Intro Business Plan:
A business plan can be your most valuable tool when it comes to making sound decisions about your startup. It can also help you secure funding, as many banks and venture capitalists require one as part of the application process. The importance of this document cannot be overstated, but creating one can seem like an overwhelming task if you’ve never done it before. By following these seven steps, you can easily create a business plan that will support your startup endeavors and help you get off to the right start.
What is a business plan?
A business plan provides you with an overview of what you want to do, why you’re going to do it, and how you’re going to pull it off. Your plan can be one page or more than 100, but no matter its length it should contain enough information that someone could pick it up and understand what your business is all about. Without at least some level of planning and forethought, however, even short-term goals will quickly devolve into chaos. In addition to providing guidance as your company grows and develops, writing a plan provides a perspective that may not be obvious when operating in startup mode every day.
Need a plan:
If you’re thinking about starting your own business, or you’ve recently launched one and want to nail down your financials (and where you need to be), then you need a business plan. It doesn’t have to be fancy or even great it just needs to be something that can get people on board with your idea and help you make sound decisions along the way. Below are three tips for creating an effective business plan.
1) Use industry-specific language: Many small businesses fail because they fail to consider what their customers really want.
Create my business plan:
Depending on how much you already know about starting a business, you may or may not need help from an expert. If it’s your first time around, don’t feel bad about needing some guidance. Remember: Asking for help doesn’t make you look weak or indecisive; after all, no one knows your industry better than someone who has been there before. There are free resources that can be of great assistance to you when drafting your business plan, including online templates and helpful guides at places like SCORE, which offers free in-person consultations on all types of business concerns.
Topics should I cover in my plan:
First, you need to figure out what your business plan should cover. Is it going to be a formal document that you submit to banks or investors? Or is it more of an internal guide? Should it lay out all your financial information and goals? Or should it focus on a marketing plan, product launch, or sales strategy instead? For most startups, creating a business plan that includes industry analysis and market research is enough. A full-fledged federal application will require much more detail than that.
Business plans help you run your business:
Whether you’re applying for an SBA loan or presenting your business plan to venture capitalists, if you want your business off on the right foot, it’s essential that you create a comprehensive plan. It can be tempting to jump right into running your company without taking time to create formal plans, but research has shown that those who develop and execute plans. If you want to avoid going back-and-forth over key strategic decisions, use Yours Truly instead! We have everything you need in one place and make creating an easy process.
Executive summary:
The executive summary is at once one of your most powerful marketing tools and one of your biggest potential time-wasters. It’s powerful because it’s an introduction that sums up your entire business in one short document. It’s a time-waster because if you don’t get it right, then people will spend more time reading about how awesome you are than they do reading about what you actually do. Here are three questions to help you create an effective executive.
Organization and management:
Start with small, measurable goals that you can achieve in a matter of weeks. When you’ve accomplished those things, reward yourself by moving on to more ambitious tasks. Make sure you keep your company organized from day one it’s easy for new businesses to grow so quickly that maintaining order becomes impossible. If you want your business plan to succeed and provide security for years down the road, make an organizational chart as soon as possible and follow it until your company is profitable enough to hire an office manager or executive assistant.
