If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. Let's build your business plan together! in Corvallis, Oregon For Sale
Do I Need A Business Plan?
A business plan is essential to starting and operating a company. Your plan will assist you in obtaining funding, support growth, and provide a roadmap to success.
Let?s Build A Plan!
A business plan is a written description of your business?s future, a document that tells what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. If you jot down a paragraph on the back of an envelope describing your business strategy, you?ve written a plan, or at least the germ of a plan.
Business plans are inherently strategic. You start here, today, with certain resources and abilities. You want to get to a there, a point in the future (usually three to five years out) at which time your business will have a different set of resources and abilities as well as greater profitability and increased assets. Your plan shows how you will get from here to there.
Title Page and Contents
A business plan should be presented in a binder with a cover listing the name of the business, the name(s) of the principal(s), address, phone number, e-mail and website addresses, and the date. You don?t have to spend a lot of money on a fancy binder or cover. Your readers want a plan that looks professional, is easy to read and is well-put-together.
Include the same information on the title page. If you have a logo, you can use it, too. A table of contents follows the executive summary or statement of purpose, so that readers can quickly find the information or financial data they need.
Executive Summary
The executive summary, or statement of purpose, succinctly encapsulates your reason for writing the business plan. It tells the reader what you want and why, right up front. Are you looking for a $10,000 loan to remodel and refurbish your factory? A loan of $25,000 to expand your product line or buy new equipment? How will you repay your loan, and over what term? Would you like to find a partner to whom you?d sell 25 percent of the business? What?s in it for him or her? The questions that pertain to your situation should be addressed here clearly and succinctly.
Description of the Business
The business description usually begins with a short explanation of the industry. When describing the industry, discuss what?s going on now as well as the outlook for the future. Do the necessary research so you can provide information on all the various markets within the industry, including references to new products or developments that could benefit or hinder your business.
Description of the Product or Service
The business description can be a few paragraphs to a few pages in length, depending on the complexity of your plan. If your plan isn?t too complicated, keep your business description short, describing the industry in one paragraph, the product in another, and the business and its success factors in two or three more paragraphs.
Market Analysis
A thorough market analysis will help you define your prospects as well as help you establish pricing, distribution, and promotional strategies that will allow your company to be successful vis-à-vis your competition, both in the short and long term.
Competitive Analysis
The first step in a competitor analysis is to identify both direct and indirect competition for your business, both now and in the future. Once you?ve grouped your competitors, start analyzing their marketing strategies and identifying their vulnerable areas by examining their strengths and weaknesses. This will help you determine your distinct competitive advantage.
Operations and Management
The operations and management component of your plan is designed to describe how the business functions on a continuing basis. The operations plan highlights the logistics of the organization, such as the responsibilities of the management team, the tasks assigned to each division within the company, and capital and expense requirements related to the operations of the business.
Financial Components of Your Business Plan
After defining the product, market and operations, the next area to turn your attention to are the three financial statements that form the backbone of your business plan: the income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet.
Supporting Documents
In this section, include any other documents that are of interest to your reader, such as your resume; contracts with suppliers, customers, or clients, letters of reference, letters of intent, copy of your lease and any other legal documents, tax returns for the previous three years, and anything else relevant to your business plan.
Considerations
If you are using your business plan to attract investors, obtain financing, venture capital or grants, a professional business plan company can provide plans with the necessary format and information needed to suit the particular objective. This type of plan usually on the more expensive side ? from $1,000 and up ? and you may be charged hourly or an estimated flat fee depending on the providing company, your business type, and complexity and the nature and purpose of the plan itself. If you are a small business and do not require a professionally produced plan, the cost to produce one yourself is equal to the hourly rate you?ve placed on your time plus the cost of any training or software you choose.
Let's get started!
Visit HowIsell.com or call today for a free consultation!