Business Plans for Grant Applications

Case Study

Business Plans for Grant Applications

Introduction

Business planning is something most business owners think they should be doing, but generally are operating with a broad, undocumented strategy guided by their long-term understanding of their industry and market. When grant opportunities come along, it's sometimes necessary to get that strategy down on paper.

Situation

Brilliant plans, undocumented

Typically our business planning clients have sophisticated, mature businesses turning over anywhere from $1m to $30m. But they’ve often gotten to this point based on planning that’s mostly taken place in conversation between the leadership team. And it’s worked for them, often very well.

We often encounter these clients when they are ready to make a grant application or seek a major bank loan. And they need some solid documentation to back up the informal plans they have developed.

We have worked with clients from a broad range of industries to prepare business plans for this purpose including food and beverage manufacturing, construction, manufacturing and renewables.

Solution

Insights + Story

Our clients provide us with a detailed brief – generally a comprehensive discussion along with sharing any planning material they have gathered to support the implementation of their concept.

We then go deeper to provide the market insights and industry trends that experienced business owners often have a sense of, but can’t point to specific evidence to back up their intuition.

With our access to a broad range of subscription market insights services and team’s expert research skills, we can deliver insights that clearly justify the planned investment and reassure the business owner about their strategic direction.

During this process, we often unearth unexpected issues and opportunities that the business should take into account, allowing them to go into the new venture in the strongest possible position.

Outcome

Our clients receive comprehensive, professional business plans that they can use to enhance the competitiveness of their major grant applications, or to support their application for significant bank finance.

But, perhaps more importantly, they have a solid strategic document to guide their business decision-making and ensure that their leadership team have a common understanding of the project and how it will roll out.

Case Study