A business plan is a written statement of your
business; what you want to achieve with it and how you will do that.
It should outline the structure of your business, the product or service,
the customer, the growth potential and the financials.
But as well as giving information about your business it should also
inspire you for the future.
(A business plan should give you an idea of
what you need to achieve) says Nick Bos, a business adviser in East
London.
Every business should have a plan whether it is to open a second
shop or float on the stock exchange.
It is why you are in business.
It
helps you to define strategy and, if properly used, will help you involve
and motivate key members of staff.
It allows you to work out how to make
your business a success and can help you avoid failure by plotting the
pitfalls along the way.
It should outline a realistic target for how that
can happen while remaining flexible enough to make changes along the way.
By
setting out a plan and some targets, you can also monitor your progress
and get the business back on track fairly quickly if anything
goes wrong.
Ten Painless Steps to Start
and Finish Your Business Plan
You need to prepare a business plan for your company.
Anxious to start, you immediately open your favorite word processing
program.
But now you are staring at a blank screen and a blinking cursor
that appears to be mocking you.
Not sure where to start or what to write
first, you flip the computer off and decide that tomorrow is a much better
day to work on your plan.
After all, the weather is much too nice to be
sitting inside on a day like today.
Many entrepreneurs and business owners have faced this
situation before, but what to do when waiting until tomorrow to start your
plan is unacceptable?
Follow these 10 tried and true tips to help you
complete outstanding business plan.
1.
Decide why you are writing your plan:
Are you raising money?
Clarifying your future?
Launching a new venture?
Searching for strategic partners?
Game-planning to destroy your competition?
Whatever the reason its important to get committed to
the business plan writing process.
Prepare for yourself a short paragraph
that outlines why you are writing a business plan and why it will be
great.
Call it your business plan mission it will keep you motivated
and help you clarify the message you send your readers.
2.
Get the big picture:
Before accumulating mountains of research and
information, take a look at your business plan through a wide-angle lens
to get the big picture.
Visit your local library or bookstore and bring
home a few business plan books.
Take a look at Internet resources,
consider business plan software programs and review the SBAs business
planning outline.
Your goal is to get a feel for what a business plan is,
what it isnt and what to expect from your business plan.
With this new
insight, prepare an outline that includes the major sections and
subsections that you believe should appear in your business plan.
3.
Grab everything that is already handy:
Dig through every computer file, box and file cabinet
you have to unearth the information thats already available to you.
You will surprise yourself with what you find and with how nicely this step
will move you forward.
Consider marketing pieces you have prepared, press releases, related
articles, industry journals, historical financials, important web sites and
notes or ideas you have accumulated over time.
Don not rate the quality of this information just gather it.
At this point
quantity is the name of the game, and the more you can find the better.
4. Just type:
Start typing thoughts, ideas, words, questions and
to-dos into each section of your business plan outline.
Put rough thoughts
on paper and empty your brain.
Don not worry about complete sentences or
proper grammar just type.
Approach this step like a brainstorming
session, the more powerful the storm, the more potent your business plan.
Jot down any ideas that demand further consideration, areas that present a
challenge and topics that require the input of others.
Strive to place
your thoughts in the most appropriate section of your business plan
outline and rearrange the outline if it will be more logical for your
readers.
5.
Prepare a rough draft:
Now its time to take your outline, the information
you have got handy and your brainstormed ideas and shape them into a useable
rough draft.
Move through your entire outline, section by section and
begin writing complete sentences and paragraphs.
As you work, start a Biz
Plan To-Do List to keep track of topics that require in-depth research,
statistics or back-up information.
When you are done, print out a copy and
read it a few times, revising lightly as you go.
Your plan should be
rather sparse, but when you have completed this step, you have truly made
business planning progress.
6.
It is research time:
Now is the time to think like a lawyer and build a case
for your business plan.
Your goal is to compile information and research
to support the claims and assertions you make in your plan.
Drop by the
library and ask the librarian if they know of any sources of information
that can help your cause.
Schedule a meeting with a local SBA
representative or a Small Business Development Center counselor.
Call your
local and national industry associations and track down annual reports for
companies in your industry.
Request product and service information from
your competitors.
In short, talk to anyone and everyone that might be able
to help you collect information for your business plan.
7.
Start thinking about the numbers:
It is advisable to begin developing your pro-forma
financial statements at this point.
If you start any sooner, one of two
things is likely to occur:
1) Your numbers will be based on pure fantasy
and you will have to change them anyway, or
2) You will attempt to write your
plan, do the research, revise your plan and complete your financial
statements all at once and none of it will get done.
If you prepare your
financial statements at this stage, your numbers have a much better chance
of matching and supporting the text in the body of your business plan.
For
example, if you mention a specific marketing medium in your marketing
section, you'll need to include the corresponding costs somewhere in your
financials.
8.
Write a final draft and finish the numbers:
Sometimes finishing is the hardest part of completing
large projects like a business plan.
But if you follow the steps leading
up to this one, success is just around the corner.
Avoid the mistake many
business planners make at this stage it is important to check,
double-check and triple-check your writing for grammatical and spelling
errors.
Think of it this way bankers and investors will assume that you
will manage your business and protect their money with the same level of
care and attention that you demonstrate in your business plan.
Go all out and create a document that sends a powerful message about the quality of
your work.
9.
Set a deadline:
To ensure that you complete your plan, set a deadline for yourself
that you cant ignore.
We suggest calling a few people you respect to ask
if they would be willing to read your plan and offer suggestions.
Make
this arrangement with someone whom you are not particularly close with,
possibly a professional acquaintance, so its more difficult and
uncomfortable to call and delay.
Ask for feedback and make it clear that
honesty is what you are after.
If you dont explain this up-front, you may
hear looks good to me essentially a waste of time for both of you.
If
you feel tears coming on as they serve up their advice things are gong
well.
Take detailed notes and refrain from crying until after the phone is
back on the receiver.
10. Polish your plan to perfection:
The comments you receive from your readers will help you to beef-up
the sections of your plan that need attention.
Track down any additional
information you may need, incorporate the ideas that your readers offered
and clarify sections or points that were not clearly conveyed.
Put
together an appendix if necessary, create a clean cover page and table of
contents and include a non-disclosure form.
Lastly, prepare a one-page
executive summary that encapsulates the highlights of your entire business
plan and place it up front.
Walk into your local print shop like you own
the place and professionally print and bind as many copies of your plan as
you need.
Congratulations - you are the proud owner of an excellent
business plan.
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