A business enterprise is an economic institution engaged in the production and/or distribution of goods and services in order to earn profits and acquire wealth. The scope of a business is very wide. It includes a large number of activities which may be classified into two broad categories i.e. Industry and Commerce. Production of goods is the domain of 'Industry' and distribution comes under 'Commerce'. Every entrepreneur aims at starting a business and building it into a successful enterprise. The term 'entrepreneur' means to undertake and pursue opportunities and to fulfill needs and wants of people through innovation. He/she innovates and combines resources in the form of men, materials and money and brings them together to make the business venture profitable. He/she is prepared to take risk and face challenges. Thus, innovation and risks are the two basic elements of a good entrepreneurship. The whole process of starting a business begins with writing a business plan. A good business plan is the key to setting up a successful business. Once a plan is prepared, the entrepreneur faces various challenges while implementing the plan.

The Commissionerates or Directorates of Industries are the nodal agencies in different States which assist and guide new entrepreneurs in starting up an industrial unit in the concerned State. They provide an interface between industry and other agencies for industry inputs and enable the entrepreneur to get different industrial approvals and clearances from various departments at a single point-Single Window. They sanction incentives to eligible industrial undertakings and create a transparent and automatic system of allotment of scarce raw materials to industrial units. Hence, a new entrepreneur must approach the concerned commissionerate while setting up a business firm.

Creating a Business Plan

Every new venture should have a business plan. A business plan is the formal written expression of the entrepreneurial vision, describing the strategy and operations of the proposed venture. The business plan also goes by other names, depending on its intended audience. Presented to a banker, it may be called a "loan proposal." A venture capital group might call it the "venture plan" or "investment prospectus."

The advantages of writing a business plan far outweigh the costs. The purpose of the plan is to enable the top executives of the firm to think about their business in a comprehensive way, to communicate their objectives to individuals who may have a stake in the firm's future, to have a basis for making decisions, and to facilitate the planning process.

Entrepreneurs should undertake the task of preparing the business plan personally. Although outsiders - consultants, accountants, and lawyers - should be tapped for their advice and expertise, the promoter or the initial top management team should be responsible for the writing. Personally drafting the plan will enable the entrepreneurs to think through all aspects of the proposed business and ensure that they are familiar with all the details, for they will have to make decisions about the new venture and be responsible for those decisions. Moreover, investors expect the founders to be involved in and knowledgeable about the proposed enterprise.

The Benefits of Business Planning

The business plan can personally benefit the entrepreneurial team. Founding a new business can be enormously fulfilling and exhilarating, but it is also an anxiety-ridden and tense experience. Usually a great deal of money is at stake, and the consequences of poor decisions can affect many people for a long time. In developing and writing a business plan, the entrepreneurial team reduces these anxieties and tensions by confronting them in advance. By projecting the risks of the new venture into the future, the team comes to grips with potential negative outcomes and the possibility of failure. The knowledge that comes from this experience can reduce the fear of being taken by surprise by problems that could have been foreseen and provided for at the very outset.

Source: Government of India.