It doesn't have to be a long, detailed business plan, unless you're planning to seek funding from a financial institution. Your business plan can be as short or as long as you like and in whatever format you prefer that will capture the essence of your business and what you plan to achieve.
Businesses that actually write down their plan with specific goals, objectives, strategies and tasks are more likely to achieve their goal and be successful.
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"
You need to know the why, what, when, where, who and how for your business. While this might seem daunting when you're just starting out your document is dynamic and will grow and evolve and your business grows.
Don't write it, stick it on a shelf and never refer to it again. It will help you to plan and schedule to create a successful business.
Review it monthly. How are you doing in working towards your goals, what changes from month to month, year to year?
Use the following basic elements to build a business plan in one day.
1. Your Vision, Purpose, Mission. Vision - an overall statement of what is possible for your business.
Purpose - What is the purpose of your business and why does it exist?
Mission - How do you plan to achieve your vision and purpose?
2. Your objectives. Include biographical data about yourself, your business objectives and how you will succeed. Your goals for the business and different ways you will create income.
3. Your Customers. - Who is your target market? - Where are they? - How many of them are there? - How many do you need for your business? - What do you know about them? - How do they perceive your services? - What is the growth rate of this market?
4. Your Barriers. Are there any current legal, ethical issues? How will the current economic climate affect you?
5. Your Competition. - Who are your competitors? - How does your business compare to your competitors? - On what basis are you competing? - How do you differ from your competitors? - How will your customers see the difference?
6. Your Prospective Clients - How will you market yourself? - How will you deliver your service? - How will you differentiate yourself in the market? - Do you have a brand? - What makes you unique?
7. Your success - Why will you be successful in your business? - What skills, experience and attitude do you have to enable you to succeed?
8. Tools and Technology What tools and technology will you use to make your business successful? - Newsletter - Web site - Service delivery - Telephone services
9. Financial projection How will the financial flow of your business take place. What revenue do you need in order to cover your expenses and achieve a profitable margin.
- Capital - how much do you have to invest to start your business. - Survival income - how long can you survive without income? - Start-up cost - what do you need? (if needed). - What are your monthly business expenses? - What other income do you have?
10. Long-term view. What will your business look like in three-five years time? How will you respond to changes in the market, trends etc?
What other products or services might impact you? How will your financial forecast change - improve or reduce?
How is your business structured to allow you to adapt and change?
Summary Extract the key information from each section and create an Executive Summary at the beginning of the document.
Gather any information you need to create one page maximum on each of the essential elements. Note down your ideas and gather any additional information you need to complete each section. Is there anything missing?
The One Page Business Plan!
OK - so that's too much? For a one page strategic plan take a large sheet of paper and divide it into three columns as follows:
1. WHERE AM I? (A) 2. How I'm going to get there. 3. WHERE I WANT TO BE! (B)
Now fill in the gaps! Where is your business at the moment? Where do you want it to be in 2-3 years time? Now break that down into where you want to be in one year, six months, one month, one week. Plan your actions month by month and take steps each week to get you from A to B.
Copyright 2005: Clare Evans
Writing a business plan requires a lot of time; a successful business plan cannot be a rush job. Once an idea for a business has been developed, researching the many facets of owning and operating a business is the next most important step. Your local county council should be able to assist you with accessing the required information of a legal nature, as should your local business enterprise center. The rest of the research will be up to you! You will need to research products for your business, at the same time as researching other enterprises that may be in direct competition to you. Furthermore, you need to research the market to determine whether there is a need for your business product or service.
With the research out of the way, sitting down to write a business plan requires focus. Your business plan will become the bible of your business for at least the next 3 to 5 years so it is important to make it clear, concise and comprehensive. Most enterprises will complete a SWOT analysis to determine their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the business. Whilst the business is in infancy, brainstorming would be the most accurate way of performing the analysis, as the business would not yet have customers and profitability would not yet have been experienced. However, it is very important to remember that a good business plan is flexible and can be changed as your business experiences growth.
After completing a SWOT analysis, you will need to determine your business name if it has not already been decided (and register it), as well as your vision and values, your business goals and long term mission and how you will achieve all of this when the business is up and running. Writing every thought down regardless of how minute you feel it is will allow you to collate everything pertinent to your business for easy reference in the future. Who knows, the thought or idea that you have today may well turn into a million dollar idea in a year's time! Maintaining good records and following a strong business plan is the key to a successful business! Top Ten Reasons To Create A One Page Business Plan
1.Choose opportunities more wisely and waste less time because I have my plan in place (P 6)
2. A single page can contain all the elements you need to tell your employees, board of directors, potential partners or banker where you are taking your business and how you are going to get there. (P 17)
3. The most important reason to have a business plan is to clarify your thinking, regardless of the size of your company (P 18)
4. It facilitates creating and analytical thinking, problem solving, communication, and teamwork. (P 18)
5. It creates hope and enthusiasm about the future. (P 18)
6. It also brings out procrastination, frustration, differences of opinions and possibly anger. (P 18)
7. Somehow writing initiates the transformation from idea to reality. (P 21)
8. The written word produces a contract with yourself that results in immediate action. (P 21)
9. Writing allows others to participate in your dream and give you feedback (P 21)
10. Because your coach, consultant, business builder strategist, friend, relative tells you that one of the top reasons businesses fail is a lack of planning! That's why!
Both Clare Evans & Newgensolutions10 are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Clare Evans has sinced written about articles on various topics from Body Language, Food and Drink and web development. Clare Evans works with busy, stressed individuals and small business owners to help them plan and organise their time more effectively. Contact her today for more details and a free consultation.. Clare Evans's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.