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| BizBits | October 2005 |
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How to Create a Business Plan |
| Many small business owners don't understand the importance of a professional, complete and informative business plan. Without it, most will never find funding or receive lines of credit with which to start their business or grow. A business plan is a blueprint containing all the necessary information for your company to get money, set goals, hire staff and implement future growth strategies. For the most part, business plans usually stick to one, generic layout. It's best to stick with information that is relevant to the company and to leave out the unnecessary clutter. This will keep the potential investor interested in your project. Investors hate digging through useless pages of facts and figures. However, some investors may request that you arrange your business plan in a particular format. It is best to ask before beginning. Each business plan usually begins with a very brief, yet extremely important, few paragraphs called the executive summary. In this section the potential investor will be able to learn about your company, its mission statement, history and general overview. It should also briefly go into the legal structure and information on the industry. In short, the executive summary is just what it says; a summary of the company. Depending on what type of business you are going into, the sections following the executive summary may vary. However, you will discuss your products and/or services in detail and you will give a plan for advertising and sales. Next, the business plan will include company operations. In other words, who is your insurance broker, where do you want to be in 3 months, 5 years, etc., and what you will do about competitors? After a descriptive plan of operation, the paper will go into each job and its duties. Additionally, an organizational chart should be included. At the very end you will go into detail in regards to how you will fund the business, where extra funds will be allocated, what you will do if you fall short of cash and other important financial information. In summary, this is an extremely general description of a business plan. When seriously considering writing one, ask potential investors what they would like to see included. There are a few investors who prefer visual information like charts and graphs while there are others who want to see the information in a particular sequence. Lastly, if you want to be sure you are doing all that you can to get a potential investor to come into the business with you, consider having a professional writer take a look at the plan. In this way, you will be sure to have all the necessary information and have it laid out in such a way that it would be hard to not want to invest in your company. |
| Frederick Sildumn Copyright © 2005 About The Author: Frederick Sildumn has helped multiple businesses plan for a successful future. He is the owner of For Intelligent Business, a web resource guide dedicated to business related topics. To learn more about business his site. |
