Business Plan for e-commerce: it's time for you to create your e-commerce company.
A business plan for e-commerce is a document focused on the organization and planning of an e-commerce company. It should be produced by people like you, who intend to open an online store, a marketplace, or another venture in the sector.
According to the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae), companies created based on a Business Plan are longer-lived. That is, they survive much longer in the market than those developed by intuition and/or without planning.
Important to inform, this type of document can be produced in the short, medium or long term. In fact, the complexity of this document will depend on the size of the company you are trying to open and your availability of time to develop it.
Objectives and advantages of a Business Plan for e-commerce
In e-commerce, a Business Plan aims to:
• To polish the business idea before it gets off the ground;
• Anticipating and avoiding risks before they occur;
• Decrease the danger of bankruptcy in the near future;
• Collect data on the necessary structure for the enterprise;
• Gain support from funders more easily;
• Provide a vision of what the business as a whole will be;
• Knowing the target audience or Buyer Persona in advance ;
• Analyze the market and simulate business scenarios for e-commerce;
• Start the Organizational Culture with the creation of the Mission, Vision and Values;
• Establish general data such as legal form, location, sectors, etc.;
• Create a Marketing Plan and a Digital Marketing Plan ;
• Develop an Operational Plan with layout and production capacity;
• Produce a Financial Plan and much more!
Three types of Business Plan for e-commerce
A Business Plan should be the size of the company you are trying to set up. In other words, for small companies such as those included in the Individual Microentrepreneur system, a short-term plan is enough. Larger projects require more robust plans. So, here are three options (click on the green links to learn more):
1. Short term:
One page is enough to create a basic e-commerce Business Plan.
In his book "The $100 Startup," author Chris Guillebeau cites a one-page business plan with six steps that can be completed quickly (in one day).
Logically, once the business takes off, it's necessary to optimize everything, which can be done with other tools, such as the BMC Canvas , for example, which can also be used as a complement to the other plans mentioned below.
2. Medium term:
The Empreenda Movement presents on its website a Pyramid Business Plan , which has 9 blocks (finance, HR, operations, marketing, company, competition, opportunity, product and consumer) to which the entrepreneur must ask what is called a "visionary question".
Business Plan for e-commerce with the pyramid method can be completed between 1 and 3 months.
To fill in the aforementioned “information blocks” with quality, you will need 1 to 3 months. In addition to serving to implement your e-commerce company, this document can also be useful as a guide for managing and directing sales, among other things.
3. Long term:
Sebrae provides the guide " How to Develop a Business Plan ," which contains the basics for detailed, long-term planning (6 months to 1 year or more).
And in the book " Luisa's Secret ," author Fernando Dolabela fictionalizes the journey of a female entrepreneur in developing a business plan and creating and optimizing a company. This supporting material can be read and observed to get an idea of what long-term planning is like in practice.
Sebrae's booklet is useful for those who want to create a more robust Business Plan for e-commerce.
In short, as we've seen so far, creating a Business Plan can increase the chances of success for your e-commerce business in the market. However, this is not the only method. Those who, like you, are trying to open an e-commerce company can also use the e-commerce startup method, which I will discuss below.
How to plan an e-commerce startup?
An e-commerce startup is an e-commerce company that is characterized by rapid and continuous growth in a scenario of uncertainty.
There is a basic difference between planning with a Business Plan and the startup method. It is that in the first case, you plan first and start the practical application only later. In the second, planning and practical application occur simultaneously.
• Also, access and read the article “ E-commerce Startup ” to learn what it is, how it works, and how to start your own!
Therefore, in an e-commerce startup, the ideal is to carry out actions whose effectiveness can be measured and tested economically in a short time. If the test results are bad, an optimization is attempted. But if they are good, then the project continues. That is, move on to the next test.
As can be seen, this type of planning model takes into account that the entrepreneur must make mistakes as quickly as possible. Therefore, work with small batches. That way, when something goes wrong (and it will), the losses are minimal and the learnings are maximum. Error, in this case, is beneficial. It shows in practice which paths the entrepreneur should not and which he should follow. With this, you can guide the company towards success.
Namely, the book “Lean Startup” by Eric Ries explains all the steps for creating a startup. So if his idea is to use this method, then it's good to start by reading this book and/or others like it.
Is it worth planning an e-commerce?
Certainly, whether with a Business Plan or through the startup method of undertaking, you have more peace of mind to launch your e-commerce.
In any case, when creating an online store, it's always good to have a modern e-commerce platform like Vtex , for example. In addition, you can also count on the consulting and help of a Digital Marketing agency like e-Plus, which has a certified and qualified team to create and manage online stores with the main e-commerce platforms on the market.
