After completing my first evaluation of Zara’s business plan I could not help but feel that I had missed something in my analysis. It was over the next week that I realized that I had failed to thoroughly evaluate the plan. At a glance, I thought the Zara concept was intriguing and as a bonus, aligned with my own dream to open a restaurant. I wanted to believe in the plan so much that I missed its weaknesses. Having time to review discussions from class and more resources and opinions of what effective business plans should contain, I now see there are glaring deficiencies in this plan.
Zara’s business plan was written to secure sufficient finances to open a multi-use restaurant in a rapidly expanding area of Atlanta, Georgia. Since the plan is geographically constrained, it must show not only the vision and direction for the business but also describe the reasoning behind selecting the location. It must also outline in detail how the business will earn profit how the conclusions were drawn. This is some thing I had missed in my previous evaluation. The vision and direction are present in the plan however the support is missing and therefore the plan is not viable.
For my revision, I will evaluate the Zara business plan, first on a higher level then, section by section. Following each evaluation, I will offer my suggestions for improvement if necessary. Whether or not the authors were able to paint a clear, concise, and accurate picture of how their proposed venture will operate and the amount of supporting evidence to backup their claims will be the overarching basis for evaluation. Business plans are in many ways a company’s map, showing the path from founding to the achievement of its goals. A business must identify a target market with a need and a solution for the need. According to Jennifer A. Rivers, in her article titled The Structure of a Business Plan, the business
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