Write a Business Plan

Strategic Planning
Too many people think strategic planning is something meant only for big businesses, but it is equally applicable to small businesses. Strategic planning is matching the strengths of your business to available opportunities. To do this effectively, you need to collect, screen, and analyze information about the business environment. You also need to have a clear understanding of your business - its strengths and weaknesses - and develop a clear mission, goals, and objectives. Acquiring this understanding often involves more work than expected. You must realistically assess the business you are convinced you know well.

In addition, strategic planning has become more important to business managers because technology and competition have made the business environment less stable and less predictable. If you are to survive and prosper, you should take the time to identify the niches in which you are most likely to succeed, and to identify the resource demands that must be met. Learn more about this topic.

Essential Elements of a Good Business Plan for Growing Companies
A business plan should be a work-in-progress. Even successful, growing businesses should maintain a current business plan.

As any good salesperson knows, you have to know everything you can about your products or services in order to persuade someone to buy them. In this discussion, you are the salesperson and your products represent your business. Your customers are potential investors and employees. Since you want your customers to believe in you, you must be able to convince them that you know what you are talking about when it comes to your business.

To become an expert (or to fine-tune your knowledge if you already believe you are one), you must be willing to roll up your sleeves and begin digging through information. Since not all information that you gather will be relevant to the development of your business plan, it will help you to know what you are looking for before you get started. In order to help you with this process, we have developed an outline of the essential elements a good business plan.

Every successful business plan should include something about each of the following areas, since these are what make up the essentials of a good business plan:

• Executive Summary
• Market Analysis
• Company Description
• Organization & Management
• Marketing & Sales Management
• Service or Product Line
• Funding Request
• Financials
• Appendix

Writing The Plan
What goes in a business plan? The body can be divided into four distinct sections:

1) Description of the business

2) Marketing

3) Finances

4) Management

Agenda should include an executive summary, supporting documents, and financial projections. Although there is no single formula for developing a business plan, some elements are common to all business plans. They are summarized in the following outline:

Elements of a Business Plan

1. 1. Cover sheet
2. 2. Statement of purpose
3. 3. Table of contents

I. The Business

• A. Description of business
• B. Marketing
• C. Competition
• D. Operating procedures
• E. Personnel
• F. Business insurance

II. Financial Data

• A. Loan applications
• B. Capital equipment and supply list
• C. Balance sheet
• D. Breakeven analysis
• E. Pro-forma income projections (profit & loss statements)
• F. Three-year summary
• G. Detail by month, first year
• H. Detail by quarters, second and third years
• I. Assumptions upon which projections were based
• J. Pro-forma cash flow

III. Supporting Documents

• A. Tax returns of principals for last three years Personal financial statement (all banks have these forms)
• B. For franchised businesses, a copy of franchise contract and all supporting documents provided by the franchisor
• C. Copy of proposed lease or purchase agreement for building space
• D. Copy of licenses and other legal documents
• E. Copy of resumes of all principals
• F. Copies of letters of intent from suppliers, etc.

Sample Plans
One of the best ways to learn about writing a business plan is to study the plans of established businesses in your industry.