How to create the ideal Jewelry Ecommerce Business Plan
In a previous article about succeeding in the jewelry sector, we pointed out how crucial it is to have a good business plan, so on this article we’re going to focus intensely on how to create the kind of business plan that gives you the edge.
What is a business plan?
Whether or not you need to seek outside funding for your business start-up or expansion, there are excellent reasons to spend time crafting a business plan whether your enterprise is still at the planning stage or whether you’re already making sales and need to consolidate early success into consistent turnover. In the first case a business plan can help you site your company in the big vista of jewelry ecommerce so that you have a strategic direction to follow. In the second case, it’s often valuable to define a business plan so that you don’t get lost in the daily grind of running your business without very lifting your head above the nitty-gritty to see new opportunities or even, to recognize areas of your business that aren’t keeping pace with your ambitions. In a worse case scenario, your business may have reached a sticking point or could even be starting to fail … and perhaps you’re locked into crisis management rather than charting a recovery plan that deals ruthlessly with any underlying problems so you can turn your business around.
Essentially, without a plan you’re a business without a view of the future, and that means you’re likely to steer your enterprise straight into difficulties. At every point in a business lifecycle you will find that a business plan helps you separate the trivial from the vital and to engage with the areas of your business that will deliver better turnover, higher returns and great profits.
What makes a good Jewelry Ecommerce Business Plan?
Whether you’re creating a simple business plan for your own use, or designing a formal document that will make you an appealing funding option for others, there are some key elements that need to be completed.
Organizational description
This overview looks at the nature of your company, the products it will offer, the kind of customers it aims to attract and the competitive advantages it has.
Market analysis
This is the part of the plan where you list the research you’ve done into the jewelry industry and your target market sector within the industry. We provide regular high-level insights into ecommerce through our blogs and articles which give our customers insight into the business of ecommerce, so if you’re short on research, a browse through some of our past articles might be a good place to start.
Operations summary
Laying out the day-to-day running of your business, it’s location and hours of operation through to inventory and accounting periods will help you see whether each of the processes that contributes to success is working seamlessly with the others. For ecommerce the delivery and returns processes are key considerations - getting these properly planned into the daily operating structure of the organization will give your jewelry commence business a solid foundation from which to operate.
Management structure
Understanding who owns your business, who manages it and who has power to influence its direction may seem obvious to you, but to outsiders, from your bank to venture capitalists who might want to invest, this isn’t obvious at all. This is also a vital area to get on paper as - when your business grows - you may find that staff who were in ‘on the ground floor’ have unrealistic expectations around executive powers and salary packages based on their early input to the business. Being clear from the beginning can save lawsuits later on!
Products and services
This is a great opportunity to look at your organisation from the customer perspective. What do you sell, who will you sell it to and why should they want to buy from you?
Marketing
Knowing you to reach your target market and convert it to buying customers is a key element of a business plan. This is the chance for you to explore creative ideas to reach your potential customers and test them against reality, whether that might be now to handle your AdWords account, using a blog to generate organic search engine ranking, ways to engage customers on social media or even running pop-up shops to support your online ecommerce.
Financial Projectionsg
Looking at your financial future is important. Whether you have a five or ten year plan, being able to project financial outcomes is vitally important. If your business is already established, you can call upon historical data to help you understand how your enterprise is operating. For a new business you’ll have to guesstimate and predict income and operating costs. Either way, even the roughest outline of financial projections can give you two strong tools: the first is the impetus to work towards a definite goal, the second is the ability to oversee expenditure against a clear plan and recognize when something is slipping. A cashflow forecast helps you keep your business in check, month by month, rather than relying on guesswork.
Other elements of your business plan
While these are the classic sections of a business plan, along with a summary the brings all the sections together in a single page, there are other considerations for a jewelry ecommerce business, such as:
Pricing strategy
Getting the ideal price points for your products can be demanding. It isn’t always easy to establish the pricing for each item and when you take into account the other considerations it can seem impossible. For example, when pricing a piece of jewelry, cost is not the only factor. Understanding your market allows you to decide how you want to be seen in relation to competitors, are you seeking to be the elite showcase for the best of the best or a bargain venue for excellent quality jewelry? Similarly, do you want a reputation for offering fantastic deals on more than one item or are you the kind of business that offers a personalized service on unique items? Understanding your brand’s identity in the marketplace helps determine your price points.
Inventory management
Knowing how you will manage your inventory is a vital part of your strategy. Shopping Cart Elite offers the opportunity to integrate inventory information in real time so that your business is continually updated to have its inventory flow is maintained minute-by-minute. This allows you to oversee cash-flow on a day by day basis and also ensures your customers never experience the frustration and annoyance of discovering an item they wish to purchase is out of stock.
Market research
This may be something you conduct separate to your business plan or integrate within it, but in either case you will want to have close to hand. A design-focused business, for example, may need to set aside a budget for identifying up-and-coming designers and ensuring they are equipped to design collections that work for you. A market-focused business is likely to set aside a similar budget but conduct its market research in identifying manufacturers who can produce marketable items cost effectively, which might mean seeking out overseas suppliers and ensuring you have the necessary legal framework and shipping routes to get their products to market in good time.
An ecommerce business plan is a necessity
In summary, it’s not just vital to have a good jewelry ecommerce business plan, it’s just as important to use it on a regular basis to ensure your business is on track. But a business plan is not something that should be set in stone - as well as consulting it to see how close you are to your predictions and projections, you should also update it regularly so that it reflects the current nature of your business, your marketplace and the wider economic environment. This methodical updating of your business plan gives you the edge against your opposition and also allows you to constantly chart your progress against reality, spotting potential problems well in advance and recognizing opportunities that you can exploit to improve your position against your rivals.
There are plenty of small business organizations that can help you draft a business plan and it’s equally easy to find online business plan samples that will help you define which elements are most important to your company and which would be a waste of time.