How To Write Business Plan
Your business plan is like a roadmap for your business to be successful. It should project from three to five years into the future on how you intend to build and grow your business. You don’t have to rush through this and write it all out in one day although many do. Focus on your goals and how you anticipate achieving them and don’t be afraid to write and rewrite your business plan.
Have An Executive Summary
You should start with a brief Executive Summary of your plan. Set out your goals and how you want to achieve them. This should be an entire snapshot of your profile and goals.
Be very detailed here. Anyone who is going to invest in your business will be looking this over and they’re going to want to understand your goals for your business.
You’ll Need A Company Description
Next, you need a Company Description. This should give the valuable information on why your business is different from all of the others that are similar in kind. Be detailed and project which markets your business will serve and why. Focus on age, gender, and other details to get an idea of how to do this.
Detail is very important in your company description. No one wants to even look at a company that doesn’t have a detailed business plan. Seek out potential financing by choosing like-minded individuals.
Research
Research your business carefully prior to launching your business. You’ll want to know everything about the industry, the market, and your competition. The more detailed you can be, the better. This will give you the cutting edge on the market. If you are unsure about something, search out the fine details and make sure that they are accurate.
You can never do too much research for your new business. Detail everything that you find out and put it in the appropriate categories in your plan.
Build A Structure
There are many ways to structure a business. You’ll want to examine and explore the various options and choose the option that best suits your specific business. This should include your management style as well as your organization.
If you’re going to have employees or do it all yourself and how you plan to handle things if you have too much work coming in. Will you hire temporary employees?
Products And Life Cycles
Does your product have a life cycle? Will it need to be replaced often or will you simply rely on people needing to make a one time purchase?
In most cases, people will plan for replacement and work toward gaining return customers as well as having new customers coming into the picture. Consider ways to reward current customers for bringing in more customers.
Marketing Strategy
Do you have a marketing or sales strategy? You’ll want to focus on how you plan to market your business and sell your products. Again, there are many methods to do this by so you’ll want to select the method that will work best for your specific needs.
Check out how others are marketing their businesses and focus on how to make your marketing strategy unique. You’ll find a variety of options for this so take your time and find the one that works best for you and your specific needs.
Do You Have Funding?
How are you planning to fund your start up? With so many different ways out there in today’s market, you’ll want to consider all of your options and focus on the ones that best suit your specific needs. This information is vital to have in your plan.
If you’re going to need funding, you’ll also want to have a fully detailed business plan to present to your potential backers. Not everyone is going to see things like you do so you’ll want to be very detailed so that potential financiers can see the ultimate goal.
Will You Have An Appendix?
Some business plans also include an appendix. This is of course, optional, however, it’s a great place to add in such items as resumes, leases, and permits as well as long-term agreements between partners.
Sometimes you just don’t quite know where to put some of the information that you’ve collected regarding your business plan. This is where to put those items.
Be Unique And Creative
Every business should be unique. You need to find the niche that sets your business apart from the rest. You don’t’ want to be in a market that is so saturated that you can’t compete.
To remain competitive, you have to have something that no one else has. Whether it be your stellar customer service, or your product you have to be on the leading edge in order to be successful.
Extra Tips
Take your time with your business plan. There are many people out there who are successful. Study how they do it and mirror your own business in such a fashion that you too will be successful.
Never plagiarize another companies business plan. Tailor your own business plan to your company to reflect your own values and goals.
Don’t Rush
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your business be. Take your time and build a plan that you can live with. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
Don’t expect to write your business plan out in one day. Focus on the details, your goals and how you’re going to reach them. When you’ve finished with your plan, go back and edit it a few times to ensure that you have exactly what you want.
By writing out your business plan you’re sure to set yourself apart from the rest. You’ll be able to go back over your goals and focus on what you hope to achieve.
Don’t be afraid to rewrite your business plan until it suits you exactly. Remember that this is your business and only you can decide exactly how to do it.