify growth opportunities. This approach helps in creating solutions that precisely match customer needs, reducing the risk of failure and increasing market success. Continuous iteration based on customer feedback ensures a competitive edge in today’s customer-centric landscape. Embracing JTBD is essential for fostering innovation and delivering value to customers.

You can now access the complete JTBD Customer’s Job Statement Package, including a full presentation, related models and instructions for use.

The UNITE Jobs-To-Be-Done Statement & Map

It offers a systematic approach to understanding customer needs and shaping innovative solutions. By focusing on the tasks or objectives customers are trying to accomplish, rather than just their demographic or psychographic profiles, businesses can uncover deep insights into unmet customer needs and opportunities for improvement.

To effectively outline the tasks and activities customers undertake to fulfill their job using the UNITE Jobs-to-be-Done Universal Job Map, convene your team and set up a whiteboard or wall with eight columns representing the eight steps in the Job Map. From defining and planning to concluding, each step provides insight into the customer’s journey. For example, when purchasing a bottle of wine, steps may include defining preferences, locating a store, preparing by comparing options, confirming the choice, executing the purchase, monitoring the taste, modifying preferences based on satisfaction, and concluding the purchase experience. Understanding these steps is vital for developing solutions that precisely meet the customer’s needs.

You can now access the complete Jobs to be Done Universal Map Package, including a full presentation, related models and instructions for use.

At this stage, having gone through the Jobs-to-be-Done process and developed initial Customer Promises, we find ourselves within a relatively narrow solution space ripe for exploration using methodologies like Design Thinking. The next step involves translating these initial promises into robust solutions by treating each promise as a mini-opportunity Space. Ideation is the key here. We encourage exploring a plethora of ideas, ranging from ambitious “moonshots” to targeted solutions addressing specific but unsolved problems. It’s about being smart in approach, knowing when to think big and when to focus narrowly, all while keeping the original customer needs at the forefront.

To navigate this process effectively, we recommend leveraging frameworks such as the Value Proposition Canvas . This tool provides a structured approach to deep dive into the value proposition, ensuring alignment with customer needs and market demands. Crafting a robust value proposition isn’t just about generating ideas; it’s about understanding the core essence of what your offering brings to the table. By embracing ideation, divergence, and strategic frameworks, businesses can unlock innovation potential and create value propositions that resonate deeply with their target audience.

You can now access the complete Business Model Canvas Package, including a full presentation, related models and instructions for use.

The UNITE Business Model Canvas

(3) solution/market fit (mvp).

In step 2, we’ve pinpointed our customers’ needs, tested potential solutions, and outlined a solid business model. However, jumping straight into execution is risky. While we may have a good grasp of what our customers want, our concept hasn’t been fully validated yet. Step 3 of developing an innovation strategy, where customers actually buy and use our product, is crucial for true validation. Rushing into scaling before perfecting our concept can lead to wasted resources and the need for costly adjustments later on. It’s essential to ensure our business concept is finely tuned before expanding.

Innovation strategy hinges on the meticulous execution of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) , a streamlined version of your offering that validates key business assumptions while conserving resources. The MVP approach, epitomized by Zappos’ early success, emphasizes real-world validation over elaborate prototypes, focusing on tangible customer experiences. Yet, challenges like imitation and reputational risk loom large, necessitating strategic differentiation and brand management. Moreover, maintaining quality is paramount, ensuring that the MVP not only functions but delights users, fostering genuine feedback. Executing an MVP entails two phases: development and launch, followed by rigorous testing and iteration. This iterative process drives continuous improvement , steering your innovation strategy towards tangible value creation .

You can now access the complete Unite Solution/Market Fit (MVP) Scorecard, including a full presentation, related models and instructions for use.

The UNITE Problem-Solution Fit & Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Scorecards

In the initial phase of MVP development and launch, four key work streams drive the process: Marketing focuses on brand development and campaign planning, while the Business stream refines models and tests pricing strategies. Product & UX teams develop and test the MVP, while Technology sets up technical infrastructure. Phase B shifts focus to live testing and tweaking, with Marketing launching test campaigns and Business refining operating models.

Step 4: Build & Scale Your Innovation Strategy

After countless tests and a number of pivots and iterations, you have quantitatively proven with real customers that you have achieved a Solution/Market Fit. In other words, your product works and customers have actually bought it! In Stage 4 of developing an innovation strategy, you will be shifting gears and moving from incubation (concerned with finding a working Business Model) to acceleration (building and scaling the identified Business Model). With your business concept now proven and well-defined, the next challenge is getting it to scale. That is the core purpose of this stage: to build and scale the business concept that you have been working on thus far and now get it out into the market to scale as quickly as possible. But moving from your business concept (the strategy) to an actual business (the execution) is inherently difficult. Many organizations fail to bridge the Strategy-Execution Gap , meaning they fail to implement the strategy, or business concept, they originally designed. According to the available statistics, up to 70% of organizations struggle with moving from strategy to execution.

One key ingredient we propose to overcome the Strategy-Execution challenge is to establish how you are going to execute using a well-defined and communicated Operating Model. The Operating Model Canvas emerges as a potent solution, offering a blueprint for execution. Establishing a well-defined and communicated Operating Model is pivotal in overcoming the Strategy-Execution challenge.

You can now access the complete GROWTH-HACKING PROCESS, including a full presentation, related models and instructions for use.

The Growth-Hacking Process

To ensure the effectiveness of the innovation strategy , it is imperative to embed innovation within the organization’s processes and overall strategic framework. This necessitates the allocation of resources, including time, finances, and skilled personnel, to innovation initiatives, while fostering a culture that champions and rewards innovative thinking.

By adhering to these guidelines for formulating an innovation strategy , businesses can position themselves for sustained success and growth amidst a rapidly evolving market landscape. Through a steadfast commitment to customer value creation and adaptability to uncertainty, organizations can pave the path to industry leadership through innovation.

Types of Innovation Strategies

Elaboration on innovation strategy typologies has been provided by various scholars (Freeman and Soete 1997; Goodman and Lawless 1994). These typologies encompass proactive strategies, characterized by technological and market leadership with a strong research focus, often associated with firms embracing first-mover advantages and taking significant risks. Active strategies involve defending existing technologies and markets while remaining agile to respond swiftly to emerging opportunities. Reactive strategies, on the other hand, are adopted by firms with a slower response to innovation, often prioritizing cost-cutting measures over technological advancements. Finally, passive strategies entail engaging in innovation only in response to customer demands, typically involving low-risk initiatives.

Examples of passive strategies can be observed among supplier firms in industries like automotive manufacturing, where lower-tier suppliers often rely on fulfilling specifications rather than driving innovation themselves.

1) Proactive Innovation Strategy

Being ahead in innovation defines successful companies that stand out in the ever-changing business world. These forward-looking organizations don’t just react to changes; they actively search for new opportunities and predict future trends. This proactive approach allows them to take control of the market by introducing fresh and distinctive products or services that capture consumer attention.

Within proactive innovation strategies, several paths contribute to an organization’s overall success:

• Product Innovation: At the core of being proactive in innovation is making new and groundbreaking products. Companies that do well put money into research and development, always trying to do things that haven’t been done before to meet new needs and go beyond what customers expect. Whether it’s using the latest technology or coming up with creative designs, creating innovative products is a big reason why these companies lead the market.
• Process Innovation : To ensure internal efficiency and stay ahead of the competition, organizations with a proactive innovation strategy focus on optimizing their internal operations. Process innovation becomes crucial, streamlining workflows, improving productivity, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Business Model Innovation : Recognizing that how value is provided and money is made is as crucial as the products themselves, organizations embracing proactive innovation strategies engage in business model innovation. This involves reimagining the fundamental structure of the business, exploring new revenue streams, and adapting to changing market dynamics.
• Open Innovation : Proactive innovators often collaborate with external partners, startups, or research institutions through open innovation practices. By tapping into a broader pool of ideas, expertise, and resources, these organizations enrich their innovation ecosystem and stay at the forefront of industry advancements.
• Sustainability Innovation: Forward-thinking companies, under a proactive innovation strategy, increasingly incorporate sustainability into their product development and business practices. This aligns with societal and environmental expectations, positioning them as responsible and future-ready entities.

Essentially, a proactive innovation strategy goes beyond mere adaptation; it positions organizations as catalysts of change, architects of the future, and leaders in industries where innovation is the key currency.

For instance, proactive innovators like DuPont and Apple exemplify a commitment to technological leadership through continuous innovation. Microsoft, employing an active strategy, strategically leverages existing technologies while adapting swiftly to market shifts. In contrast, firms like Dell may adopt a more reactive approach to technology adoption but remain proactive in their production and distribution models.

2) Active Innovation Strategy

Active innovation represents a dynamic approach for organizations to swiftly respond to market changes and evolving customer preferences. Embracing flexibility and agility, companies adopting this strategy proactively lead rather than merely follow in the ever-changing business landscape. Key aspects of the active innovation framework include:

• Proactivity : Organizations take the lead in meeting the needs of the continually evolving market.
• Incremental Innovation : Constant, small improvements to existing products or processes keep offerings up-to-date and aligned with customer preferences.
• Service Innovation: Beyond product creation, organizations focus on enhancing the overall customer experience by listening to customer feedback and adapting services accordingly.
• Adaptability : Rapid response to new demands, including staying abreast of technological changes.
• Technology Innovation: A pivotal component, organizations prioritize staying updated on technological advancements to provide modern solutions in the digital era.

Active innovation places a premium on a proactive mindset, swift actions, and a deep understanding of the market. This strategy positions organizations not only to navigate changes effectively but also to capitalize on new opportunities, establishing them as leaders in their respective industries.

3) Reactive Innovation Strategy

In the Reactive Innovation Strategy , businesses respond to market changes as needed. While not always the first to introduce groundbreaking products, these companies prioritize adaptability in the competitive environment. Cautious in their responses, organizations employing this strategy carefully evaluate market shifts before making changes. Though the pace of innovation may be slower compared to proactive approaches, this strategy holds advantages, especially in industries where stability and a deep understanding of market dynamics are paramount.

Strengths of Reactive Innovation:

• Adaptive Innovation: Enables precise adjustments in response to changes, maximizing resource utilization.
• Cost Innovation: Focuses on finding cost-effective solutions and operational efficiencies.

For organizations embracing Reactive Innovation , balancing responsiveness with forward-looking anticipation is key. While not always the first movers, strategic and well-timed responses to market shifts make them resilient players in the ever-changing business landscape. This approach proves particularly relevant in industries experiencing gradual changes, where staying attuned to market demands remains the primary focus.

4) Passive Innovation Strategy

In passive innovation , organizations show limited involvement in the innovation process , often missing opportunities and potential advancements. This cautious approach relies on established practices, avoiding proactive exploration. However, this passivity, while providing stability, can be a double-edged sword, risking stagnation in a quickly changing landscape.

• Imitative Innovation: Organizations that embrace passive innovation may tend to copy successful ideas from competitors or industry leaders, finding security in proven models but sacrificing the agility and originality of more proactive strategies.
• Stability vs. Stagnation: While passive innovation gives a sense of stability, organizations must be aware of potential downsides, including the risk of falling behind in industries where rapid advancements are the norm.
• Open Innovation Bursts : To counteract potential stagnation, passive innovation strategies may benefit from occasional bursts of open innovation. Drawing on external ideas and collaborations brings in fresh perspectives and helps maintain relevance in dynamic industries.

Developing an effective innovation strategy requires a comprehensive approach, incorporating key elements and following a systematic framework. By understanding the market, aligning strategies with business goals , and fostering a culture of innovation , organizations can stay ahead in the ever-evolving business landscape. The examples of successful innovation strategies from industry leaders further highlight the importance of innovation in achieving sustained business growth and competitiveness.

This nuanced understanding of innovation strategy underscores the dynamic interplay between technological advancements, market dynamics, and organizational capabilities, shaping firms’ strategic orientations towards innovation.

Innovation strategies vary widely, each tailored to specific organizational contexts and objectives. Also, there are five styles of Innovation Strategies

• Leadership ignites entrepreneurial energy within teams.
• Culture of rapid innovation and creation of new business models.
• Suitable for industries facing rapid changes.
• Management involves sharing the vision, establishing internal markets for ideas, and encouraging intrapreneurship.
• Managers innovate within existing business structures.
• Transformation of business structures over time.
• Ideal for companies seeking significant yet sustainable change.
• Management practices include experimentation, empowering teams, and customer-centricity.
• Exploration of new directions beyond existing strategic assets.
• Pursuit of radical change in response to limited growth opportunities.
• Management involves identifying crucial assets, encouraging cross-pollination of ideas, and seizing opportunities beyond core areas.
• Conducting low-cost experiments to overcome obstacles hindering major innovations.
• Cautious yet progressive approach to innovation.
• Suitable when significant opportunities are sensed, but details remain unclear.
• Management practices include goal-focused research, patience, and continuous exploration.
• Outsourcing creativity and investing in startups.
• Acquisition of promising startups.
• Feasible with available resources to leverage discoveries from smaller players.
• Management involves maintaining internal R&D capacity, scouting for acquisition prospects, and efficient integration processes.

Innovation Strategy of the Four main Types of Innovation

Four primary types of innovation —radical, architectural, disruptive, and incremental—provide a comprehensive innovation strategy framework for organizations to navigate the complexities of innovation and achieve their strategic objectives. Each type offers unique opportunities and challenges, catering to different levels of risk tolerance and resource availability. Understanding these distinct approaches to innovation is essential for organizations seeking to adapt, evolve, and thrive in an ever-changing marketplace. Let’s explore each type of innovation strategy in detail to gain insights into their applications and implications for organizational success.

• Radical Innovation : Radical innovation involves the development of entirely new technologies, products, or services that often disrupt existing markets or create entirely new ones. It represents a significant departure from current offerings and requires a high level of investment and risk.
• Architectural Innovation : Architectural innovation focuses on reconfiguring or redesigning existing systems, processes, or components within an organization to create new value. It involves changing the underlying structure or design of a product or service while keeping its core functionality intact.
• Disruptive Innovation : Disruptive innovation refers to the introduction of a product, service, or business model that fundamentally changes the way an industry operates, typically by targeting underserved or overlooked segments of the market. It often starts at the low end of the market and gradually improves to challenge established competitors.
• Incremental Innovation : Incremental innovation involves making small, gradual improvements to existing products, processes, or services over time. It focuses on optimizing and refining existing offerings rather than introducing radical changes, making it a lower-risk approach to innovation.

Innovation Strategy Examples

(1) apple innovation strategy.

Apple’s innovation strategy revolves around creating groundbreaking products that seamlessly integrate hardware, software, and services. Their focus on user experience and design sets them apart in the technology industry. This dedication matches the core of t he marketing innovation strategy – putting user happiness first by creating new and exciting solutions.

(2) Amazon Innovation Strategy

Amazon’s innovation strategy centres around customer-centric approaches, such as one-click purchasing, Prime membership benefits, and advanced supply chain management. Their focus on enhancing customer experience sets the standard for e-commerce.

(3) Tesla Innovation Strategy

Tesla’s innovation strategy includes advancements in electric vehicles, renewable energy solutions, and autonomous driving technology. Constantly pushing boundaries, Tesla exemplifies the essence of value innovation strategy, delivering cutting-edge solutions that reshape the automotive industry.

(4) Netflix Innovation Strategy

Netflix’s innovation strategy lies in content creation, personalized recommendations, and streaming technology. They continually invest in original content and technological advancements to stay ahead in the entertainment industry.

(5) Microsoft Innovation Strategy

Microsoft’s innovation strategy encompasses a diverse range of products and services, from operating systems to cloud computing. Their commitment to empowering individuals and organizations through technology fuels continuous innovation.

(6) Google Innovation Strategy

Google’s innovation strategy revolves around search algorithms, online advertising, and a wide array of digital services. Their commitment to organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible drives innovation in various sectors.

(7) Nike Innovation Strategy

Nike’s innovation strategy focuses on product design, materials, and technological advancements in sportswear. They continuously introduce new technologies, such as Nike Adapt, to enhance athletic performance and customer experience.

Types of Innovation Strategies Examples

Innovation strategies can vary significantly depending on the industry, organizational goals, and market dynamics. Here are several types of innovation strategies along with examples:

• Example: Apple’s continuous development of the iPhone, introducing new features and designs with each iteration.
• Example: Toyota’s implementation of lean manufacturing principles, led to streamlined production processes and reduced waste.
• Example: Netflix transitioning from a DVD rental service to a subscription-based streaming platform, revolutionizing the entertainment industry.
• Example: Airbnb’s platform, enables individuals to rent out their properties to travellers, disrupting the traditional hospitality industry.
• Example: Procter & Gamble’s Connect + Develop program, which sources innovation ideas from outside the company to fuel new product development.
• Example: Tesla’s electric vehicles disrupt the automotive industry by challenging traditional gasoline-powered vehicles with innovative technology.
• Example: Coca-Cola introduces new flavours or packaging variations of its beverages to maintain consumer interest and market relevance.
• Example: SpaceX’s development of reusable rocket technology, aims to revolutionize space travel and exploration.

Elements of a Great Innovation Strategy

Crafting an innovation strategy plan entails navigating a dynamic landscape, demanding a flexible and multifaceted approach.

• Nurturing an Innovation culture : Establishing an environment that fosters creativity and embraces change is crucial for fostering innovation.
• Embracing Digital Transformation strategy : Incorporating technology to enhance processes and business models is a key aspect of digital transformation.
• Top-Level Endorsement: Securing commitment and support from senior leaders is essential for successful innovation initiatives.
• Strategic Resource Allocation : Wisely allocating resources to support novel and imaginative ideas is paramount.
• Customer-Centric Focus : Prioritizing and comprehending customer needs throughout the innovation process is indispensable.
• Agile Adaptation : Remaining receptive to agile methodologies facilitates swift adjustments to evolving circumstances.
• Performance Measurement: Implementing metrics to assess the success and impact of innovation efforts is vital.
• Investment in Research and Development: Devoting funds to research and development endeavors represents a valuable investment.
• Learning from Risks and Setbacks: Cultivating a culture that embraces risk-taking and views failures as learning opportunities is critical.
• Innovative Business Models : Continuously reimagining and innovating fundamental aspects of the business model adds a layer of dynamism to the innovation strategy.

In essence, innovation is the cornerstone of organizational longevity and competitive advantage. By embracing diverse innovation strategies such as technological advancements, architectural refinements, disruptive shifts, and incremental enhancements, businesses can unlock fresh opportunities and deliver unique value propositions. Whether through revolutionary changes or gradual refinements to existing offerings, innovation is pivotal for adapting to market fluctuations and seizing value.

Central to these pursuits is the evolution or reinvention of the business model. By aligning with customer preferences, organizations can develop innovative solutions that resonate with consumers, thereby bolstering market presence and fostering growth. Ultimately, a well-crafted innovation strategy empowers organizations to stand out from the competition, achieve objectives, and ensure sustained success in today’s fiercely competitive business arena.

Frequently Asked Questions

(1) what role do senior leaders play in achieving innovation strategy.

Senior executives wield significant influence in propelling innovation strategy forward. Their unwavering commitment, backing, and visionary guidance establish the organizational ethos. They allocate resources judiciously and foster an atmosphere conducive to experimentation and bold risk-taking.

(2) How is product innovation strategy delineated in business?

Product innovation strategy in business encompasses the formulation and introduction of novel or refined products to satisfy consumer demands and attain a competitive edge. It revolves around the conception of pioneering features, designs, or functionalities that distinguish the product within the market milieu.

(3) What delineates the trifecta of Innovation Strategies?

The trinity of innovation strategies comprises proactive, active, and reactive approaches. Proactive strategies entail a proactive quest for novel opportunities, active strategies pivot swiftly in response to market dynamics, while reactive strategies are triggered only by exigencies.

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Use innovation to grow your business

The successful exploitation of new ideas is crucial to a business being able to improve its processes, bring new and improved products and services to market, increase its efficiency and, most importantly, improve its profitability .

Marketplaces - whether local, regional, national or global - are becoming highly competitive. Competition has increased as a result of wider access to new technologies and the increased trading and knowledge-sharing opportunities offered by the Internet.

This guide explains how you can make innovation a key business process and outlines the different approaches you can take. It gives you advice on planning for innovation and creating the right business environment to develop your ideas. It also outlines the help and support available to innovative businesses.

The business case for innovation

Approaches to innovation, planning innovation, encourage innovation in your business, funding innovation.

It is important to be clear about the difference between invention and innovation. Invention is a new idea. Innovation is the commercial application and successful exploitation of the idea.

Fundamentally, innovation means introducing something new into your business. This could be:

• improving or replacing business processes to increase efficiency and productivity, or to enable the business to extend the range or quality of existing products and/or services
• developing entirely new and improved products and services - often to meet rapidly changing customer or consumer demands or needs
• adding value to existing products, services or markets to differentiate the business from its competitors and increase the perceived value to the customers and markets

Innovation can mean a single major breakthrough – e.g. a totally new product or service. However, it can also be a series of small, incremental changes.

Whatever form it takes, innovation is a creative process . The ideas may come from:

• inside the business, e.g. from employees, managers or in-house research and development work
• outside the business, e.g. suppliers, customers, media reports, market research published by another organisation, or universities and other sources of new technologies

Success comes from filtering those ideas, identifying those that the business will focus on and applying resources to exploit them.

Introducing innovation can help you to:

• improve productivity
• reduce costs
• be more competitive
• build the value of your brand
• establish new partnerships and relationships
• increase turnover and improve profitability

Businesses that fail to innovate run the risk of:

• losing market share to competitors
• falling productivity and efficiency
• losing key staff
• experiencing steadily reducing margins and profit
• going out of business

Innovation in your business can mean introducing new or improved products, services or processes.

Analyse the marketplace

There's no point considering innovation in a vacuum. To move your business forward, study your marketplace and understand how innovation can add value to your customers . For more information on analysing your marketplace, see the page in this guide on planning innovation.

Identify opportunities for innovation

You can identify opportunities for innovation by adapting your product or service to the way your marketplace is changing. For example, if you're a specialist hamburger manufacturer, you might consider lowering the fat content in your burgers to appeal to the health-conscious consumer.

You could also develop your business by identifying a completely new product . For example, you could start producing vegetarian as well as meat burgers.

You could innovate by introducing new technology, techniques or working practices - perhaps using better processes to give a more consistent quality of product.

If research shows people have less time to go to the stores, you could overhaul your distribution processes, offering customers a home-delivery service, possibly tied in with online and telephone ordering.

If your main competitor's products have a reputation for being cheap and cheerful, rather than trying to undercut them on price you could innovate by revamping your marketing to emphasise the quality of your merchandise - and consider charging a premium for them.

Some innovative ideas may just come to you out of the blue. However, you should ideally have:

• innovation as part of your business strategy
• a strategic vision of how you want your business to develop - if you dedicate your time to monitoring trends in your business sector, you can then focus your innovative efforts on the most important areas.

Innovation will not only improve the chances of your business surviving, but also help it to thrive and drive increased profits. There are lots of practical ways of assessing whether your ideas have profit potential:

Assess the competition

Find out who your competitors are and where they operate. Use the Internet and advertising sources such as the Yellow Pages to find out about their products, prices and operating culture. This can give you an overview of their selling points, as well as any areas you might be able to exploit.

For example, if the competition is focused on value for money, you might want to emphasise the quality of your product or service. Search for business listings nationwide on the YellowPages.ca or Canada411.ca websites.

Study market or industry trends

Awareness of the climate in which your business is operating will help you to plan.

You can find a lot of information about your industry on the Internet. Business and trade magazines will also feature useful articles.

Build a relationship with your customers

It's not enough simply to know who your customer base is. You need to communicate effectively with them as well.

Communication involves not only listening to their needs but also actively observing their behaviour around current products and services and generating ideas on how you can make improvements.

Involve your suppliers and other business partners

Pooling your resources with your suppliers or other business partners will help to produce and develop creative ideas. Potential partnerships can also be developed through business networking opportunities.

Next, consider what taking a particular innovative step could mean for your business. Ask yourself:

• what impact it will have on your business processes and practices
• what extra training your staff may require
• what extra resources you may need
• how you'll finance the work
• whether you'll be creating any intellectual property that will need protecting

Finally, you should include your vision in your business plan by:

• putting down your goals, both long and short term and detailing how you intend to achieve them
• linking goals to financial targets, such as achieving a specific turnover by a set date
• reviewing your plan regularly

There are many sources you can use to help generate new ideas for the business.

Suppliers, business partners and business network contacts can all make valuable contributions to the creative process, as well as providing support and encouragement.

Your employees are also a vital asset in generating innovative ideas.

To get the most from them, you need to create an innovative environment and encourage creative thinking.

Steps to promote innovation

• Make sure you have processes and events to capture ideas. For example, you could set up suggestion boxes around the workplace or hold regular workshops or occasional company away days to brainstorm ideas.
• Create a supportive atmosphere in which people feel free to express their ideas without the risk of criticism or ridicule.
• Encourage risk taking and experimentation - don't penalise people who try new ideas that fail.
• Promote openness between individuals and teams. Good ideas and knowledge in one part of your business should be shared with others. Teamwork, newsletters and intranets can all help your people share information and encourage innovation.
• Stress that people at all levels of the business share responsibility for innovation, so everybody feels involved in taking the business forward. The fewer the layers of management or decision making in your organisation, the more people feel their ideas matter.
• Reward innovation and celebrate success. Appropriate incentives can play a significant role in encouraging staff to think creatively.
• Look for imagination and creativity when recruiting new employees. Remember that innovative thinkers aren't always those with the most impressive list of qualifications.

There are a number of ways you can fund your growth through innovation, either by using your own funds or tapping into external funding such as loans or equity finance.

However, any route to external funding will need a high-quality business plan that describes your business and sets out detailed forecasts of where it's going.

Businesses often turn to their banks for a line of credit or loans for additional finance, depending on their borrowing needs.

If you're willing to relinquish some control of your business to external investors, you could consider using equity finance. The two main routes for this are investment from business angels and venture capital firms:

• Business angels are wealthy individuals who invest in private companies, typically from $30,000 to $500,000.
• Venture capital firms provide higher levels of investment in return for shares in the business.

Government programs

You may also wish to consider applying for a government program. This will only usually cover part of your project, but you will retain control of the shares in your business. Consult Programs - R&D and innovation .

Other sources of help

Small and medium-sized businesses can claim tax refunds and credits on appropriate research and development spending.

Original document, Use innovation to grow your business , © Crown copyright 2009 Source: Business Link UK (now GOV.UK/Business ) Adapted for Québec by Info entrepreneurs

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Planning, Startups, Stories

Tim berry on business planning, starting and growing your business, and having a life in the meantime., how does innovation fit into a business plan.

This is the third of four answers to questions I got in email last week from an MBA student asking my opinion as part of his research. The question is the title: how does innovation fit into a business plan? 

Innovation changes a business plan pretty much as a reflection of how it changes a business. It adds risk, uncertainty, and interest too.

Funny thing about risk: we usually think of it as a negative, but in this case it isn’t. Risk has two sides to it: up and down.

• The upside risk in innovation is of course the benefits to a business when innovation leads to a more desirable offering: better product, suitable for a larger market, differentiated from competition, easier to build, and so forth. We get that immediately. It’s faster, cheaper, better; higher resolution, longer lasting, lighter, and so forth.
• The downside risk is there too. Live by innovation, die by innovation. The business that depends on innovation usually positions itself on innovation and loses big time when somebody else comes up with the next new bigger, faster, and better.

Uncertainty comes along with innovation because, by definition, what’s innovative is new; and new means it might not work, might have a fatal flaw, might not be accepted by the market, might never be finished. New also means it could take off very fast — more uncertainty — or not at all. It’s uncertainty about when the product (or service) is available, will it work, will enough people like it, are there competitors out there in the bushes where you can’t see them yet.

And interest comes with innovation too. Market makers are interested. Opinion leaders are interested. Competitors are interested. And investors are interested. To the investor, innovation means defensibility and market advantage.

So how does all of this fit into a business plan? It’s all over the plan. It’s in the forecasts, the schedules, the marketing plans, the financial strategy. It’s part of the business’ DNA.

It starts with strategy, the heart of a business plan. Innovation is part of your company’s identity, we would hope one of its strengths, and certainly a key element in business offering. It directly affects the market, both in the higher degree of guessing required (educated guessing, we hope) and in how it affects target market and message. And it affects strategy focus, too, because it turns a company towards it like plants growing towards the sun.

From there it flows easily into the flesh and bones of the plan, all of the concrete, specific, and measurable details about who does what, when, and how much it costs, and how much it brings in as revenue.

Conclusion: it’s an oblique question, in a way. Something like asking how courage fits in a novel, or color in a painting. How does direction fit into navigation?

[…] Sara Manela First mover advantage is great, except when it’s not. If your product is truly innovative, your biggest challenge is likely to be explaining what, exactly, your product is, what its […]

[…] *How Does Innovation Fit into a Business Plan? by Tim Berry […]

Thanks Joseph. And that, of course, is what my book The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan (see the sidebar here, on this site) is about too. Tim.

If you know that innovation is part and parcel of your business, then select a planning methodology that is built innovation rather than one that merely accommodates it.

The Agile development approach is built for environments where the outcomes are not all clearly defined and innovation is required. In these environments it is clear that the ship will change course many times. If you know you are going to need to change directions often, especially in the early phases of the business, don't get on a Cruise ship, get on a Skidoo.

I never hear people telling entrepreneurs about the benefits of Agile development, so I am taking it on as my personal mission. See my website about it. http://www.Making-A-DREAM.com

Peace Joseph Flahiff, PMP [email protected]

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The quickest way to turn a business idea into a business plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

No thanks, I prefer writing 40-page documents.

Discover the world’s #1 plan building software

How to Craft an Opportunity Business Plan

Before a presentation on The Great Gatsby  to his college rhetoric class, Nico Aguilar suffered an anxiety attack so severe that he had to leave the room. Determined not to let that happen again, Aguilar read books on the subject and got coaching to become more comfortable with public speaking. 

Determined to help others overcome similar difficulties, he came up with Speeko , an AI-powered tool that helps users improve their public speaking skills. He and his co-founders, all engineers, built an algorithm that measures one’s speaking voice and then offers tips for improvement. The team had the algorithm down pat, but the business approach? “We were completely lost there,” Aguilar said. 

They turned to their mentors at tech incubator Techstars and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at University of Chicago for help in writing that critical document: a business plan.

3 Business Plan Examples

• An operating plan. This sketches out a business’ trajectory for the next 12 to 24 months. The plan includes staffing, revenue, projections, inventory and other factors necessary to running a business. Operating plans should be updated constantly as the business and market evolve.
• A financial plan, which examines the business from a cash-flow perspective. Take this plan, which takes a conservative view of your business’ finances, to the bank if you’re planning to get a loan.
• An opportunity or a vision plan. That’s the kind entrepreneurs present to potential equity investors. This plan should be aggressive, optimistic, and show how you will use your investors’ money to grow your business. It represents what’s possible if lack of capital is not holding you back.

The plan, written with the help of a tool called Business Model Canvas (more on that soon), included Speeko’s value proposition, its market, customers and predicted use. The plan went through multiple iterations and took several months to write. “It’s a big process to put together facts and figures,” Aguilar said. Their efforts paid off when Speeko won Polsky Center’s 2020 Alumni New Venture Challenge, a prize that comes with a $175,000 investment.  Brimming with enthusiasm, entrepreneurs tend to stuff business plans with everything from detailed finances to long-term projections. Avoid overstuffing by deciding what kind of business plan to write before putting pen to paper, said Waverly Deutsch, adjunct professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business . Deutsch teaches the Global New Venture Challenge course, a venture launch competition for the executive MBA program. 

If it’s a new business, then write an opportunity or vision plan to take to potential equity investors. This plan should be “highly optimistic” and not at all conservative, Deutsch said. “It’s what you can do if you raise the money you want to raise,” she said.

Gather Material

The opportunity or vision plan must show investors that your business presents a real opportunity, demonstrate that you can build the company you propose to build, and show investors how their money will help you build your company. 

To prove the opportunity, outline your competitive differentiation in the marketplace. Show what problem your product solves for which market, the size of that market, and that customers are willing to pay for your product. If your product is what Deutsch calls “fundamentally different,” along the lines of Airbnb or Uber, “there’s a reason for customers to choose you,” she said, but those types of startups are rare. 

“Most businesses are evolutionary, not revolutionary,” Deutsch said. New businesses not offering a radically different solution can differentiate on quality, service, business model, go-to-market approach, positioning in the market or other factors. 

Your plan also must prove that you can build the company you propose to build. Details about arrangements with potential suppliers, any intellectual property involved in your business, and the status of the product, be it a demo or a prototype, are critical parts of an opportunity plan.

Another critical part: Your and your partners’ experience and knowledge as they pertain to launching a business. Avoid simply pasting your traditional job-seeking resume into the business plan. Instead, examine it carefully and draw solid lines between your past experience and the skills your new business will require. “It’s your job to sell your and your team’s experience to the investor,” Deutsch said, adding that entrepreneurs shouldn’t underestimate this portion of the plan. Lacking a tangible product and real-time market experience, “it all comes down to the people,” she said. 

The third element: Your plan for creating inroads and a beachhead in your market. “De-risk the business for investors,” Deutsch said. Offer a detailed operating plan, complete with compelling milestones, for the next 12 to 24 months. Show them that their money will help create a repeatable, scalable sales process and a robust product truly valuable in the marketplace, she said. Show them that their money will help your startup get to the next round of funding. “Investors are always looking at that next round,” she said. 

Further Reading What Investors Look for in an AI Startup

Prepare to Pivot

It is entirely possible that you’ll start writing and soon figure out that your big idea isn’t so big after all. “That’s good to learn early,” said Bob Bridge, executive director and founder of SWAN Impact Network , an angel investing organization with branches in Austin and Dallas, Texas. “Companies often pivot, especially when they start testing their ideas with customers.” 

He suggested avoiding the “trap” of using feedback from 100 potential customers to decide whether a business is a go. When presented with an idea, “people, wanting to be helpful, will say that the idea sounds interesting, that it could work for them,” Bridge said. “The CEO hears this and it’s confirmation bias saying, ‘I think I have my first customer.’”

Instead, approach potential customers to see if they have the problem your business wants to solve, then ask for more information on that problem. “Ask questions and start peeling the onion and become the world expert on that problem,” he said. If you have the solution for exactly that problem, then discuss the budget with these potential customers, and confirm that your solution is a must-have, not a nice-to-have for them. 

“Then you understand that there’s a problem to solve and people are willing to pay for the solution,” Bridge said. “That’s what we like to hear, that entrepreneurs have validated the business with real customers,” he said. “And when we do due diligence, before we would invest, we’d ask to speak to those customers and ask them if this is a nice-to-have or a must-have.”

Further Reading There Are 5 Basic Types of Entrepreneurs. Which 1 Are You?

Choose a Medium

“Nobody writes a 20-page Word document and I promise you no investor ever reads one,” said Bridge. He offers Business Model Canvas , a tool readily available online, as one option to the traditional prose document. 

Business Model Canvas breaks down a business into nine parts: Key partners, activities and resources; value propositions; customer relationships and segments; channels; cost structure and revenue streams. The tool shows how all the parts connect, and via whiteboard, can be reconfigured and workshopped. Business Model Canvas “helped us try out 10 ideas before committing to one in the business plan,” said Aguilar of Speeko. The format “forces your business to be simple, which is a really good thing when you’re starting out,” he said.

A PowerPoint deck also works and is a must when presenting to investors. Bridge recalls driving to VC appointments on Silicon Valley’s Sand Hill Road. After every meeting, he’d pull over to revise his pitch deck. “On any given day, that PowerPoint may have been tweaked three or four times to make it more investable,” he said. “You’re always learning and improving your pitch, and it’s easy to do that with a PowerPoint slide.” 

Deutsch, a proponent of telling a story in a business pitch, recommends a combination of media to present the story most effectively. “You need to have multiple communication tools available to you,” she said. She advised thinking along the lines of 10 pages of text, 10 pages of charts and data and more detail, and a one-page executive plan. Two decks, one light on text, for the presentation, and another more detailed leave-behind complete the business-plan package. 

Deutsch said that every founder needs to be involved in the business plan, with each contributing their own area of expertise. The team member who’s the best writer should be responsible for making sure the plan is written in a unified voice, and that it is free of grammatical and spelling errors. She also suggested having an advisor read the plan to spot unanswered questions. There will be many, she said, and that’s not a cause for concern. “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good,” she said. “You will never answer all the questions about your business until you’re actually executing on your business.”

Bridge agrees. “It takes twice as much time and twice as much money to hit milestones,” he said. “We know that and we’re comfortable with it.”

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Le business plan d’une entreprise innovante

Le business plan est un outil indispensable pour les entreprises innovantes , car un p rojet innovan t nécessite la plupart du temps d’obtenir un financement pour couvrir les dépenses liées aux opérations de recherche et de développement prévues .

Pour plusieurs raisons, l’établissement du business plan d’une entreprise innovante est plus compliqué à effectuer qu’un business plan classique. Comme nous le verrons ci-dessous, les difficultés apparaissent surtout pour la réalisation de la partie financière du business plan.

Difficultés liées au business plan d’une entreprise innovante

Voici les principales difficultés rencontrées dans le cadre de la réalisation du business plan d’une entreprise innovante :

• Tout d’abord, c’est très compliqué d’appréhender correctement un nouveau marché ou un marché encore inexistant , les prévisions de chiffre d’affaires sont donc très complexés.

Face à ce problème, il convient de se baser sur une analyse poussée de la demande et rester prudent dans les estimations. Idéalement, il faut s’appuyer sur du concret, comme des volumes d’affaires prévues avec les futurs partenaires si vous parvenez à développer le produit.

• Ensuite, beaucoup d’entrepreneurs ne jugent pas correctement la date de  début de leur activité  et donc la date à laquelle ils commenceront à générer puis encaisser du chiffre d’affaires.  La phase de recherche et de développement est prévue à la base sur une période souvent trop courte .

Il faut toujours prévoir une marge de manœuvre pour prévenir le dépassement des délais au niveau de la recherche et du développement. Des imprévus interviennent souvent dans les opérations de recherche. Prévoir une marge de 25% de temps supplémentaire est plus prudent.

• Des éléments spécifiques, notamment fiscaux et sociaux, sont un peu compliqué à budgétiser pour l’entrepreneur non averti dans ces domaines. C’est par exemple le cas du crédit d’impôt recherche ou des avantages liés à la jeune entreprise innovante .

Nous évoquons ce point dans la seconde partie de cet article.

• Enfin, les business plan liés aux projet innovants ont toujours tendance à être trop optimistes .Persuadé d’avoir trouvé une idée révolutionnaire qui va cartonner, nous avons trop tendance à partir dans des projections déconnectées de la réalité.

Cette tendance n’est pas sans risque, car elle contribue à surestimer les capacités futures de l’entreprise à rembourser ses dettes. Il est important de partager ses hypothèses avec d’autres entrepreneurs et des professionnels. Si vous êtes dans un incubateur ou une pépinière liée à l’innovation, plusieurs personnes pourront vous donner des avis et partager leur expérience.

Spécificités liées au business plan d’une entreprise innovante

Nous allons aborder ici deux points essentiels liés au business plan d’une entreprise innovante : la partie rédactionnelle et la budgétisation d’éléments spécifiques aux entreprises innovantes.

Importance de la partie rédactionnelle du business plan

Dans tout business plan, la partie rédactionnelle est très importante pour donner au lecteur un bon aperçu du projet.

Lorsqu’il s’agit d’un projet innovant, il va falloir consacrer tout une partie à l’explication de l’idée innovante, de l’intérêt qu’elle peut susciter sur le marché, de sa différence avec l’existant,  des chances de réussite technique de l’opération et du succès commercial pouvant en résulter. C’est une partie cruciale pour convaincre les lecteurs du business plan.

La présentation de l’équipe est également importante : les compétences de ses membres doivent être en adéquation avec les difficultés à résoudre. Si vous avez une très bonne idée mais une équipe trop limitée pour la développer, un investisseur refusera de financer le projet.

Avantages fiscaux et sociaux liés à l’innovation

Les avantages fiscaux et sociaux constituent un plus pour l’entreprise mais le business plan doit à la base être conçu sans ces avantages afin de calculer le besoin exact de financement du projet et de sa rentabilité.

Ils doivent être incorporés dans un second temps si l’entreprise a de sérieuses chances d’en bénéficier. L’intervention d’un expert-comptable est recommandée sur ce point.

Les principaux dispositifs à incorporer sont les suivants :

• le crédit d’impôt recherche ,
• le crédit d’impôt innovation ,
• les avantages fiscaux et sociaux des jeunes entreprises innovantes .

Idéalement, nous vous conseillons de vous faire accompagner par un professionnel qui maîtrise les subtilités liées aux créations d’entreprises innovantes.

1 commentaire sur “Le business plan d’une entreprise innovante”

Les chances de réussite d une innovation sont plus fortes si elle supprime un problème existant ou marque une évolution. Il peut s avérer utile de procéder une enquête consommateurs en négatif car les gens sont plus capables d exprimer ce qui ne leur convient pas plutot que de se projeter dans le futur et réagir par rapport à une rupture technologique. Le facteur temps est certainement la variable la plus difficile à appréhender et il ne faut surtout pas négliger la résilience, la résistance au changement et la force des habitudes.

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Information Technology Business Plan

Start your own information technology business plan

Information Management Hawaii

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">.

By focusing on its strengths, its key customers, and the underlying values they need, Information Management Hawai’i, Inc. (IMH) will increase sales steadily in its first three years, while also maintaining the gross margin on sales, with a focus on cash management and working capital.

This business plan leads the way. It renews our vision and strategic focus: adding value to our target market segments, and reinforcing our ties with businesses in our local markets. It also provides the step-by-step plan for improving our sales, gross margin, and profitability.

This plan includes this summary, chapters on the company, products and services, market focus, action plans and forecasts, management team, and the financial plan.

1.1 Objectives

1. Achieve healthy earnings (EBIT) in the first year of operation.

2. Maintain a midrange gross margin throughout the entire operation.

3. Maintain just-in-time (JIT) inventory levels, or 11 turns per year.

4. Increase sales modestly but steadily in the second and third years.

1.2 Mission

To provide the Hawai’i business community with quality brand-name Information Technology business information solutions, reliable and professional Technical Support, and unparalleled Customer Service through the application of the principles of Kina`ole and heartfelt aloha, and to earn a fair profit for our employee-owners and stakeholders by embracing sound, ethical business practices.

1.3 Keys to Success

The keys to our success are:

• Customer Satisfaction Goals vs. Results

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Company summary company overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure.">.

Information Management Hawai’i, Inc., will sell and service digital office information systems for Hawai’i’s businesses, with a focus on the Neighbor Island business community. IMH will be formed as the result of the acquisition of three existing businesses: Maui Office Machines, Inc.; Electronics Hawai’i, Inc.; and, Kauai Office Equipment, Inc.

2.1 Company Ownership

IMH will be privately-held [C corporation] owned in majority by the IMH Employee Stock Ownership Trust. There are currently 15 employees, and all will own equal shares in the ESOT. New employees will be given the opportunity to become vested in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) after a suitable probationary period.

2.2 Start-up Summary

Our start-up costs will be $1M, which includes $450,000 for the acquisition of the Maui and Hilo operations of Servco Integrated Office Technology.

The remainder of the funds will be used for:

• Legal, Insurance, Rent & Misc: $125,000

The start-up funding will be financed by loans arranged through the Small Business Development Center, and by the Hawai’i Community Loan Fund, and the Small Business Administration as a guarantor. Start-up assumptions are shown in the following table and chart.

2.3 Company Locations and Facilities

We have two locations, one in Kahului, Maui and the other in Hilo, Hawai’i. The two offices are presently being leased by Servco Pacific, Inc., and we will rent from them on a month-to-month basis until we are able to relocate to more suitable facilities. On Kauai, we have a sub-contractor agreement with Kauai Office Equipment to handle installations and service.

Products and Services

IMH will acquire an existing operation whose primary business has been the sale and service of business appliances (copiers, facsimiles, printers, etc.) and has operated as a part of the office equipment industry. We will build from this base to transform the business into a value-added provider of the emerging services and technologies of the new Information Industry. Following the lead of Canon, USA and other manufacturers which we represent, we will approach the marketplace from a total systems solutions viewpoint.

This new paradigm will begin with an analysis of the client’s existing and planned business processes, and will provide total workflow solutions utilizing multifunctional imaging platforms and information distribution systems. These systems will be backed by professional and reliable technical service and proactive customer service. By forming strategic alliances with local Information Industry Value-Added Resellers, we will be able to offer turnkey Local Area Network (LAN) systems and the ability to retrofit existing LAN and peer-to-peer systems.

3.1 Sales Literature

Copies of our product and sales literature are attached as appendices. Of course, one of our first tasks will be to change the message of our literature to make sure we are selling the company, rather than the product.

3.2 Product and Service Description

IMH will market and sell brand name business information distribution systems and hardware, technical service and support for these products, and the consumable supplies used by these systems. We will be a single-source provider for business information and imaging products and services.

After researching our various manufacturer’s offerings and evaluating our core competencies, we will focus our marketing and sales efforts around the digital products offered by Canon USA and eCopy, Inc. We will supplement this product line with Lexmark and Hewlett Packard printer products. As we continue to transition the company into the digital marketplace, we will form alliances with additional IT manufacturers and suppliers who can round out our product and services line.

Hardware product offerings will include:

• Hewlett Packard Printer products (laser)

Software offerings will include:

• Canon Image Platform (document distribution)

Service Products include:

• Sale of consumable products for all brand names (Canon, Ricoh, Xerox, HP, Lexmark)

Professional Services include:

• Network design and installation (sub-contracted)

3.3 Competitive Comparison

The only way we can hope to differentiate well is to define the vision of the company to be an information technology ally to our clients. We will not be able to compete in any effective way with the large mainland-based office equipment companies by selling boxes or products as appliances. We need to offer a real alliance to our local customers.

The benefits we sell include many intangibles: confidence, reliability, knowing that somebody will be there to answer questions and help at the important times. These are complex products that require serious knowledge and experience to use. Our competitors tend to sell only the products themselves, and very little in the way of after-sale training and support.

Unfortunately, we cannot sell the products at a higher price just because we offer services; the market has shown that it will not support that concept. We have to also sell the service and consumable supplies and charge for them separately. This monthly recurring revenue is the foundation of our financial stability.

3.4 Technology

New technology has changed almost everything about the traditional office equipment (copier) industry, and for all practical purposes it no longer exists. The new Information Industry has emerged because of the technology of convergence. The primary driver of convergence of different forms of information is technological change, specifically the rapid diffusion of digital technology into an ever-wider array of information businesses. Beyond digitization, dramatic changes in computing and telecommunications industries (mainly in faster microprocessors and increasing bandwidth) are also driving convergence.

IMH will make convergence the theme of its vision, planning, and marketing strategies. We will move into the new Information Industry’s technology with the aim of bringing the most efficient workflow solutions to our clients while providing value-added customer support and service, and earning a reasonable profit in the process.

3.5 Service and Support

Our strategy hinges on providing unparalleled service and support, which is critical to setting us apart from the competition. We need to differentiate on service and support in order to become true partners with our clients. Our service offers will include:

• Upgrade analysis : we will periodically assess our client’s business processes and requirements, and offer cost-effective upgrade solutions to meet changing needs.

3.6 Future Products and Services

Beginning at start up, we will explore and research new information technologies for inclusion in our product offerings. The products which we choose will be in line with our vision to transition the company from being an appliance seller, to being a provider of total information management solutions. These convergent information products will include:

• Media transport and reproduction (distribute and print)

3.7 Fulfillment

We have an established relationship with our manufacturers and suppliers, and will be able to take advantage of all discounts and promotions in order to keep our margins at roughly 49% throughout the operation. We will also implement and employ “just-in-time” inventory strategies for hardware, supplies, and service parts orders to further strengthen our margins.

As we continue to grow the business, we will evaluate other IT industry manufacturers and product lines to strengthen our offerings with a view primarily to quality and margin advantages.

Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">

IMH will focus on local markets, including small offices and home offices (1-9 employees), medium to large businesses (10-99 employees), corporate Hawai’i (multiple locations or 100+ employees), and local government offices.

4.1 Market Segmentation

Our market segmentation scheme is fairly straightforward, and focuses on all Neighbor Island businesses. The information contained in our customer analysis table is taken directly from the 2000 US Census and government directories, and clearly shows that our largest market potential is the small office and home office (SOHO) segment. This segment is largely overlooked by most of our competitors because of its “low end” buying habits, and a reluctance to compete with the major retail chain box movers. We will target the SOHO market segment with value-added and affordable business solutions customized to its unique needs, and offer the same quality of service and support as are afforded the larger businesses.

The next largest market segment is medium to large businesses, and is the arena where we now focus most of our sales efforts. We will continue to target this segment, but with a different approach than our predecessors. The strategy used by former management has been to bring in selected products, and then attempt to find a buyer. This resulted in inventory overstock, and obsolescence. We will work with the medium to large businesses to determine their needs, and design customized solutions before ordering the required systems (JIT inventory strategy). This segment will remain an extremely important part of our marketing mix, and contains a large portion of our current clients. A majority of our systems upgrade opportunities and repeat business will come from this market segment initially.

Although the Corporate Hawai’i market segment is the smallest in numbers, it has the potential to provide a significant share of our revenues and growth (the 80/20 rule). We have a scattering of current clients in the Corporate Hawai’i segment, but we need to do a better job of penetrating this lucrative end of the market. We will accomplish this by offering professional services to include workflow and network design, MIS support, and other value-added support benefits such as “uptime guarantees.” We will develop long-term relationships within this segment, and earn their business.

The local government market segment is unique in that we act primarily as a “middle man” for our manufacturers due to GSA price schedules and other national government-only programs. This segment is fiercely competitive, very price-focused, and buying decisions are often influenced by “who you know,” as well as price. We are fortunate in that we have long-established relationships within the County and State government agencies, and have many loyal clients in this segment. We will increase our share of this market segment by offering the same value-added service and support benefits that we bring to our commercial clients.

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

Developing a market strategy is a departure from the way the company has been managed in the past. We will change the paradigm of being a product- and price-focused sales organization, to that of becoming a customer- and market-focused organization, with all departments sharing responsibility for customer satisfaction. We will accomplish this paradigm shift through the implementation of a balanced scorecard philosophy of management, with special attention to employee learning and growth.

As mentioned previously our market segmentation strategy is straightforward, and addresses all components of the Neighbor Island business community. Planning and implementing specific strategies for each of the four identified segments will be an on-going process, and we will consult with marketing specialists, and our manufacturers, to further refine these efforts as we develop our marketing plan.

4.2.1 Market Trends

The most significant trend in today’s business-to-business marketplace is the move from analog to digital technology, and from stand-alone workflow functions to multifunctional platforms which are connected to a network. It is this trend that has caused many of the major players in the outdated office equipment (copier) industry (Xerox, IKON, etc.) to falter, and see their profits decline. This is true mainly because of their inability to change rapidly from an “analog mentality” and move forward in applying the emerging convergence of digital information technologies to the marketplace.

That is the primary reason that IMH has chosen Canon USA as its preferred manufacturer. Canon has led the way in the industry with it’s digital technology innovations, and its ability to bring both the product and the concept to the marketplace. We will follow Canon’s lead and bring this efficient, productivity-enhancing technology to Neighbor Island businesses.

4.2.2 Market Growth

As computer prices continue to fall, unit sales increase. The published market research on sales of personal computers is astounding, as the United States market alone is absorbing more than 30 million units per year, and sales are growing at more than 20 percent per year. We could quote Dataquest, Infocorp, IDC, or others; it doesn’t matter, they all agree on high growth of CPU sales.

This rapid growth rate holds true for productivity systems which connect to the computers being sold. The stand-alone analog systems and appliances which abound in the business marketplace today, will be replaced by connected digital convergence systems in the coming months and years. IMH will position itself to be a value-added provider of this rapidly emerging technology for new businesses, while continuing to maintain and upgrade our current analog customer base.

4.2.3 Market Needs

All businesses have in common a need to be continuously productive, and they rely on their service providers and vendors to sustain their productivity. Effectively filling this need requires that the vendor bring to the table sound planning, quality products, reliable service, and a true partnership and support relationship.

Specific business needs include the ability to gather, compile, analyze, and distribute information in various media formats. This is where IMH’s strengths will be most beneficial to our clients, both big and small. Anyone can sell the “box” at an attractive price, but only a true value-added provider can offer the peace-of-mind that comes from a customer-focused approach to the relationship.

Primarily due to geographic isolation and smaller populations, the Neighbor Island business community has an additional common need of being able to rely on other locally-based vendors and suppliers for quick, reliable, customer service and support. Having to call someone on Oahu, or the mainland, to place a service call, or to order supplies, or get an answer to a simple billing question, is both an irritant and a hindrance to most Neighbor Island-based businesses. Our primary goal is to fill this need by bringing true pro-active, and total, customer service to the Neighbor Island business community, and to gain their confidence and loyalty. This will become one of our underlying strengths.

4.3 Service Business Analysis

IMH is a part of the Information Industry, and specializes in providing information management systems and technology for business processes. We envision that a converged information industry operating within the context of an advanced information infrastructure will be a huge boost for U.S. businesses. Several Washington think tanks estimate that it could spur more than $300 billion annually in new sales and increase worker productivity by 20 to 40 percent.

At the present time, an estimated two-thirds of all American jobs are information related, and that number will increase as the shift from manufacturing to service industries continues. The convergence of information industries will continue because the technological and business imperatives are compelling. If one company does not see the possibilities, another will.

4.3.1 Competition and Buying Patterns

Business decision makers and finance managers understand the concept and value of service and support, and are much more likely to pay for it when the offering is clearly stated.

There is no doubt that we compete more against the box pushers than against other service providers. We need to effectively compete against the idea that businesses should  buy information platforms as plug-in appliances that don’t need ongoing service, support, and training.

Our research and experience has indicated that our target market segments think about price, but would buy based on quality service if the offering were properly presented. They think about price because that is what is traditionally presented to them first. We have very good indications that many would rather pay 10-20% more for a relationship with a long-term vendor providing back-up and quality service and support. They end up in the box-pusher channels because they are not aware of the alternatives.

Availability is also very important. The business decision makers tend to want immediate, local solutions to problems.

4.3.2 Distributing a Service

Medium to large business segment buyers are accustomed to buying from vendors who visit their offices. They expect the copy machine vendors, office products vendors, and office furniture vendors, as well as the local graphic artists, freelance writers, or whomever, to visit their office to make their sales.

Unfortunately our SOHO target segment buyers may not expect to buy from us. Many of them turn immediately to the retail superstores (office equipment, office supplies, and electronics), the Web, and mail order to look for the best price, without realizing that there is a better option for them for only a little bit more. We will overcome this hurdle through innovative service offerings, and targeted marketing.

4.3.3 Main Competitors

In our higher-end targeted segments (medium to large businesses, corporate Hawai’i, and government offices), the primary competitors are Xerox and Lanier. The secondary “low end” competitors on the Neighbor Islands are Maui Office Machines and Business Equipment on Maui, and Electronics Hawai’i and Stationers on the Big Island. Our overall competitive strategy in these segments will be Canon’s superior technology, and superior value-added service and support.

In our SOHO target segment, the primary competitors are the superstores: Office Max, Office Depot, Sears, and to some extent Costco, Hopaco, and the Web. While these outlets can offer lower prices, they offer no (or very little) aftermarket service or support. That is our competitive advantage in this segment, and will differentiate us from these “box movers.”

4.3.4 Business Participants

The traditional office equipment (copier) industry has been dominated by only a few major manufacturers: Xerox, Canon, Oce, and Ricoh (and its OEM products – Lanier, Savin, and Gestetner); and then come the low-end players: Sharp, Toshiba, and Minolta. With the exception of Xerox, which maintains its own sales force, the other manufacturers distribute and sell mainly through authorized dealers.

The rapidly emerging Information Industry’s digital convergence products will most likely be dominated by the same participants as described above. While Xerox has been a past leader in the manufacture and sales of analog products, Canon has emerged as both an innovator, and the leader, in the new Information Industry with their ImageRunner digital products and Image Platform information distribution systems. Canon is also (and has been for many years) the front runner in color repro-graphic systems, and holds the most patents of any manufacturer in the industry.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

We must differentiate ourselves from the box pushers. We need to establish our business offering as a clear and viable alternative for our target markets, to the price oriented sales pitch to which they are accustomed.

From the standpoint of the office equipment (copier) industry the paradigm has been:

• 30-day sales window – war with competition mainly on price.

The industry’s cheese has been moved. In order to shift to a more contemporary paradigm, our marketing and sales efforts will need:

• A new marketing concept – customer oriented, profit oriented, integrated efforts.

5.1 Competitive Edge

Our competitive edge is our positioning as a strategic ally with our clients, who are clients more than customers. By building a business based on long-standing relationships with satisfied clients, we simultaneously build defenses against competition. The longer the relationship stands, the more we help our clients understand what we offer them and why they should both stay with IMH, and refer us to other businesses. In close-knit communities like the Neighbor Islands, reputation is extremely important, and word-of-mouth advertising is invaluable.

5.2 Strategy Pyramid

Our main strategy will be placing emphasis on service and support, and our main tactics are networking expertise, systems training, and implementing a customer relationship management system (CRM) from e-automate. Our specific programs for networking include mailers and internal training. Specific programs for end user training include direct mail promotion, and on-site customer programs. Implementing the CRM software and training will be coordinated with the e-automate Corporation.

Our second strategy is emphasizing relationships. The tactics are marketing the company (instead of the products), more regular contacts with the customer, and increasing sales per customer. Programs for marketing the company include new sales literature, and direct mail. Programs for more regular contacts include call-backs after installation, direct mail, and sales management. Programs for increasing sales per customer include upgrade mailings and sales training.

5.3 Value Proposition

IMH offers its clients peace-of-mind by being a vendor who acts as a strategic ally, and delivers quality products backed by premium service and support, at a premium price.

5.4 Sales Strategy

We will sell the company and its ability to act as an ally. We will sell IMH, and the reputation of the industry-leading manufacturers it represents.

We will sell our service and support. The hardware is like the razor, and the support, service, software, and training, are the razor blades. We need to serve our customers with total solutions, and not just product features. The products are a means to arriving at end solutions.

The Yearly Total Sales chart summarizes our conservative sales forecast. We expect sales to increase from $3.1 million in the first year to more than $4 million in the third year of this plan.

5.4.1 Sales Forecast

The important elements of the sales forecast are shown in the following Chart, and Table 5.4.1. Non-hardware sales increase to almost $2 million total in the third year, or 47% of total sales.

5.5 Milestones

The following table lists important program milestones, with dates and managers in charge, and budgets for each. The milestone schedule indicates our emphasis on planning for implementation. The most important programs are the sales and marketing programs listed in detail in the previous topics.

5.6 Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategy is the core of our main strategy:

• Develop specific programs for each target market segment:
• Government Offices – workflow/process surveys, uptime guarantees, GSA rates and incentives

5.6.1 Sales Programs

Specific sales programs will be included in our new Marketing Plan, and will be included in this Business Plan as they are finalized. In general however, our sales programs will be centered around conducting workflow and information distribution analyses, direct mail, and placing an emphasis on the benefits which IMH and its manufacturers will be able to offer its clients through “total care” service and support.

5.6.2 Positioning Statement

For businesses who want to be sure their information distribution systems are always working reliably, IMH is a vendor and trusted strategic ally who makes certain their systems work, their people are trained, and their down time is minimal. Unlike the product/price oriented vendors, it knows the customer and goes to their site when needed, and offers proactive support, service, training, and installation.

5.6.3 Pricing Strategy

We must charge appropriately for the high-end, high-quality service and support we offer. Our revenue structure has to match our cost structure, so the salaries we pay to assure good service and support must be balanced by the revenue we charge.

We cannot build the service and support revenue into the price of products. The market can’t bear the higher prices and the buyer feels ill-used when they see a similar product priced lower with the competition. Despite the logic behind this, the market doesn’t support this concept.

5.6.4 Promotion Strategy

We will employ the following general promotional strategies for the various market segments:

• SOHO: We will depend on periodic local newspaper advertising, to reach new buyers in this segment. We will also utilize direct mail and and the resources of the local Chambers of Commerce and other affinity groups to reach this segment. The message will emphasize service first, and “complete product and service packaging” as a secondary theme.
• Medium to Large Businesses: Direct face-to-face contact (direct sales) will continue to be our primary strategy for this market segment. Direct selling will be supplemented by periodic promotional direct mailings and personalized system upgrade opportunities.
• Corporate Hawai’i: This segment will be handled by direct contact and relationship building only. We will make personal presentations to the decision makers in this group, and stress our service and technical benefits and advantages.
• Government Offices: We will utilize a combination of direct mail and face-to-face promotional strategies with this segment, and the message will be the local service and technical advantages of IMH. We will produce an attractive RFQ/RFP response package to accompany our submissions.

5.6.5 Distribution Strategy

IMH is first and foremost a direct sales organization, meaning that we must present our services and products directly to the majority of our customers and clients. Having said that, for our planned penetration into the SOHO market, we will need to establish a presence as a Value-Added Reseller (VAR) for certain low-end product lines which don’t carry the margins necessary to sustain the costs of direct sales. We will plan our new locations accordingly.

5.6.6 Marketing Programs

As we work to complete this Business Plan, we are simultaneously working on our Marketing Plan. As you can see from the milestones table, we anticipate completion of our detailed Marketing Plan by 9/30/01, or one month from start-up. Because we are acquiring an on-going business, the shift to our vision of customer- and market-focused strategies will not happen overnight. We must plan this shift carefully, and implement it judiciously, so as not to disrupt our immediate operations. We have budgeted for, and will utilize, marketing advisors and consultants (including our manufacturers) in the design of our Marketing Plan.

5.7 Strategic Alliances

Our alliances with our manufacturers, and especially Canon USA, will be the most pivotal to our success. We will remain a Canon Authorized Dealer, and continue to enjoy all of the benefits of this long-standing relationship.

We will form alliances with other locally-based VARs and computer network providers to enable us to provide complete turnkey packages for our clients. These relationships will be included in our Marketing Plan.

Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans.">

Our management philosophy is simple and is an integral part of our values: doing right things right, the first time (Kina’ole).

IMH will be an employee-owned company and we all share the same vision of providing our clients (who in many cases are friends and neighbors) with the very best in customer service – period. We will encourage personal growth, creativity, and enable individual empowerment to achieve this goal. We will manage the business by setting achievable Balanced Scorecard goals, measuring them, and making mid-stream adjustments as necessary.

6.1 Organizational Structure

Our team includes 15 employees initially, and is organizationally flat. The departmental divisions are sales and marketing, service, and administration. Operational managers include:

• Systems Manager (two positions – Big Island and Maui): Oversees all service issues including service agreements, service call prioritization and response, carry-in service, customer support, and systems training and development. Will be assisted by Systems Engineers, and Systems Technicians.

6.2 Personnel Plan

The total head count moving over from Servco at the time of the acquisition will be 13. We are adding two former employees at startup to round out our team, for a total startup head count of 15.

There are an additional six positions shown as “vacant” in the Personnel plan. During each quarterly business plan review, we will assess the need to fund these positions to sustain our growth, and more evenly distribute the workload.

6.3 Management Team

Bill Harding, president and general manager:  XX years old, and has lived on Maui for 43 years. Joined SIOT in 1998 as Maui branch manager, and became general manager for Neighbor Island operations six months later. Prior management experience includes: BTA market manager of the Neighbor Islands for VoiceStream Wireless, Neighbor Island area sales manager for Central Security Systems, and radar project manager for Telcom International in Nigeria, West Africa. Bill has attended numerous management and sales training courses and seminars throughout his career.

Laurie Watson, secretary/treasurer and administrative manager: XX years old, and local Maui resident. Has been at the same location through three different owners prior to Servco’s acquisition of The Office Place in 1995, for a total of 15 years of local office equipment industry experience. Laurie has extensive knowledge of service procedures and dispatching, A/R and A/P procedures, inventory control and tracking, as well as an intimate knowledge of our customer base. Her experience and knowledge will be invaluable in recovering our customer base, and in growing the business.

Anne Tioganco, office manager (Hilo): XX years old, and local Hilo resident. Anne has also been with the company through all of the acquisitions, and has XX years experience in the office equipment industry. She will assist Laurie by handling the administrative and customer service tasks for our Hilo branch, and will be instrumental in our Big Island customer recovery efforts.

Earle Oshiro, systems manager (Big Island): XX years old, and local Hilo resident. Like Laurie and Anne above, Earle has been with the company through four different owners, and has XX years of local office equipment service management experience. Earle has also completed Canon’s “train the trainer” course, and will be a great asset in the on-going training and development of our systems engineers and technicians.

Joseph Alfonsi, systems manager (Maui): XX years old, and local Maui resident. Joe joined the Maui branch of SIOT in 1999 as field service manager, after transferring from the SIOT Honolulu branch. He has XX years of local office equipment industry service experience, and is familiar with both Canon and Ricoh products. Joe is an asset to the Maui team, and has outstanding customer service skills.

6.4 Management Team Gaps

We believe we have a good team for covering the main points of the business plan. Key members have the experience and knowledge to manage and grow the business, and are highly motivated by the employee-owner concept.

The obvious management gap is a plan to fill the general manager’s position at some point in the future, before the current GM reaches retirement age. As an employee-owned company, the preferred strategy will be to promote from within, and fill vacancies as they occur. As the company grows, we will seek out additional talent in all operational areas.

Financial Plan investor-ready personnel plan .">

Although we are treating the business as a start-up company, the financial plan is solidly based on past performance. We have taken actual SIOT P&L income and expenses from the past three years, and eliminated corporate overhead expenses such as warehouse and administrative costs, inventory penalties, and corporate nominal interest. We then projected income based on actual past performance, and factored back in the revenue base that was relocated to Honolulu over the past two years (mainly service and supplies).

We approached the financial planning from a conservative standpoint, and based those numbers on achievable gross margins. Also, our actual interest and tax rates will most likely be lower than the assumed rates due to our being structured as an employee-owned corporation (ESOT).

7.1 Important Assumptions

The financial plan depends on important assumptions, most of which are shown in Table 7.1. As mentioned previously, we assumed interest and tax rates based on a “worst case” scenario, and these will be adjusted once we have finalized the initial funding and establish the ESOT. We have also assumed our personnel burden at 30% of payroll in order to allow for above-average benefits for our employees. As we shop around for benefits vendors, this assumption will be subject to revision as well.

Other key business assumptions are:

• We assume access to the start-up funding necessary to re-shape and re-build the company, and to provide adequate initial capitalization.

7.2 Key Financial Indicators

As shown in the Benchmarks chart below, our key financial indicators are:

• Inventory Turnover: We will maintain just-in-time inventory levels, or 11 turns per year. This will require accurate sales forecasting, and working closely with our manufacturers. We have already begun this process under SIOT, and the Neighbor Island inventory levels are well below previous years.

7.3 Break-even Analysis

For our break-even analysis, we assume running costs which include our full payroll, rent, and utilities, and an estimation of other running costs. Payroll alone, at present, is about $65,500 per month (including benefits and taxes).

We will monitor gross margins very closely, and maintain them at a midrange percentage by taking advantage of all promotions and discounts offered by our manufacturers. Canon USA has tentatively agreed to offer us “end column” pricing as a new dealer incentive.

The chart shows what we need to sell per month to break even, according to these assumptions. This is about 78% of our projected sales for our first year, and is well below what we have achieved annually over the past three years under more adverse operating conditions.

7.4 Projected Profit and Loss

Our Pro Forma Profit and Loss statement was constructed from a conservative point-of-view, and is based in large part on past performance. By strengthening our service position, and rebuilding our customer relationships, we will widen our customer base and increase sales.

Month-to-month assumptions for profit and loss are included in the appendix.

7.5 Projected Cash Flow

Because we are treating the new company as a start-up, the cash flow for FY2002 is somewhat exaggerated by the instant influx of new capital. Subsequent years however show a healthy growth in cash flow, mainly due to the short 60-month repayment of the start-up loan and increased sales.

7.6 Projected Balance Sheet

The Projected Balance Sheet is quite solid. We do not project any trouble meeting our debt obligations as long as we achieve our specific objectives.

7.7 Business Ratios

The following table shows our main business ratios, and is compared to national averages. Our SIC industry class is currently: Office equipment, nec – 5044.99.

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• Home / Blog / Developing a Business Plan for Innovator International

Developing a Business Plan for Innovator International

Find out more about developing your plan for our Innovator International or StartUp+ programmes and our assessment criteria.

Do you need guidance in developing your plan for our Innovator International or StartUp+ programmes?

Asking someone whether they have a business plan can, potentially, be one of the most misleading questions. The reason for this is that there are so many types of business plan. The contents of a plan for your own personal use will inevitably differ from that expected by a bank manager, investor, potential business partner or entry onto a specific programme.

We receive between 50 and 75 applications every month for our programme, with business plans ranging from 5 – 100 pages. The quality varies greatly, but most interestingly very few ever have two key components – a basic project plan and a risk register. These aspects are paramount in letting the reader know (a) you’ve got a plan to make things work, and (b) you know what you’re going to do if things veer off track.

Bearing that point in mind, this guide is written to help you develop a business plan specifically for entry on to the Innovator International programme, which can subsequently lead to you receiving your Endorsement for your Home Office Start Up of Innovator Visa application.

Our Assessment Process

When we’re assessing the suitability of projects for our programmes, we consider ten key areas. We grade each of these areas from 1-10 on our ‘business maturity matrix’ which lets us know how advanced the business is in each area.

The marks are based on objective statements to ensure consistency across all projects. Within this guide we provide hints and tips on the level of information expected to meet the Start Up and Innovator criteria for our programme and subsequent endorsements.

This is NOT a guide detailing how any individual or business can develop a plan which will result in an endorsement. As any business plan (and particularly those developed using this methodology) has to be based on factual statements and supported by evidence, it is intended as a way to present the state of your business and your ambition in a clear and concise manner. This subsequently maximises your chances of being successful in your application for a position on an Innovator International programme

Setting the Scene

Think of your business plan as you, at an interview. How do you look? How do you talk? How long do you have? Do you provide underwhelming “yes and no” answers or an unnecessary excess of information? Do you think about what you’ve been asked and try to answer all aspects of every question?

Bearing this in mind, let’s start with the following basics:

• Your business plan should be the right length – 15-30 pages is a convenient length to get your story across for our purposes, depending upon your style of writing. What’s most important is the quality of the content, not the length . It’s OK to send a little more if you need to provide additional information, but you might want to consider placing it in an appendix or additional reference document.
• It should be smart and easy to read, like a good book . Open with a punchy executive summary, and take the reader through a journey. Anyone reading your plan wants to be as excited about your idea as you are.
• Add pictures – but only where they’re necessary. A picture can help your reader visualise what it is you’re trying to achieve and also makes the document more readable
• Pick a decent font in a good size. Don’t write everything in bold , but do use it on your key points you want to be noticed.
• Provide the information that the reader wants, but don’t go overboard by using too many words. Every section should be short, impactful and let the reader fully understand the situation without tiring them. Keep their attention!
• Think about your attention to relevant detail . We don’t need to know if you’re spending £500 on a printer, but if you’re developing a product or piece of software, we do want some insight on the development process, timeframe and costs. Tell us what matters!
• Pay attention to your timeframe and make sure it’s realistic . You’re highly unlikely to achieve your optimum sales targets in Month 1. Especially if you have to develop something which takes 4 months.

The Document Contents

Now you’re ready to go, here are the ten sections we assess. Under each title you will see the key question we ask ourselves:

1: Market Assessment

“Does the plan address the market maturity, wider sector position, scale, geographical nuances, and competitors?”

Within this section we’re looking to see that the applicant has a good understanding of the market opportunity, the prospective clients and the competition. There should be a clear opportunity for the given market. In addition, while it is good to provide an overview of the global, national or regional market statistics, it’s better to provide detail about your precise client base and demonstrate how you have engaged with them to develop your specific opportunity .

2: Marketing Strategy

“Is there a clear and achievable route to market without major risk points?”

While the previous question addressed how well you know your market, this section asks how you will engage them. Having a website and social media campaign may be essential but they’re often ‘necessary evils’ – i.e. they don’t add great value to what you do, but you can’t not have one. The challenge with websites and social media is that no-one looks at yours unless they’re highlighted to what you do.

This is where the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) becomes highly relevant – that is, the moment that a potential customer makes a decision to emotionally invest time in finding out more about you. To achieve this they will have typically heard about you, read about you or seen you in several places – so how, and where, are you going to let people know about what you do?

3: Sales Strategy

“Does the plan include the capability to identify, develop and achieve the sales required to meet the financial needs of the business?”

You’ve told us how you’re going to make people aware of what you do – now you need to let us know that you have the sales process knowledge and skills to seal the deal. Sales aren’t something that you start once you’ve developed your offering; one of the wisest pieces of advice I’ve ever received is that “it’s better to sell something you haven’t yet made, than to make something you can’t sell” .

One of the biggest challenges we encounter with businesses is when they are highly skilled in the areas where they are delivering a product (or service) to their clients, but they lack the basic sales skills to achieve their ambition or worth. To look at the previous quote in a different way, making it is the easy bit – the challenge comes in turning the idea into an invoice.

4: Skills Strategy

“Does the business have the skills needed to complete their given tasks? Consider the full set of vocational (50%) and commercial skills (50%) required to make the business a success.”

We consider two key areas here and assign 50% of the total maturity mark to each. The first 50% is allocated against the applicants skills to understand and deliver the product or services within the business. If someone is starting a business in HR for the engineering sector, you’d expect them to have a good level of understanding of HR processes and/or engineering businesses. 

The second 50% addresses whether the person or team have the skill set to run the business. Do they have business management skills, a sales capacity, and any other core skills required to make the business a success? This is key in determining the viability of the business – i.e. does the applicant have the skill set to make the business work?

5: Resource Planning 

“Does the business have access to all of the knowledge, equipment and supply chain contacts they require in order to complete their functions?”

Now we’re building a picture of what skills you have, we move on to resources. This section asks what you have other than your people to help make the business a success. Resources typically include:

• the knowledge you need to do the job (remember this may come from other people)
• the equipment you need to complete and deliver a job (this may be software you’re designing)
• the contacts that you have (who may provide knowledge or perform tasks for you such as manufacturing, delivery, etc) and,

We need to know what you need and what you currently have, or are negotiating. Where there is a shortfall, what is your plan to address it?

6: Project Plan

“Is there a project management plan which details how the key objectives are going to be achieved and in what timeframe?”

This is key to helping us understand how you are going to achieve your goals. We’re not expecting a full project plan, but we would like some key information such as key targets and milestones, the main steps you need to achieve your targets, and the time it’s going to take.

The best way to present much of this information would be in a Gantt Chart , such as the one shown below:

Within such a chart (which is easy to develop on any spreadsheet package), you’re able to identify your key tasks and plan how long each will take. This allows us to determine other information, such as when you will be in a position to raise revenue.

7: Scalability Strategy

“Does the plan include details regarding the significant scaling of the business?”

The term ‘scaling’ usually refers to how your business can increase revenue at a significantly higher rate than its expenditure. It could also be summarised as increasing growth while improving productivity.

However, in the context of the Start Up and Innovator Visa programmes, the term relies more to growth alone, asking how the company will achieve national and maybe international relevance.  There are many ways to achieve this, from expansion to franchising. We want to know a little about your growth and scalability plans.

8: Innovation Strategy

“Does the plan clearly demonstrate a current level of, and ambition to continue, a high level of innovation which is an integral part of the business proposition?”

Innovation is a key talking point for Start Up and Innovate Visa applications. As an Innovation Agency, we understand that the definition of innovation can differ depending upon its context. Bearing that in mind, for the purpose of our programme (and for the endorsement of Start Up and Innovator Visas) we define innovation as “the provision of a benefit that is not currently and readily available in the UK”. That benefit could be delivered to any party, including customers, staff and wider stakeholders. It could even be a better way of making or doing something that already exists.

What we’re looking for here is that the innovation is an integral part of the business, and not “added on a the end to make the plan appear innovative”. Innovation should be a factor that has driven the creation of the business, and will continue to be apparent through it’s development and growth.

9: Financial Planning

“Does the plan demonstrate the need to meet all of the financial requirements of the business including contingency in the event of sales slippages, and how realistic are the key assumptions?”

Every business plan requires a robust set of financial figures based on solid assumptions. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a business plan where the forecasts were met, mainly due to the fact that entrepreneurs naturally over-assume how fast sales will arrive. One way to account for this is to include a “sensitivity analysis” – a delay or percentage reduction which takes into account the things which inevitably go wrong, which aren’t seen in advance.

A financial plan should always summarise the key assumptions, as the person reading the plan does not want to have to make assumptions as to why figures peak or trough. A good way to help the reader is, prior to showing the cashflow, list your key assumptions – for example cost per unit and rate of sales.

10: Risk Management 

“Does the plan assess the key risks and provide a robust management strategy to minimise probability and / or impact?”

The final step – and another which is missing from most business plans – is a basic risk assessment and management plan. We’re not talking about risk in terms of compliance and workplace safety here – we want to know what might go wrong, and what you’re doing (or going to do) to assess it.

Assessing risk is simple, using the following steps:

• List down everything which might go wrong, from you becoming ill through to people not wanting what you’re offering.
• On a scale of 1-5 (where 1 is very low, 5 is very high) what is the probability of the risk happening?
• On the same scale, what would the impact be if it did happen?
• Multiply your probability score by your impact score to get an overall risk score between 1 and 25.
• If the score is 10-19, the risk is high. If the score is 20-25, the risk is very high. For each of the risks in these areas, state whether you’re going to take action to prevent the risk from happening or whether you plan to act if it does happen.

While this is one of many ways to compile a business plan, this method allows us to assess all of the information we require for entry on to our programmes and subsequent endorsement. Please don’t feel that you have to use these headings – you don’t – but you do need to address all of the key points.

Finally, please remember that this is the information we need to see, and won’t meet the needs of everyone. If you follow these guidelines you’ll have a good strong plan, but if you are writing a business plan for another purpose, just ask the prospective reader what they want you to focus on!

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Faire un  business plan (ou plan d'affaires) consiste à rédiger un dossier solide de présentation du projet de création d'entreprise. C'est la première concrétisation de votre projet ! Ce travail utile et fructueux vous permettra de mesurer la maturité et le niveau d'aboutissement de votre projet, de vérifier son réalisme et sa rentabilité et surtout de convaincre vos interlocuteurs de vous suivre et vous soutenir : vos proches, vos partenaires, vos fournisseurs et naturellement les financeurs que vous allez solliciter.  "Un bon dossier est un dossier où souffle l'esprit d'entreprise" .

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Principales caractéristiques du business plan de création d'entreprise

Le dossier que vous allez constituer doit permettre au lecteur de :

- comprendre rapidement de quoi il s'agit, à quel besoin répond le produit ou service proposé, - savoir qui en est à l'origine, ses motivations, objectifs et atouts pour le mener à son terme, - évaluer sa valeur et le sérieux de sa préparation, - prendre position sur le projet. 

C'est pourquoi votre dossier doit être 

• Soigné : la première impression étant la bonne pour susciter un intérêt favorable chez le lecteur, votre business plan doit avoir une présentation impeccable.  
• Concis : il n'y a pas véritablement de règles en la matière. Un business plan comporte une dizaine à une trentaine de pages, hors annexes. Pour ne pas alourdir inutilement le dossier, il est judicieux de réunir toutes les pièces justificatives dans un dossier bis. En rédigeant votre business plan, pensez au lecteur ! Ce sera le plus souvent quelqu'un de très occupé et très sollicité. Le meilleur service que vous pouvez lui rendre - c'est de lui faciliter le travail, en lui confiant un document suffisamment synthétique. En effet, un banquier qui doit s'attaquer à la lecture d'un "pavé" commencera, inconsciemment ou pas, par un préjugé défavorable. Il faut donc aller à l'essentiel.  
• Complet : faire court, mais sans rien oublier de ce qui permet de juger de la faisabilité et de la viabilité du projet. Tous ces aspects doivent donc être traités dans votre business plan (voir plus loin "la composition du dossier").  
• Clair : il doit être rédigé dans un style simple et facilement compréhensible. Mettez-vous à la place d'un lecteur non initié en évitant tout jargon. Le texte doit avoir une bonne lisibilité (choix judicieux des caractères d'impression et des symboles, de la mise en page, etc.) avec une pagination correcte et un sommaire.  
• Bien structuré : il doit être ordonnancé de façon logique dans sa décomposition en parties et sous-parties. Les titres donnés aux chapitres doivent aider le lecteur dans l'appréhension de l'ensemble du sujet.  
• Précis : pour être crédible, il ne faut affirmer que des choses vérifiables. Soyez attentif à citer vos sources d'informations : références d'ouvrages ou d'études, coupures de presse, identité de l'expert dont vous rapportez les propos, etc. Faites figurer dans le dossier d'annexes, un maximum de justificatifs : copies d'articles, comptes rendus de conversations ou d'entretiens téléphoniques, ou des lettres que vous aurez demandée et su obtenir de l'expert pour qu'il confirme ses dires, etc.  
• Vendeur :  il s'agit de rester dans une teneur crédible, mais le dossier doit mettre en valeur les données essentielles du projet et plus particulièrement ses points forts. Ainsi les arguments développés, mis en caractères gras ou soulignés au moment où ils sont énoncés, seront repris en synthèse de chaque chapitre ou partie du dossier les concernant, de façon à influencer le lecteur et l'aider à structurer favorablement sa perception du projet.  
• Et n'hésitez pas à l'illustrer avec des photos et/ou vidéos de l'équipe, de vos produits et services, etc.

Composition du business plan de création d'entreprise

Il n'y a pas de règle absolue dans la présentation du contenu du business plan de création d'entreprise . Ce qui est important, c'est de respecter une certaine logique. Quel que soit l'ordre retenu, vous devrez y faire figurer les points ci-dessous. D'autres éléments pourraient être ajoutés pour des projets plus conséquents. 

1- L'executive summary Votre business plan doit s'ouvrir sur une présentation synthétique et "vendeuse" de votre projet. Cette présentation, qui ne doit pas dépasser une ou deux pages doit donner envie à votre interlocuteur de poursuivre sa lecture et de s'intéresser à votre projet. Pour cela, il doit comprendre immédiatement de quoi il est question. C'est "l'instant de découverte". Pesez vos mots, pour susciter l'intérêt du lecteur et l'inciter à poursuivre la lecture au-delà de l'executive summary !

2 - Vous et votre équipe La présentation du porteur de projet (c'est-à-dire vous) ou de l'équipe fondatrice doit se faire avec le même soin que la rédaction d'un CV d'embauche, en faisant valoir tout ce qui, dans votre expérience passée, se rattache de façon valorisante au projet en question. Cette présentation doit être "punchy". Dans certains projets, la personnalité du créateur ou la présentation de l'équipe est tout aussi importante que le projet en tant que tel. Et si vous êtes plusieurs, insistez sur la complémentarité de l'équipe !

3 - La présentation générale du projet de création d'entreprise Vous pouvez à ce stade parler de la genèse de votre projet : comment et pourquoi l'idée vous est venue ? Quelles sont les motivations qui vous poussent à vous lancer dans la création de cette entreprise ? Quels sont les objectifs que vous poursuivez ? Quels sont vos atouts pour sa réussite ?

4 - La partie économique du business plan Elle comporte plusieurs parties : - Une présentation du ou des produits et services que vous allez proposer. Attention à être compréhensible ! Évitez le jargon propre à votre profession ! - Une présentation du modèle économique (ou business model ) que vous allez adopter : décrivez comment l'entreprise délivre et partage de la valeur à destination de l'ensemble des parties prenantes. Pour en savoir plus sur  les différences entre le business plan et le business model . - Les conclusions de votre étude de marché : expliquez quel est le marché dans lequel vous vous situez, détaillez les caractéristiques des clients potentiels, indiquez quels sont vos concurrents directs ou indirects, exposez les éventuels risques liés à votre environnement économico-juridico-socio-professionnel, etc. - La  stratégie commerciale   que vous avez retenue pour vous insérer dans votre marché et développer votre activité : la segmentation opérée du marché, le choix du couple produit/marché, le positionnement retenu par rapport à la concurrence, ainsi que les décisions de mix marketing que vous avez prises (politique de produit, de prix, de distribution et de communication). - L'estimation du chiffre d'affaires prévisionnel , en vous appuyant le plus possible sur des éléments tangibles. - Les moyens à mettre en œuvre pour réaliser vos prévisions de vente : expliquez concrètement comment va fonctionner l'entreprise avec quoi et avec qui ? La rédaction de ce paragraphe doit être l'occasion de visualiser le futur marché de l'entreprise, en décomposant le processus de fonctionnement et en mettant en parallèle les équipements, les effectifs et les autres moyens, notamment incorporels, nécessaires.

5 - La partie financière du business plan  Elle comporte tous les éléments qui traduisent en termes financiers la partie économique . Sa composition dépendra naturellement du secteur d'activité et du potentiel de développement de votre projet. À titre indicatif, pour convaincre un investisseur, voici les éléments financiers que l'on retrouve fréquemment dans un business plan : - Le tableau des investissements : il indique le prix d'achat des investissements, leur date prévue d'acquisition, la durée d'amortissement comptable et la dotation annuelle d'amortissements qu'ils entraînent pour chacun des trois premiers exercices. - Le plan de financement initial : il indique les capitaux à réunir pour pouvoir lancer le projet dans de bonnes conditions. Afin de recenser correctement tous les besoins durables de financement (pour mettre en regard les ressources financières durables nécessaires), une analyse et un calcul approfondi doivent être menés pour déterminer correctement le montant du besoin en fonds de roulement . - Le compte de résultat pour les trois premières années : il permet de juger de la rentabilité future de la nouvelle entreprise. - Le plan de trésorerie sur 12 mois : ce tableau permet, sur une période relativement courte, de s'assurer que la nouvelle entreprise pourra toujours, sur la base de ce que l'on peut raisonnablement prévoir, faire face à ses engagements financiers. - Le calcul du seuil de rentabilité : il est important de connaître le chiffre d'affaires que l'entreprise devra impérativement réaliser pour couvrir l'ensemble de ses charges, et de déterminer le moment où ce seuil (point mort) sera atteint. Au-delà l'entreprise commence à faire des bénéfices. - Le plan de financement à trois ans : ce tableau est nécessaire pour apprécier l'évolution prévisionnelle de la structure financière de l'entreprise à moyen terme, car une bonne structure financière est une des conditions de pérennisation des nouvelles entreprises. - Le tableau des annuités de crédit (s'il y a emprunt à moyen ou long terme) : connaître la décomposition des remboursements d'emprunt est nécessaire pour alimenter le compte de résultat (charges financières) et le plan de financement à 3 ans (remboursement du capital emprunté).

6 -  La partie juridique  du business plan La présentation du régime juridique de la nouvelle entreprise doit servir à expliquer et justifier le choix retenu, à présenter la répartition du capital et des pouvoirs en découlant. En savoir plus sur le choix de la structure juridique

7 - Le sommaire A ne pas oublier pour faciliter la lecture du business plan ! Il est généralement placé en début de dossier, avant ou après l'executive summary.

8 - La partie documentaire Cette partie doit faire l'objet d'un dossier à part pour réunir toutes les pièces justificatives et ne pas alourdir le business plan.

Bpifrance Création met à votre disposition des outils pour vous aider dans la rédaction de votre business plan :

• Une application gratuite "Mon business plan" pour construire son business plan en ligne ( Pass Cap Créa ).
• Un modèle de business plan à télécharger et son  mode d'emploi pour vous aider à le remplir.

Ce webinaire qui s'est tenu le jeudi 25 mars 2021 avait pour objectifs de vous présenter notre outil gratuit de business plan en ligne et de vous donner des conseils pratiques pour l'élaboration de votre business plan de création d'entreprise en répondant aux questions suivantes : 

• Pourquoi faire un business plan ? 
• Pour qui faire un business plan ? 
• Quels sont les éléments indispensables à mettre dans un business plan ? 
• Quelles différences entre business plan et business model ?
• Qui peut vous accompagner à faire un business plan ?
• Consultez le replay : comment faire son business plan ?

• Téléchargez  le support de présentation  (Maj 26/03/2021)

Créer votre Pass Créa

Avec Mon Pass Créa, j’arrive avec une idée, je pars avec une entreprise !

Déjà un compte ? Connectez-vous :

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Saudi Arabia Plans $40 Billion Push Into Artificial Intelligence

The Middle Eastern country is creating a gigantic fund to invest in A.I. technology, potentially becoming the largest player in the hot market.

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By Maureen Farrell and Rob Copeland

The government of Saudi Arabia plans to create a fund of about $40 billion to invest in artificial intelligence, according to three people briefed on the plans — the latest sign of the gold rush toward a technology that has already begun reshaping how people live and work.

In recent weeks, representatives of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have discussed a potential partnership with Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firms, and other financiers, said the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. They cautioned that the plans could still change.

The planned tech fund would make Saudi Arabia the world’s largest investor in artificial intelligence. It would also showcase the oil-rich nation’s global business ambitions as well as its efforts to diversify its economy and establish itself as a more influential player in geopolitics. The Middle Eastern nation is pursuing those goals through its sovereign wealth fund, which has assets of more than $900 billion.

Officials from the Saudi fund have discussed the role Andreessen Horowitz — already an active investor in A.I. and whose co-founder Ben Horowitz is friends with the fund’s governor — could play and how such a fund would work, the people said. The $40 billion target would dwarf the typical amounts raised by U.S. venture capital firms and would be eclipsed only by SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate that has long been the world’s largest investor in start-ups.

The Saudi tech fund, which is being put together with the help of Wall Street banks, will be the latest potential entrant into a field already awash in cash. The global frenzy around artificial intelligence has pushed up the valuations of private and public companies as bullish investors race to find or build the next Nvidia or OpenAI. The start-up Anthropic, for instance, raised more than $7 billion in one year alone — a flood of money virtually unheard-of in the venture capital world.

The cost of funding A.I. projects is steep. Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, has reportedly sought a huge sum from the United Arab Emirates government to boost manufacturing of chips needed to power A.I. technology.

Saudi representatives have mentioned to potential partners that the country is looking to back an array of tech start-ups tied to artificial intelligence, including chip makers and the expensive, expansive data centers that are increasingly necessary to power the next generation of computing, according to four people with knowledge of those efforts, who were not authorized to speak publicly. It has even considered starting its own A.I. companies.

Two of the people said that Saudi’s new investment push is likely to take off in the second half of 2024. A $40 billion fund could make both the Saudi Arabian government and Andreessen Horowitz key players in races to corner various businesses related to the field.

Mr. Horowitz and Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund, have discussed the possibility of the Silicon Valley firm setting up an office in the country’s capital, Riyadh, one person with knowledge of the conversations said.

Other venture capitalists may participate in the kingdom’s tech fund, two people briefed on the plans said.

Partly because of its enormous financial clout and growing ambitions, those in international business circles closely monitor moves made by the Public Investment Fund, which was created in 1971.

In 2018, just as Saudi Arabia was becoming a major destination for investment firms and entrepreneurs seeking financial backing, the country’s agents killed the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate, which for a spell seemed to damage the nation’s reputation among international financiers.

In 2022, the Saudi government invested billions into a firm run by former President Donald J. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, among others, which was seen by many as a political move. One of its recent deals to merge its LIV Golf upstart with the PGA Tour raised the ire of golfers, but the pact is also controversial in part because of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

Saudi Arabia, which poured $3.5 billion into Uber in 2016, has largely struggled with technology investing. It handed $45 billion to SoftBank for the Japanese firm’s $100 billion Vision fund, which was channeled into dozens of enterprises including the now-bankrupt real estate firm WeWork and other failed start-ups, such as the robotic pizza-making company Zume.

Many in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street have welcomed the nation back into the fold. During this year’s Super Bowl, Mr. Horowitz hosted Mr. al-Rumayyan, according to two people briefed on their activities.

The two men also spent time together before and after the game, the people said, with Mr. Horowitz giving Mr. al-Rumayyan tours of Las Vegas, his adopted city, and introducing the investor to his friends in music and sports.

Maureen Farrell writes about Wall Street, focusing on private equity, hedge funds and billionaires and how they influence the world of investing. More about Maureen Farrell

Rob Copeland is a finance reporter, writing about Wall Street and the banking industry. More about Rob Copeland

Explore Our Coverage of Artificial Intelligence

News  and Analysis

Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee signed a bill  to prevent the use of A.I. to copy a performer’s voice. It is the first such measure in the United States.

French regulators said Google failed to notify news publishers  that it was using their articles to train its A.I. algorithms, part of a wider ruling against the company for its negotiating practices with media outlets.

Apple is in discussions with Google  about using Google’s generative A.I. model called Gemini for its next iPhone.

The Age of A.I.

The Caribbean island Anguilla made $32 million last year, more than 10 percent of its G.D.P., from companies registering web addresses that end in .ai .

When it comes to the A.I. that powers chatbots like ChatGPT, China lags behind the United States. But when it comes to producing the scientists behind a new generation of humanoid technologies, China is pulling ahead .

By interacting with data about genes and cells, A.I. models have made some surprising discoveries and are learning what it means to be alive. What could they teach us someday ?

Covariant, a robotics start-up, is using the technology behind chatbots  to build robots that learn skills much like ChatGPT does.

Entrepreneuriat social : faire son business plan

«  Ce MOOC est très bien. C’est complet avec pleins d’exemples concrets. J’ai pu avancer sur mon business plan docial en parallèle, je l’ai vécu comme un vrai accompagnement. Merci à toute l’équipe !  »

Si vous envisagez de créer une entreprise sociale ou de lancer un nouveau projet à impact social ou environnemental dans votre entreprise actuelle, en France ou à l’étranger, ce MOOC est pour vous !

Découvrez l’outil du Business Plan Social formalisé par l’ESSEC en partenariat avec Ashoka et McKinsey. Venez rencontrer nos témoins qui vous partagent de précieux conseils pour construire votre social business model et vous approprier les clés du financement d’un projet social et de la mesure d’impact social.

Pourquoi faire un Business plan social?

Comme toute entreprise, en phase de création ou de développement, l’ entreprise sociale , celle qui veut changer le monde, a besoin d’un business plan. Un Business Plan Social est avant tout une démonstration pour convaincre des   financeurs   d’investir, des salariés et bénévoles de vous rejoindre, des partenaires de s’associer à vous ! Au-delà de toute la richesse du questionnement que cet outil offre, le produit final obtenu compte beaucoup car il est le support permettant de transmettre votre ambition, tout en reflétant votre professionnalisme et votre pragmatisme.

L’entrepreneur formalise un business plan pour :

• identifier avec précision les différentes solutions qui lui sont offertes dans chaque domaine de la gestion de son entreprise,
• faire les meilleurs choix possibles (proposition de valeur, solutions techniques, marketing, montage juridique, organisation) et établir une stratégie claire et cohérente,
• définir un modèle économique pérenne,
• anticiper les difficultés à surmonter.

Seulement, l’entrepreneur social doit aller plus loin. Assurer la viabilité de sa structure ne représente qu’un moyen au service d’un objectif plus complexe à atteindre et évaluer : satisfaire un besoin social que ni les services publics ni la logique de marché n’ont réussi à combler. Il doit donc s’appuyer sur un outil spécifique lui permettant d’exposer clairement le changement social auquel il veut contribuer tout en définissant les moyens à mettre en œuvre et les ressources à mobiliser pour mener à bien sa mission et en mesurer les effets. L’entrepreneur sera amené à prouver la pertinence sociale du projet en menant une étude approfondie du besoin et à réfléchir à l’intérêt de son offre par rapport à l’existant et au marché.

C’est ce que propose la méthodologie du Business Plan Social, formalisée avec l’équipe de la   Chaire Entrepreneuriat Social de l’ESSEC   en partenariat avec   Ashoka   et le cabinet de conseil McKinsey.

Quand rédiger un business plan social (BPS) ?

On peut rédiger un BPS à différents stades d’un projet :

• au moment de la création d’une entreprise   : le BPS sert alors à déterminer la stratégie d’ensemble et les moyens mis en œuvre. Il permet de convaincre et de fédérer des acteurs autour du projet en amont de sa réalisation concrète.
• pour le lancement d’une nouvelle activité   : comme toute entreprise, l’entreprise sociale doit s’adapter à son environnement et à son bénéficiaire. Elle peut donc être amenée à créer une nouvelle activité ou bien réorganiser son activité existante afin de répondre à des besoins nouveaux ou différents. Afin d’opérer ce changement dans les meilleures conditions, il peut être très utile de réaliser un BPS pour cadrer les ambitions et les moyens possible d’y parvenir.
• pour lancer une activité génératrice de revenus pour une association/ONG; pour débuter une activité à impact social positif pour   une entreprise du secteur privé lucratif /une organisation  principalement financée par des dons ou des subventions publiques (bénéficiaires non solvables) :   initier de telles activités exige une planification similaire à celle requise pour le lancement d’une activité commerciale classique. Les bénéfices retirés de l’activité seront intégralement affectés au financement de sa mission sociale. Pour une activité à impact social dans une entreprise commerciale, il s’agit de prouver la viabilité économique et la réalité de l’impact social recherché.
• pour   lever des fonds   : le BPS est le sésame pour convaincre les investisseurs, les mécènes et donateurs privés, mais aussi les pouvoirs publics ou les ONG de financer et soutenir votre projet.
• repenser et optimiser son organisation son plan de développement   : pour les organisations même si elles ne sont pas dans une phase de levée de fonds ou de lancement d’activités génératrices de revenus ou à impact social, le Business Plan Social, fondé sur le recueil de données objectives sur son marché et sur un raisonnement analytique rigoureux, constitue un support pour ré interroger son modèle d’intervention, sa stratégie de développement et les moyens humains, techniques et financiers nécessaires à sa mise en œuvre.

Quels sont les éléments du business plan social ?

• La charte de l’entreprise
• L’analyse d’opportunité

Pour ceux qui ont suivi le premier   MOOC L’entrepreneuriat social de l’envie au projet , vous avez déjà pu réfléchir à la charte de votre projet et à l’analyse du besoin.

• L’étude de marché
• Le Social business model (business plan social)
• La stratégie marketing
• La gouvernance
• Les prévisions financières
• La mesure de l’impact

Au programme du MOOC

Episode 1 : découvrir le business plan social.

Pourquoi, quand et comment faire un business plan ? Quel est le besoin social  à traiter et quelle évolution de la société impulser ?  Quelle mission choisir pour y arriver ?

Episode 2 : Construire son business plan social

Pourquoi, quand et comment faire une analyse d’opportunité et une étude de marché ? Qui sont les potentiels clients ? Qui sont les bénéficiaires ? Quel est le parcours utilisateur pour le client/le bénéficiaire ? Comment concrètement contribuer à répondre au besoin social identifié ? A travers quelles actions ? Quel sera le modèle économique ?

Episode 3 : Financer son projet

Quel statut juridique adopter ? Quelles instances de gouvernance pour le projet ? Comment organiser les processus de décision dans la structure ? Comment lever les fonds nécessaires au projet : quelle nature de fonds ? Quels financeurs solliciter ?

Episode 4 : Mesurer son impact social

Quels sont les changements que le projet souhaite provoquer ? A quelles conditions ? Quelles sont les parties prenantes ? Quels seront les principaux impacts du projet sur chacune d’entre elles ? Quels indicateurs utiliser pour évaluer ces impacts ?

Quelles sont les voies permettant de lancer le projet ? Quel est le rôle d’un incubateur ? Le business plan est-il un outil indispensable ? Qu’est-ce qu’un intrapreneur ? Que recouvre la notion de « chaîne de valeur hybride » ?

L'entrepreneuriat social : de l'envie au projet

4 ans après sa première édition, le MOOC fait peau neuve et revient avec une vingtaine de nouveaux témoignages inspirants !

L'entrepreneuriat social : faire son business plan

Découvrez l’outil du Business Plan Social formalisé par l’ESSEC en partenariat avec Ashoka et McKinsey.

L'entrepreneuriat social : changer d'échelle

Si vous cherchez à développer l’activité de votre organisation pour changer d’échelle et maximiser son impact social ce MOOC est pour vous !

L'impact investing : comprendre les fondamentaux

Série de 3 MOOCs sur le thème de l’impact investing pour former les entrepreneurs sociaux et financeurs “à impact”.

L'impact investing : être acteur

Préparez votre levée de fonds à impact grâce à ce deuxième MOOC indispensable pour les financeurs, entrepreneurs sociaux ou incubateurs !

L'impact investing : innover

Ce dernier MOOC sur le thème de l’impact investing s’intéresse au développement et au perfectionnement des outils de financement.

Les partenariats qui changent le monde

Créé en partenariat avec Le RAMEAU pour appréhender la dynamique des partenariats entre entreprises et associations.

Les alliances qui changent les territoires

Instaurez une alliance territoriale pour répondre à des besoins sociaux et environnementaux et démultiplier votre impact.

Nouveaux modèles économiques des associations

Hybridez le modèle économique de votre association pour rendre votre action pérenne et maximiser votre impact;

Innovation publique et pensée design

Obtenez les compétences pour coordonner un projet d’innovation s’appuyant sur une approche design de service.

Evaluation et mesure d'impact social

Découvrez pourquoi et comment utiliser les outils de mesure d'impact, et comment en interpréter les résultats.

Reporting extra-financier et stratégie RSE

S'adresse aux salariés d’entreprise désireux d'obtenir un socle de connaissances solides sur la RSE.

Originalité et modernité du mutualisme

Découvrez les modèles des mutuelles qui sont plus que jamais des vecteurs privilégiés d’innovation sociale.

Philanthropie : Comprendre et Agir

Réalisé avec la Fondation de France, ce MOOC vous donne toutes les clés en main pour comprendre et agir en faveur d’un monde meilleur !

Entreprise et changement climatique

Comment les entreprises peuvent-elles agir dans la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique ? Voilà la question à laquelle ce MOOC, réalisé en collaboration avec Carbone 4, tente de répondre.

  Belles Histoires d'entreprises à impact

Prenez une bouffée d'optimisme et plongez dans des histoires inspirantes d'entreprises à impact !

SAP and NVIDIA to Accelerate Generative AI Adoption Across Enterprise Applications Powering Global Industries

Customers Can Harness Their Business Data in Cloud Solutions from SAP Using Customized LLMs Deployed with NVIDIA AI Foundry Services and New NVIDIA NIM Microservices

WALLDORF and SANTA CLARA, Calif. — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) and NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today announced a partnership expansion focused on accelerating enterprise customers’ ability to harness the transformative power of data and generative AI across SAP’s portfolio of cloud solutions and applications.

The companies are collaborating to build and deliver SAP Business AI, including scalable, business-specific generative AI capabilities inside the Joule copilot from SAP and across SAP’s portfolio of cloud solutions and applications – all of which are underpinned by the SAP generative AI hub. The generative AI hub facilitates relevant, reliable and responsible business AI and provides instant access to a broad range of large language models (LLMs).

 As part of SAP’s ongoing initiative to build generative AI directly into the applications that power the world’s businesses, the partnership aims to help customers adopt generative AI capabilities at scale across their organizations. SAP will use NVIDIA’s generative AI foundry service to fine-tune LLMs for domain-specific scenarios and deploy applications with new NVIDIA NIM ™ microservices. SAP and NVIDIA plan to make the new integrated capabilities available by the end of 2024.

“Enterprise customers want to leverage state-of-the-art technology that delivers real business value,” said Christian Klein, CEO and Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. “Strategic technology partnerships, like the one between SAP and NVIDIA, are at the core of our strategy to invest in technology that maximizes the potential and opportunity of AI for business. NVIDIA’s expertise in delivering AI capabilities at scale will help SAP accelerate the pace of transformation and better serve our customers in the cloud.”

“SAP is sitting on a gold mine of enterprise data that can be transformed into custom generative AI agents to help customers automate their businesses,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “Together, NVIDIA and SAP will bring custom generative AI to the thousands of enterprises around the world that rely on SAP to power their operations.”

Harnessing Business Data and Generative AI to Advance Customer Insights

SAP and NVIDIA plan to collaborate to integrate generative AI into cloud solutions from SAP, which include the latest release of the SAP Datasphere solution, SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) and RISE with SAP.

SAP plans to build additional generative AI capabilities within SAP BTP using NVIDIA’s generative AI foundry service, featuring NVIDIA DGX ™ Cloud AI supercomputing, NVIDIA AI Enterprise software and NVIDIA AI Foundation models. These new capabilities are designed to be the basis of SAP’s development and deployment of generative AI for customers and is expected to be accessible in the generative AI hub in SAP AI Core and SAP Datasphere.

Additional generative AI initiatives include:

• New capabilities for the Joule copilot : Joule can leverage retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) capabilities built by NVIDIA and SAP, which can be deployed on leading hyperscalers or SAP’s own cloud environments. As a natural-language, generative AI copilot, Joule helps customers unlock the potential in their business by automating time-consuming tasks and quickly analyzing business-critical data to deliver more intelligent, personalized experiences.
• Innovative use cases leveraging SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP SuccessFactors and SAP Signavio : SAP and NVIDIA are exploring more than 20 generative AI use cases where the companies can combine assets to simplify and enhance digital transformation. Among these are generative AI features that can automate enterprise resource planning with intelligent invoice matching in SAP S/4HANA Cloud; improve human resources use cases leveraging SAP SuccessFactors; and accelerate new generative AI insights from SAP Signavio to better process business recommendations and optimize SAP’s customer support processes.
• Unifying AI data sources with SAP Datasphere : Built on SAP BTP, SAP Datasphere enables integration and a unified view of semantically rich SAP data with third-party data across the enterprise landscape to help customers adapt faster to market changes and make more efficient and better informed decisions. With SAP Datasphere, customers can confidently access a high-quality data fabric using AI and machine learning (ML) models. To accelerate SAP’s federated machine learning (FedML) capabilities for SAP Datasphere, NVIDIA and SAP are facilitating easier access to data for data scientists and enhancing ML workload performance with the support of NVIDIA accelerated computing platforms and NVIDIA AI Enterprise data science software such as NVIDIA RAPIDS ™.
• Using LLMs for the ABAP programming language : To aid developers in creating domain-specific language code, SAP plans to use NVIDIA AI foundry services to assist in fine-tuning LLMs. This will build on SAP’s use of generative AI models to assist developers who use ABAP through the company’s ABAP Cloud model and SAP Cloud Application Programming model.

NVIDIA AI Enterprise Powers Production-Grade Generative AI Across Cloud Solutions from SAP

Once models are ready for deployment in cloud solutions from SAP, SAP plans to use NVIDIA AI Enterprise software, including NVIDIA NIM inference microservices and NVIDIA NeMo Retriever™ microservices. NVIDIA NIM can be used to accelerate and maximize inference performance across the accelerated infrastructure from SAP. Using NVIDIA NeMo Retriever microservices, SAP plans to add RAG capabilities that enable generative AI applications to more securely access data running on SAP software to improve accuracy and insights. Customers can plan to use RAG on both SAP and third-party data.

To learn more about the SAP and NVIDIA partnership, watch the replay of Huang’s GTC keynote address .

Visit the SAP News Center . Follow SAP at @SAPNews .

About NVIDIA

Since its founding in 1993, NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) has been a pioneer in accelerated computing. The company’s invention of the GPU in 1999 sparked the growth of the PC gaming market, redefined computer graphics, ignited the era of modern AI and is fueling industrial digitalization across markets. NVIDIA is now a full-stack computing infrastructure company with data-center-scale offerings that are reshaping industry. More information at https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/ .

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Why Royal Caribbean isn't going all in on massive cruise ships despite the wild success of its new Icon of the Seas

• Royal Caribbean International has unveiled a swath of giant cruise ships over the past few years.
• Its CEO said its new world's largest ship, the  Icon of the Seas,  is its "best-selling product" ever.
• But the cruise line doesn't plan on going all in on megaships forever.

Earlier this year, guests at Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay private island were the first to revel at the historic sight of the world's largest cruise ships, Icon of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas, docked side-by-side.

The vessels towered over their communal dock like skyscrapers, casting a dark shadow over their relatively tiny shared pier.

Together, they can accommodate about 19,250 people.

At 1,196 feet long and weighing 248,663 gross tons, the Icon of the Seas is a sight to behold. When it launched in late January, the giant vessel upstaged its eight-foot shorter predecessor, the Wonder of the Seas , as the world's biggest.

At the time, it was no surprise: Every new Royal Caribbean ship seemed to dethrone another Royal Caribbean ship for this title.

But not for long.

The company's smaller ships, important for diverse trips, are aging.

The company is synonymous with its mega vessels. And they've been mega-hits: Michael Bayley, the president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, has repeatedly called the Icon of the Seas the "best-selling product" in the company's history.

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Royal Caribbean is set to launch four more megaships by 2028 — representing about a third of its total fleet. So far, most of the megaships' scheduled sailings are in the Caribbean.

The other 21 smaller vessels tend to have more specialized itineraries, Patrick Scholes, the managing director of lodging and leisure-equity research at Truist Securities, told Business Insider.

Given their trimmer sizes, these vessels can operate more sailings outside the Caribbean , which often reel in high fares and customer satisfaction for the company, Jay Schneider, the chief product-innovation officer at Royal Caribbean Group, told reporters in January. Think of the Mediterranean, Alaska, and South Pacific itineraries — the latter are especially important as the cruise line continues to ramp up business in Asia.

But these destination-flexible cruise liners are aging as Royal Caribbean continues to unveil their giant counterparts. The company launched its four oldest Vision-class ships, with a maximum 2,730-guest capacity, between 1996 and 1998.

They're tiny and old compared to the 2-month-old, 7,600-guest Icon of the Seas .

Looking ahead, Royal Caribbean plans to return to the basics: smaller cruise ships.

Despite the cruise line's success with mega-vessels, Schneider said Royal Caribbean is now considering a new class of ships that would start "smaller" — noting that he was "careful to say small, but less-than-large."

"The reality is, families want to go on vacations not just in the Western and Eastern Caribbean where a ship like Icon can get into," Schneider said. "They want to stay with our brand and journey to different destinations that require more versatility in ship size."

Desirable destinations such as French Polynesia and Venice, Italy, have limited visiting cruises , including size restrictions, to curb pollution and overcrowding. But, as Schneider said, small-vessel-enabled specialized itineraries are also important to travelers.

Giant mass-market floating resorts also often attract first-time cruisers, enamored by their family-friendly water parks and Broadway-style shows. But after a few good vacations at sea, these no-longer-new-to-cruising guests might start craving quieter ships or more bespoke itineraries.

"Alaska cruises tend not to be the first-time cruiser," Scholes told BI. "I don't really see Icon of the Seas doing a Norwegian Fjord or Alaska trip."

Plus, "there's probably only so much demand for these giant ships," Scholes said.

Royal Caribbean has already succeeded in the first part: bringing in a swath of new cruisers with its megaships. Now, it has to retain them.

Watch: Inside the world's biggest cruise ship that just set sail

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