If you’re starting or expanding a small business, make sure you prepare a Business Plan. It’s your roadmap to success

Small business is a vital part of the overall economy.  In these difficult economic circumstances, it is more important than ever for small businesses stay afloat.  This can be quite a challenge considering the current state of things.  When starting up a business or maintaining one that is already established, it is key to learn how to write a business plan.  This plan is the guiding force behind your entire operation.  You will need to have a solid plan if you want to achieve success in this market.  That is why a business plan template can be so valuable.

 Experts agree that a business plan template is crucial if you want to develop a quality strategy for your company.  The size and niche of your operation does not matter.  You need to learn how to write a business plan regardless.  Small business contributes a lot to the economy.  The valuable services and products they provide cannot be replaced by massive corporations.  You can succeed with a small business, but you need a plan that lets you test your ideas and make major decisions for your company.  People who take the time to invest in a solid plan have a far greater chance of success than those who do not plan appropriately. 

 There are a variety of business plan template options for a small business.  You can get resources for a start up plan, an online plan, a home based plan, or an existing business expansion plan.  Whatever you need, there is a template out there that will help guide your towards your ultimate goals.  Figuring out the viability of your business on paper is the most important step you will take.  Often times, a small business owner has a vision for his enterprise, but he does not have the training or knowledge to properly plan the execution of this vision.  A business plan template allows you to insert all relevant information into a custom plan.  As you go through the material, your customized business plan takes form.

 Different service providers have various templates.  You do not want a business plan template that is long and tedious.  You want to avoid templates that go into too much detail and that are not immediately relevant to your business needs.  As a small business owner, you need a template that condenses all the fundamental information into a usable plan that is easy to understand.  Look for the perfect template for your new business plan today.

Top Ten Business Plan Killers

As a lender, I wish we could approve every loan application that hit our table; unfortunately it’s not possible. We deal with mostly very small businesses seeking small loans, usually less than 0,000. Lending to inexperienced, new business owners is one of the riskiest arenas for a lending agency. Still, we manage to keep our losses to a minimum. The amazing thing about these business plan killers is that they rarely travel alone; they almost always appear in clusters. Here are the top ten business plan killers and what you can do to avoid or fix them:

1. Dreadful Personal Financial Profile

What is the likelihood that one who demonstrates abysmal financial management in his or her personal affairs will miraculously become an effective manager of finances for a business? It’s highly unlikely. It’s a lot more likely that poor practices in one’s personal situation are simply carried into the business. The main difference is that in business a much broader range of people and organizations usually get burned as a result of mismanaged business finances. Red flags pop up in business plans in the form of high credit card financing, garages full of toys (trucks, Seadoos, Skidoos, bikes, boats) 90% financed, poor credit history and no savings.

Strategy One: Tidy up your personal finances before applying for a business loan. Pay down loans, clean up any bad debts, collect some business-related equipment and save some money.

2. Insufficient or Non-Existent Owner Equity or Security

Business is always risky, but new business is infinitely more so. Lenders will want to see you personally “invested” in your business. The part of the business you personally own is called your equity. Another way to describe equity is the amount of cash or equipment you put into the business. A lender wants to see that you are invested to the point that you will not be inclined to walk away when the going gets tough. How much owner equity is enough? The amount varies from lender to lender, but less than 10% is inviting scrutiny while 20% or more will make your proposition more enticing. Any savvy lender will insist on seeing you invested to the degree that any financial complications result in you, not them, laying awake nights stressing over how to pay the bills. Security is the surly sister of equity. Your loan application will be stronger if you bring some sort of asset to the table as security. Lenders will be more attracted to assets with a clear resale value of more than the loan. Inventory is usually less desirable because it tends to grow legs and disappear when the going gets tough.

Strategy Two: Create some equity to bring to the table. Save money, sell some toys, borrow some love money, or get a second job for a while.

3. Inadequate Market Research

Inadequate market research manifests itself in various cruel ways. It can surface in the business plan as an unconvincing business case. It can reveal itself in the form of too much secondary information (from other sources) and not enough primary market research (that which you gather yourself). Lack of market research can lead to a business plan that is too general – not specific enough. Perhaps one of the most common and perplexing indicators is that the entrepreneur has not talked to or listened to the potential customers. A lender will want to see that you have “turned over all the rocks” in search of knowledge about your business. After reading your business plan, if I feel that I know more about your business than you do, I will not be inspired to approve your loan.

Strategy Three: Prove your business case to yourself and to your reader. Persist in your market research efforts until you become “the expert” for your business. You will feel more confident and have an easier time convincing your readers that you know what you are doing.

4. Transmitting and Not Receiving

It’s your responsibility to find that elusive balance between being bullheaded enough to bulldoze your way to success, yet sensitive enough to receive critical information. Your ability to listen to your clients is the key to your success in business. Falling in love with your business idea at the high cost of closing your ears to input will not help you acquire a loan. Business analysts, bankers and customers vote with their money. They have no need to yell at you to get their points across. It’s important to listen attentively when they speak at normal volumes.

Strategy Four: Listen and learn. Listen to those who agree with you AND to those who do not. Listen to all who shoot holes in your business idea, they might just be pointing you toward success. When you think you’ve heard it all, listen harder!

5. Dishonesty, Discrepancies, Inconsistencies One sure way to cheat yourself out of a loan is to give the appearance, intentionally or accidentally, that you are anything less than above board. Any form of dishonesty in your business plan, or during your dealings with the targeted lending agency staff, is a sure way to have your application rejected. Blatant untruths are the more obvious offence, but it is entirely possible to communication underhandedness in other ways. For example, missing or inaccurate information invites questions and sends the wrong message. Conveniently leaving out some of the less obvious, non-flattering financial information (like unpaid long overdue taxes) is a sure way to a “NO”.

Strategy Five: Be honest, thorough, and accurate.

6. Not Answering the Key Business Questions Clearly

Your business plan is a tool for communicating with others. What is your product or service? Who are your customers? How will you market and distribute your product or service to your customers? Will you make money? Will your business be able to repay the loan? Does your plan communicate these things clearly?

Strategy Six: Answer the basic business questions. Who, what, where, why, when, how. There are many business planning systems (although none surpass the Roadmap!) that will provide a framework to keep you on track. A proper business planning system will provide you with a framework in which to place the assortment of information you will gather. Choose a system and use it.

7. Shoddy Presentation

You can do the best market research on the planet, but if you can’t communicate it clearly and package your business plan professionally, your target audience might not even read it.

Strategy Seven: Provide a professional presentation. Ask a friend or pay someone to proof, get someone to keypunch the plan if you need to, but do a professional job. Demonstrate that you care and you will increase your odds with the lender.

8. Pie-In-The-Sky

Inflated, over optimistic sales forecasts or cash flow projections will derail your loan application every time. A future too bright will blind the lenders and scare them off the loan.

Strategy Eight: Be realistic in your expectations, even if you believe you will be floating on a sea of cash within months. No matter how lofty your financial aspirations might be, know that businesses are usually not profitable for the first while. Estimate your sales conservatively and your expenses a bit higher than you think they will be. Keep that cash flow realistic and be sure to include ALL expenses.

9. Fish-Out-Of-Water Syndrome

This is what happens when someone tries to get into a business they know nothing about. It becomes evident when the owner background reveals that the applicant has no prior experience in the area of expertise that is the main focus of the business. For example, a heavy-duty mechanic might seek to start a small restaurant. Not an impossible leap, just risky.

Strategy Nine: Know your business. It is so important to have a base of knowledge about your business and experience where possible. Many successful businesses arise from disgruntled or displaced employees who feel they can do as good as or better than their employer. Enhance this background experience with solid market research, the Internet, courses, books, tapes, and trade
publications. Knowing your business will increase your confidence and enhance your loan options.

10. Too Little Too Late

This point pertains to existing businesses in search of financial assistance after things have already gone sideways. Too often we see the application when the accounts receivable is out of control or major suppliers have already been hung out too long for scary large sums of money. Other aspects of this condition are collectors hot on the trail and long overdue taxes. It’s really difficult to get excited about loaning money to pay for bills that should already have been paid.

Strategy Ten: Be decisive when your business gets into rough financial waters. Make the tough decisions early and then act on them quickly. If your recovery plan involves a loan, you are far stronger coming to the table early with a well thought out plan, than later with a plea for assistance to pay back taxes.

4 Ways to Create your Dollar Store Business Plan

Don’t even consider the possibility to open a dollar store without having a complete dollar store business plan in-hand. There are many ways to create your plan. No matter what you choose, be sure you are part of the process. Your thoughts, ideas, plans, and vision for your business are in integral part of your plan. Business plan development strategy #1 is to create the plan yourself. But what if you are either too busy, or feel you don’t have the ability to create a plan of your own? What do you do in those cases? For many the answer is to leave the idea of a business plan by the wayside. They make the mistake of moving forward without a plan. They risk the success of their business with this decision. For many the consequences of their decision will be reflected in the sales and dollar store profit level of their business.

If you are about to open a dollar store but don’t have the knowledge regarding developing a dollar store business plan, then strategy #2 is to consider using a business plan software program. There are many available. Most are extremely user-friendly and even provide examples for the various sections. Be sure your computer can handle the software requirements. Many of these programs will walk you through a set of questions about your business. As you answer the questions a unique business plan is being developed for you. The downsides in many cases include cost and time required. There is also the fact that the final product is only as good as the information and data you input.

Strategy #3 is to purchase a generic pre-written business plan. There are many of these on the market, including some written as a dollar store business plan. Many are written so you can edit in your business name and other basic information. The obvious downside to these generic plans, even when they are dollar store business plan formats is they often don’t really end up being unique. They fail to provide the unique story you want to tell for you business. They do however provide a business plan to use when you open a dollar store.

The final strategy to be covered in this article is hiring a business plan writer to create a unique dollar store business plan for you and your business. There are many seasoned experts just waiting to help you through the process of creating your own business plan. While some writers can be fairly costly, there are many with great credentials and fair prices.

When you open a dollar store it is important to have a unique dollar store business plan. No matter what option you select for developing your business plan be sure you invest the time to really think about what you want you business to be now and in the future. Make it your own by incorporating your values, vision, thoughts and ideas into the plan.

To your dollar store success!

Business Plans – 5 Top Reasons Why You Need a Business Plan

Surprisingly, many people claim that a business plan has no value & is just a waste of time – they tap their heads knowingly saying that it’s all in there.

Well this notion can be dismissed as being without any logical basis as every single activity, from the day to day running of your business to long term projects requires planning, investigation and analysis.

Having a business plan is just as essential for your business as it is knowing where you are going when you drive out of your house, ie if you don’t know where you’re going, you aren’t going to make much progress in getting there.

So whilst its fairly obvious that any business, new & existing, needs proper planning, there are some less obvious reasons for this.

5 Top Reasons Why You Need a Business Plan for Your Business

To Test the Feasibility of Your Business Idea

Formulating a business plan can save you a great deal of time & money as it will soon reveal that your business idea is untenable if this is in fact so. Whilst an idea for a business often sounds like a real winner, it can often be found wanting & therefore discarded at the marketing analysis or competitive analysis stage. To Secure Funding

Any potential investor in your enterprise will want to see a well developed business plan before investing, ie, they need to ensure that the return on their capital will be secure. This also applies to established businesses as they often need capital for expansion or to carry them through market downturns. The same applies to lenders if you need to get a short term business loan. Targets

A business plan must contain realistic targets, short, medium & long term, that should be aligned to the core objectives & mission statement of the business. This gives the entrepreneur the framework as to what must be achieved. Focus

Reducing your well though out ideas to writing will ensure that you focus your efforts, set objectives and formulate company direction & policies. Growth

Without proper planning & growth objectives you will be in the dark as to whether you are on track with your business’ growth projections.

So whether you’re just starting out, need funding or want to monitor the health & growth of your business, creating a business plan is essential for the successful management of any business regardless of its size or turnover.

PS.

For your new or established business, you can get all the information you need to Create Your Business Plan here »

Your Business Plan, Your Business Blueprint

What is a Business Plan?

You can pretty much define a business plan as a resume for your business idea in mind. Some may say it’s like your company’s calling card. When you need money to start your business, or when you need an office space, your business plan is what will do most of the talking to convince your investors / lenders or property managers to believe in your business and give you what you need.

Why is it important to have a Business Plan?

The time that you spend on writing a solid business plan will pay for itself in corporate strategic and tactical clarity as your business grows. A solid business plan: (not in particular order)

Allows you to describe your vision / concept in writing, helping your potential investors to understand and believe in you; it serves as a basis for discussion with third parties such as shareholders, agencies, banks, investors…etc. Allows you to identify the structure of your business, giving you the chance to focus on the big picture. Your business plan is the “framework” which your business must operate within. A solid business plan provides a considered and logical framework within which a business can develop and grow with business strategies in the long run (not for just short-term growth). Determines the startup and managing costs. Clearly defines your target audience and provides detailed research on your target market. Identifies potential opportunities and obstacles that the business may encounter down the road. Identifies the strengths and weaknesses of your business and your competitors.

No businesses are the same, and no business plans are the same. Your business plan is like your business blueprint; it should be unique. While it is important to be able to illustrate your business concept well enough for others to understand what you hope to be doing, the business plan is essential for your own use. It is about the process of developing the business plan; the process helps you to focus on exactly what you are trying to achieve. It will give you a lot more clear vision of the entire structure of your business as you develop your business plan through detailed research and planning.

A business plan consists of the following parts:

Executive Summary

Briefly describes the business concept Highlights the important financial points of the business such as sales, profits, cash flows, ROI Clearly states the capital needed to start the business and to expand States legal information about the business, the owners and key personnel.

Business Description

Describes the business structure on how it operates / profits Describes the nature of industry in which the business plans to operate Identifies the business’ current position and future possibilities

Market Strategies

Defines the target market Defines the strategies the business plans to use in order to tap into the target market Describes the pricing of products or services with respect to the demand of the target market

Competitive Analysis

Describes the competitors in your target market and how you plan to obtain your share of the market Analyzes your competitors in the following categories: product, distribution, pricing, promotion, and advertising.

Design and Development Plan

Describes the steps the business will take to carry out its plan with scheduling and cost analysis. Identifies the risks during the development period

Operations and Management Plan

Describes the strategies the business will implement in order to operate and grow effectively

Financial Statements

Defines all the financial aspects of a business.

Business Plan Guide – 7 Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Business Plan

A business plan guide is a great place to start when you are getting ready to write your first business plan. Perhaps you have found a book about writing business plans, or are following a template, but chances are, these materials will only focus on the steps necessary to create your business plan and will fail to point out the critical mistakes that most new business owners make. So let’s ignore the step-by-step tutorial for a moment and focus on the real world mistakes you need to avoid.

1. Don’t Put it Off.

Yes, writing a business plan can be a monumental chore. It’s easy to procrastinate while you focus on the more exciting processes of your business. Many new business owners will wait until the day before their scheduled meeting with the bank — and then frantically try to write a plan overnight. You can imagine the results.

Don’t wait until you have more time. There will never be more time. You need to clear your calendar for a week and make your business plan a top priority. Or if that isn’t feasible, schedule a certain period of time each day to work specifically on planning. No doubt you have heard the old saying: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”.

2. Don’t Confuse Profit With Cash Flow.

Unless you have an accounting background, you are very likely to define the success of your business in terms of profits. A simple definition of Profit would be Sales minus Expenses equals Profit. But in the business world, profits do not equate to cash. Your profit formula does not take into account the amount of cash you have tied up in production costs for products that have not yet sold, or the customers who still owe you money for sales that have already been made. Your business can look quite “profitable” while your bank account is over-drawn.

Make sure your business plan includes a table that addresses cash flow. Ideally, you should detail the monthly cash flow for the first two years of the business and annually thereafter.

3. Don’t Fall in Love With Your Idea.
Too many business plans blabber on for pages about the “newness” and “uniqueness” of the idea. But the truth is, investors want to invest in people, not ideas. It is only the people who can execute the systems necessary to bring the idea to life.

Instead of waxing poetically about your business idea, focus your energy, and your reader’s eyes, on the ways you plan to implement this great business idea.

4. Don’t Succumb to Fear and Dread.

If you have never written a business plan, the process may loom like Mount Everest. But, like most new challenges, writing a business plan isn’t as hard as you have imagined it to be. You aren’t writing a doctoral thesis or the next great novel. If you have invested in a business plan guide, use it. You can easily find helpful resources such as books, software programs and templates. Remember, you eat an elephant one bite at a time, so start chewing.

5. Don’t Over Sell.

Skip the vague and meaningless business phrases such as “best ever”, “highest quality” and “unsurpassed customer service”. You will lose your reader’s interest and respect if you engage in hyperbole that isn’t supported by measurable facts. Remember that the objective of a plan is its results, which require tracking and follow up. Focus your goals on specific dates, management responsibilities, budgets, and measurable milestones. Think fewer words and more numbers.

6. Don’t Engage in One-Size-Fits-All

Business plans can have many different purposes and they should be written to reflect the specific purpose at hand. You may be using your plan to start a business, or just run a business better. Your purpose may be simply to sell an idea for a new business to one particular business partner. Your plan may be intended to secure a small business loan, or it may be needed to secure millions of dollars of venture capital. Each of these purposes would require different information, presented in different ways to meet the needs of different readers. Keep a picture of your intended reader firmly in your mind and your business plan will stay focused as well.

7. Take Off the Rose Colored Glasses
Optimism is a wonderful resource. Without it, a business owner would find it difficult to summon the energy necessary to launch a new venture.  However, this is not the time to engage in unbridled projections. If your company’s growth chart is based on an “industry average” of 15% annual growth, you should certainly be prepared to prove that assumption. When in doubt, be less optimistic.

By using a good business plan guide, and avoiding these common mistakes, you can prepare a plan that almost guarantees your business success. Good luck!

Business Plan Software: Do You Need It?

Business plan software is something that often gets overlooked and isn’t considered to be a necessity for some reason.  In my opinion, business plan software is essential, it is not a luxury. I am a huge advocate of business planning. When people ask me  if they need a business plan, my response is, “Absolutely!” You see, starting a business without a business plan is akin  to  starting college without a degree plan. If you don’t know where you are going, you won’t know how to get there. You will waste your time and your money if you are not following a plan. It’s really  that simple!

So, you know you need a business plan, but what about  business plan software? For business planning,  there are really three alternatives: 1) crafting your own business plan from scratch; 2) hiring a business plan writer or business planning consultant; or 3) using business plan software to write your own business  plan. Each of these alternatives has its own advantages   and disadvantages.

Writing your own business plan from scratch is certainly a possibility. Doing so gives you the freedom to format and arrange the plan in any way that you see fit. On the other hand, doing financial projections, which are necessary  for  the  purpose  of budgeting and financial planning, can be difficult to do  without a business plan program,  or at least financial projection software or spreadsheets.

Hiring a business plan writer makes sense for some people.  A business  plan writer is generally well-versed in business planning and will have insight that will assist you in preparing a comprehensive business plan that takes everything into account. The disadvantages to having your business plan  professionally written are the expense associated with the initial plan, and the limitations that exist in regard to changing it as your business evolves, which is something that business plan software empowers you to do.

Business plan software is relatively inexpensive when compared to hiring  a  professional business plan writer or consultant. However, when compared to doing your own plan from scratch,  it may seem like an unnecessary expense. Business plan software does have many advantages. A good business plan software package, like Business Plan Pro by Palo Alto, has the headings  and  categories for a business plan already set up for you. It also has  guidance throughout the business planning process that  explains  what  to include in each part of your business plan.

What I really love about Business Plan Pro is that it is so  easy to do financial projections using the business plan software, whether or not you understand  accounting.  The main financial sections include a section for start-up costs,  one for income projections, one for a proforma balance sheet, and one for  a projected cash flow statement. Information that input into one of the financial forms automatically transfers calculations to the other financial statement forms making the process of projecting your financial plan a breeze.

Another huge advantage I see in regard to business plan software is that when you use business plan software to create your own business plan, you can make changes to it anytime you need to. It doesn’t become a stale  document  that sits on the shelf and collects dust. A business plan should be  always evolving. You should update your business plan frequently including new goals, objectives and milestones. You should also adjust your financial projections regularly for the purpose of budgeting. Business plan software makes it easy to do.

If you choose not to use business software, and to create your own business plan from scratch, you will need some guidance unless you are a  professional  business planner yourself. The Small Business Administration  at  sba.gov has some excellent resources and guides about business planning. If you choose to hire a  professional business plan writer, do  review their qualifications and references and make certain that you understand exactly what is included in the business planning services they are offering.

The Secret to Success in Business Planning?plan your Work and Work your Plan

Running your own business is a highly rewarding, but often a risky endeavor. As with anything else, increasing your chances of success begins with preparation. And when it comes to transforming your dream into reality, the key to successfully jump starting your business is simple: plan the work and work the plan. Whether you’re just getting a new business off the ground, expanding the business you have, or purchasing a business, devote plenty of time to planning:

• Begin with a discovery process to confirm the viability of your venture.

• Do your homework.

• Uncover fundamental objectives, insights, opportunities and risks.

• Research the market.

• Examine your offering, market conditions, trends, and the competition.

• Excavate potential problems.

• Outline your goals and objectives.

• Compile the business intelligence you need to create a solid foundation of actionable

information to chart your present and future direction.

The next logical step is to develop a plan—a strategic business plan that functions as a living document to define your objectives, guide your business, and take you from Point A(where you are today) to Point Z (where you’d like to be). But remember—a strategic plan is about more than securing funding—it’s essential to jump starting your business. And once you’ve written your business plan, follow it up with an action plan that spells out your short and long-term objectives and how you’ll achieve them.

Just remember this—there is no underestimating the power of planning. As the former CEO of Octel and Lucent Technologies notes, “People usually plan their vacations more carefully than they plan their careers. I’m a compulsive planner, but there were times when I had no idea what I was doing.”

Even when you have no idea what you’re doing, developing and implementing a plan improves your chances of achieving your goals. This article outlines the fundamental components of crafting a strategic plan to take your business to the next level.

What is a strategic plan?

Strategic planning is the process by which the key stakeholders (you and your partners) in an organization

envision its future and develop the procedures and operations that will enable you to achieve that vision.

A strategic business plan serves two purposes. First it’s an internal document that defines your goals, strategies, and tactics. Second, it’s a tool for raising capital. However, you need a plan, whether you’re looking for capital or not. Without a plan you won’t know where you’re going and you have no way to benchmark or track your progress.

With a strategic plan you have a roadmap that enables you to look ahead, allocate resources, focus on key points and prepare for problems and opportunities.

A well-articulated strategic business plan clearly outlines your vision, goals, priorities, strategies, products, services, and financing needs. It also provides relevant information about your company, your management team, and short- and long-term objectives. Highlighting both the positive and negative aspects of your business opportunity, your strategic plan should look ahead from three to five years.

How do I write a business plan?

As they say, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Likewise, there’s more than one way to write a business plan. Formats, outlines, and lengths vary. But they all tend to share a generally accepted format and certain standard components.

Your plan must be clearly written, logically organized, and convincingly worded. It should target a specific audience. It should outline the details of financing, competition, strengths, weaknesses, and forecasted financial performance. As a rule of thumb, when writing your plan, include the following components:

• Cover letter—write a cover letter to introduce you and your business plan to your audience.

• Title page—include a title page that details the content of your plan, your name, address, phone number, names and positions of the executive team, date and contact information.

• Table of contents—add a table of contents to make it easy for readers to find information.

• Statement of purpose—include a clearly stated explanation of your company’s goals and how you’ll achieve them. For example, your statement of purpose may be “to provide quality, reliable landscaping services for less in the Phoenix metropolitan area”. Describe your value proposition, whether it’s price, convenience, service or another attribute, how much capital you’ll need, and how you’ll repay it.

• Executive summary—this is the most important part of your business plan. Include a brief summary that highlights the major points of your plan. Provide background on your business, the market, your value proposition, key team members, projected ROI (Return on Investment), internal rate of return, and current and potential risks.

• Market information—describe your target market(s). Substantiate statements with facts and supporting detail. Include market research on initial and future markets, key market segments, past growth rates, anticipated trends and changes.

• Company—describe your company, its type, history, legal structure, industry, market, principals, revenue size and growth rate.

• Product/service description—describe your offering, relevant business benefits, stage of development, how your product/services will satisfy a real business need and enable you to compete.

• Management team—include detailed information on the core members of your team—the people who will run the company, as well as senior partners, attorneys, financial and business advisors. Include names, titles, experience, skills, responsibilities and compensation.

• Potential risk factors—include an assessment of the risks facing the company. Describe the worst-case scenario and anything that could go wrong today and in the future. Offer strategies for overcoming risk.

• Execution/action plan—describe how you’ll translate your business plan into actionable results down to the finest detail. Describe how you will obtain licenses to do business, open an establishment, get products on the shelf, hire employees, and forge partnerships. Describe production schedules, delivery processes, and customer service policies in order to set operational benchmarks to measure progress.

• Financial information—Include a section that projects future revenues and profits three to five years out. Base this information on best-case, worst–case and most likely-case scenarios. Summarize financial data like cash flow, income statements, balance sheets, banking relationships, terms and rates of loans, financing plans and working capital requirements.

• Legal preparation—includes corporate bylaws, patents and trademarks, licenses to do business, employment agreements, and customer contracts. Anticipate the legal and documentary setup your business will require. Writing a business plan can seem like a daunting task. However, there are many resources available to help you prepare a sound plan. You can find books in your local bookstore, software programs and templates online and in local computer/software stores or you can work with a consulting firm, a nearby Small Business Development Center or a local business school.

No time like the present to start to plan your work and work your plan. Happy planning…

A Step by Step Business Plan is the Way to Go

A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. Business plans that identify and target internal goals, but provide only general guidance on how they will be met are called strategic plans. These plans may also target changes in perception and branding by the customer, client, tax-payer, or larger community. Learn how to create a winning business plan. Writing a business plan will force you to objectively develop and evaluate your tactical and strategic plans.There is no fixed content for a business plan. Rather the content and format of the business plan is determined by the goals and audience. For example,a business plan for a non-profit might discuss the fit between the business plan and the organization’s mission. Banks are quite concerned about defaults, so a business plan for a bank loan will build a convincing case for the organization’s ability to repay the loan.

In the U.S., many of the new jobs have been credited to small busines. There are workshops available for everything from joint ventures to developing business ideas. A business plans handbook is a compilation of actual business plans developed by small businesses throughout North America. This handbook includes checklists and operating forms for small businesses. The FTC is an organization that works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair practices in the marketplace and to provide information to businesses to help them comply with the law. Employee Identification Number is a necessity even if you have no employees. Most wholesalers will ask for it. Most wholesalers will ask for this before you can do business with them.

There is much to do and consider when writing a business plan. Keep in mind this is a critical document. Owners of businesses do not take planning seriously and fail. In the U.S, check local and state laws where you plan to do business. One of the many questions about business planning I receive is how long a typical plan is. Business plans can vary in length and detail. Growing your business using information technology and the internet takes careful planning and many businesses are unsure about how to proceed.

– Creating your own business opportunities

– Planning your personal road map to success

– Pricing what you sell — Money: what you’ll need and where to get it

– Making it legal

– Who owns the business.

Finally, your plan may help you develop as a manager by giving you practice in thinking about competitive conditions, promotional opportunities, sources of finance, etc.

Economics is always part of a business plan in some form or other. Whether you are starting or growing a small business, a sound business plan is your roadmap to success. Business plans can be simple or complex — it all depends on who is driving and where they want to go. These plans will still be needed for banks or investors, and most businesses need to go through that. A plan that has changes in perception and branding as its primary goals is called a marketing plan. Your business plan will become your roadmap to chart the course of your business and its success!