Business Article - Business Plan Tips
The most difficult of all parts having to do with writing a business plan is figuring out exactly where you should get started in order to produce the most thorough, most effective business plan for your company. If you have a variety of different thoughts floating about inside your head, then one of the best things that you can do is to dump all of this information out onto paper so that you can see it, make it real, rather than losing it in your cluttered mind. Once you have done this, the act of getting your thoughts organized is going to be a great deal easier. You can more quickly organize your thoughts into specific categories, such as marketing, financing, processes, and so on.
You should never be tempted to get your entire business plan out on paper all at once, and if you can get your entire business plan down on paper in only a few hours, then you probably are not putting as much thought into the process as you need to be in order to present a thorough, effective business plan. You should work on a section at a time, and only spend about thirty minutes at a time working on any one section. Take breaks, relax, clear your mind and then begin again. Most of the best business plans that are out there were built in small parts, preventing the business plan writer from overwhelming his or herself during the process.
Sit down and put some serious consideration into whether or not you really need a business plan for your company. Do you need funding, or does your company rely upon funding to continue working? In this case, then you really do need to write a business plan. But if you do not need to write a business plan for your company, then really all you need is a two to three page summary of where your business is going, rather than thirty or forty crowded pages that you may never do anything with once its written. Business plan is a funny term, and you may do much better to call it 'planning for the business', because what you should be doing is brainstorming how your business will work, secure its funding, handle certain issues, and achieve goals. The purpose of a business plan is to put into writing where your business currently is, and where you plan for your business to go. It is much better that you think about all these things separately and write a small amount on them rather than trying to write a novel on the subject of your business.
Both the market research and the cash flow sections of your business plan will be challenging, and many people struggle at the same parts of their business plan. You should leave these two parts until last, because approaching your business plan from the easier sections first will make it much easier to complete the entire plan rather than getting burnt out. All of the following sections should be found within your business plan:
Executive Summary Section: This should be a summary of your business plan. This means that you can leave this part until last, because you will be summarizing everything else that was written inside the plan.
Management Section: This is where you are going to want to write about what led you to set the business up, and what you hope to get out of the business. You may also choose to mention why you feel that you are the best candidate for running this particular type of business.
The Business: In this section, you are going to want to write about what your business is about, and how you plan on your business working on a general basis.
Marketing / Marketing Research: In this section you are going to want to write about who your potential customers are, who your competitors may or will be, and what market trends are currently in place relating to your industry. You should also focus some energy on how you plan on promoting your business online and offline as well.
Financing and Funding: This is the section where you are going to want to focus on your pricing strategies, any funds that are needed to get your business going, and what purpose these funds will serve if they are obtained. You may also want to put together a cash flow forecast, which is something that potential investors will want to see.
Cash flow Forecast: This is an important part of your business plan, as it will allow you to forecast incoming and outgoing cash flow. Your investors will want to see this before they determine whether or not to put any money into your company.
Appendices: Anything else that does not fit into the rest of your business plan should be put here.
When it does come time to put your business plan together, you should focus on the sections that you find easier to put together. You can put together half your business plan easily, without having to worry about specific numbers, figures, goals or plans. It shouldn't be too hard to put the rest together, as long as you know what steps to take.
The marketing research section of your business plan is going to be one of the harder parts for you to complete by nature, so break this part down into various parts and complete them in an order which makes them more comfortable to handle. Begin by looking for companies that sell products or services similar to your own, and research them. Visit their websites, call them up or visit them and decide what you do and do not like, finding out about their prices and figuring out how you plan to be different. Next, you should create a spreadsheet that outlines all of your competitors and all of the information that you obtained about them. Once your spreadsheet is complete you can write a summary about your competitors for use within your business plan. The next step is to look at current trends. Your bank should be able to give you some information on this. The next step is to research potential customers, by writing down the following information:
- - Who are your customers?
- - Where are your customers?
- - What do your customers like and dislike?
- - Why will your customers buy your products and services?
- - How will your customers find you?
- - When will your customers find your business?
You may want to research more deeply by having potential customers fill out questionnaires so that you can find out more about their views. The purpose of the marketing research section is to find out if there is a demand for your products or services by looking at your customers, current trends and potential competition.
The other area that usually causes trouble among people writing a business plan for the first time is the cash-flow section. The best way to deal with this section is to get a hold of a business plan template, so that you can see how other people are handling their cash-flow sections. You should begin with your costs, going through the business plan template to see what items apply to you and which items do not apply to you. Add everything up and your cash flow statement should be complete.
One of the greatest ways to be effective when building your business plan is to attend a business start up course or seminar. Most schools and some businesses offer these seminars, and they are designed to walk you through all of the important steps in getting your business going, including building an effective business plan for the purpose of securing funding, which is an integral part in the business start up process.
Your plan does not have to be perfect, so do not let yourself get hung up on this. If you are working too hard or doing too much, you are probably doing more than your business plan actually needs. So stop, take a break and evaluate where you are before you start up again. If all of your questions been answered, then its time for you to stop, and move on to something else.
Finally, if you really feel that you cannot complete your business plan on your own, or with whatever information you currently have, then hiring a professional business plan writer may be a smart move for you to make. Business plan owners have a great deal of experience writing business plans for a variety of different industries and business types. You can rest assured that if you work alongside a business plan writer, you will receive the business plan quality that you desire, without losing any of the personality that you hoped for your business plan to have. If you do decide to write your own business plan, you may even consider commissioning a professional business plan writer to at least review it to make sure that everything is as it should be before you approach any potential investors.