Operations: How Your Business Actually Runs
Show funders you have the operational machinery to deliver on your promises at scale.
Why Operations Is About Believability
Your business model section tells funders what you plan to do. The operations section tells them whether it is physically possible. A plan that promises R5 million in revenue but has no supply chain, no staff plan, and no delivery infrastructure is not believable.
The Scalability Test
Funders ask: "What happens when demand doubles?" If the answer is "we hire twice as many people and rent twice the space," you have a linear cost structure. That is acceptable for some businesses, but funders prefer models where growth does not require proportional cost increases.
Think about where your leverage points are:
- Technology: Software scales cheaply once built
- Standardised processes: A documented workflow scales faster than ad-hoc work
- Supplier agreements: Volume discounts make unit costs fall as you grow
Supplier Risk
Single-supplier dependency is a risk funders notice. For any critical input, show that you have a backup option — even if you do not currently use it.
Process Documentation
You do not need a formal operations manual. But describing your core workflow in clear steps — even five steps — shows that you have thought about how to replicate what you do as the business grows.
Checklist
- [ ] A typical working day is described in clear steps
- [ ] Top 3 suppliers are named with lead times
- [ ] At least one backup supplier exists for critical inputs
- [ ] Technology and tools are listed with costs
- [ ] Maximum output capacity is stated