Business Plan Applying for Business Manager Visa

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Importance of a Business Plan and Supporting Evidence
Project Overview
Managerial Background
Product and Service Description
Market Analysis
Product Offering and Sales Strategy
Supplier Information
Team and Hiring Plans
Financial Plan (Profit and Loss Plan)
Funding Requests
Appendices
Recommended Length of the Business Plan
A standalone business plan lacks weight
Perspective of the Immigration Bureau
Significance of Supporting Evidence
Other Question?

Importance of a Business Plan and Supporting Evidence

To manage a company and expand a business in Japan as a foreigner, one must secure a “Business Manager” visa. Among the various prerequisites for this visa, a business plan stands out as paramount. This plan is the most scrutinized document during the evaluation process, and its credibility and persuasiveness significantly influence the visa’s approval.

The business plan serves as a pivotal document that outlines your business direction and communicates your intentions and strategies to the immigration authorities. By offering comprehensive details, it can pave the way for visa acquisition.

The content of a business plan varies based on its objectives, intended audience, and the specific industry or business at hand. Key considerations include questions like, “Will the business be sustainable?”, “How will you approach sales to achieve this?”, and “Why choose Japan for this venture?” Reflecting on these points is not only vital for visa acquisition but also crucial for business growth. It’s imperative to deeply delve into these aspects to ensure they don’t remain mere thoughts.

Typically, most business plans encompass the following fundamental sections and details:

Project Overview

This section provides a concise summary of the primary elements of the entire business plan. It’s crafted to offer the immigration inspector a swift grasp of your business plan’s overall structure. Key details include the business’s location in Japan, its scale, available capital for operation, and adherence to the visa application guidelines stipulated by the Immigration Bureau.

Managerial Background

Detail your managerial history. Any prior management experience will be a significant asset to highlight. Also, delve into your or your company’s history, the industry context, and your business philosophy, objectives, mission, and vision. Illuminate the reasons behind initiating this venture, taking into account market size and target clientele. Elaborate on what inspired you to embark on this business, linking it to your past experiences and educational background. This section is crucial; if there’s a clear correlation between your past endeavors and the current business, it will resonate with the immigration inspector. For instance, a chef planning to open a restaurant or someone with a background in car sales aiming to start a car export business stands a higher chance of visa approval.

While applying for a business manager visa, your educational background or prior management experience isn’t a focal point. As experience isn’t a prerequisite, it’s paramount to lucidly depict your capability to manage a stable business in Japan. Emphasize that your primary reason for moving to Japan is unequivocally for business purposes.

Product and Service Description

Offer an in-depth description of the products or services you’re presenting. Highlight their distinctive features, benefits, and market positioning.

Market Analysis

Target Audience: Clearly define who your service is designed for.

Market Overview: Analyze the size, growth rate, and trends of your target market.

Competitive Landscape: Provide insights about your competitors and include a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats).

Customer Insights: Detail your target customer profile, pinpointing their challenges and needs. Emphasize your company’s strengths and capabilities in addressing these needs. If your business isn’t unique and follows a conventional model, elaborate on how you intend to outpace your competitors.

Product Offering and Sales Strategy

This section is vital for the Business Management Visa application.

Product Details: Describe the products you offer, emphasizing their unique selling points. If you’re in sales, specify the product types, your suppliers, clientele, and sales methods.

Competitive Edge: Highlight what sets you apart from competitors.

Marketing Strategy: Discuss the marketing plan for your product or service, detailing pricing, promotional strategies, and distribution channels.

Supplier Information

For Product-based Businesses: Provide comprehensive details about your sales partners and suppliers, including their address, phone number, company name, contact person, and expected annual transaction volume.

For Service-based Businesses: Describe the nature of the services you offer. If feasible, prepare foundational outsourcing and sales agreements.

For Trading Businesses: If you’re involved in trading and don’t yet have suppliers, secure them before applying for the visa. If asked about product storage, specify if you’ll be exporting directly from the supplier.

Team and Hiring Plans

Team Composition: Describe the structure and roles of your business team, highlighting their experience and expertise. If relevant, mention external advisors and partners.

Hiring Details: Recently, obtaining a business management visa for a single-president company has become challenging. Prepare a formal notice detailing working conditions and provide information (address, name, phone number, etc.) about all prospective employees, including part-timers.

Financial Plan (Profit and Loss Plan)

Key Financials: Include projected revenues, an income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet.

Duration: Provide data for at least one year, though three years is preferable.

Detailed Breakdown: Incorporate specific product line items and pricing into the profit and loss statement. Sales forecasts should be precise and justifiable; vague approximations may lead to disapproval. Instead of simply stating, “Sales will be 2 million yen per month,” delve deeper. For instance, if selling a single product priced at 100,000 yen each, specify the expectation of selling 20 units. If there are multiple products, provide a typical sales pattern, including product type, quantity, and projected gross profit. The evaluation will consider the business’s stability and sustainability based on the provided financial plan, customer targets, customer acquisition strategies, business guidelines, and other factors.

Existing Businesses: If your business is already operational, consider submitting a monthly trial balance from its inception.

Funding Requests

If seeking external funds, detail the required amount, its intended use, and your repayment strategy.

Appendices

Incorporate supplementary materials such as documents, references, charts, and research data.

Recommended Length of the Business Plan

A typical business plan should span around 10 pages of A4 paper. Overloading with information might make it challenging for the immigration inspector to grasp every detail. Utilize charts and graphs, complemented by concise explanatory text, to ensure quick comprehension. For product-based businesses, including product photos can enhance understanding.

Drafting a business plan requires diligence. However, a well-thought-out plan serves dual purposes: securing the business management visa and guiding your business endeavors post-approval.

A standalone business plan lacks weight

A standalone business plan lacks weight; it needs robust supporting evidence to validate its content.

When applying for a foreigner visa for new business initiation or foreign employee recruitment, the Immigration Bureau mandates a comprehensive business plan. Yet, merely producing this plan isn’t enough. Without evidence reinforcing its content, the plan’s credibility and feasibility come under scrutiny.

Perspective of the Immigration Bureau

The Immigration Bureau places greater emphasis on the supporting evidence accompanying a business plan than the plan’s actual content. A plan, no matter how meticulously detailed, loses its credibility in the absence of corroborating evidence. The Immigration Bureau does not assess the professional feasibility of a business plan. Their decision to approve or deny a permit hinges primarily on the adequacy of the provided evidence.

A primary concern for the Immigration Bureau is the genuine intent of the business. They might question if the business endeavor is a mere façade to secure a residence status. While there are various angles of evaluation, this remains a paramount consideration. Especially in cases where a foreigner’s family member or friend, who previously failed to secure a work visa, applies for a business management visa, the scrutiny is intensified. This is due to concerns that the visa might be misused to bring relatives without genuinely engaging in business activities.

Applicants, particularly those closely related to foreigners ineligible for work visas, need to prepare diligently. The Bureau will meticulously check the reasons for starting the business, prior business management experience, work history, educational background, and proficiency in the Japanese language. Naturally, if one isn’t genuinely poised to manage a company, securing a business administration visa becomes challenging.

Significance of Supporting Evidence

The presence of evidence bolstering a plan’s content surpasses the importance of the plan’s content and presentation. With ample evidence, the plan’s trustworthiness escalates, facilitating approval.

For those embarking on new ventures, evidence showcasing the practical steps towards realizing the business plan is vital. This could encompass negotiations for business locations, interactions with potential suppliers, and other preliminary preparations. Planning a new venture goes beyond mere ideation. It involves tasks like office leasing negotiations, choosing and negotiating with suppliers and sales partners, and liaising with customs and storage facilities if trading is involved. Records of these negotiations, be it emails or documents, should be meticulously preserved as they validate preparatory actions. Even if negotiations haven’t culminated in a contract, a well-documented negotiation history can be instrumental in showcasing genuine intent.