Write Your Small Business Plan

By Bill Darken

How to Write a Business Plan

A small business plan is vital to the success of starting a small business, Faced with writing a small business plan; the panic sets in. Confusion clouds your mind. You wonder where to start.

This is important. It is the outline to how your idea will become reality. Actually, it proves you are serious and you need it if you need finance.

Writing the Feared Business Plan

The screen is blank. Your mind is blank. Really, this is an important part of setting up your business. If you can not put it on paper, how do you make a living from it? Try thinking along these lines and start by mapping out your small business plan. The basic elements all small business plans have are:

Summary - a one-page overview of your business plan. When your business plan is complete, go through it and summarize it into one page.

Introduction - Briefly talk about your vision and goals for the business. Write yourself a vision, but avoid the old clichés. Remember to have a beginning, middle and an end.

Marketing Brief - Analyse the market your business fits into. Who is you target audience? Why target them?

Marketing Strategy - Talk about how you will attract clients in your demographic. What tools you are going to use to achieve this? Does the internet play a part in this? Do you need a website? Newspaper, television and radio advertising?

Plan of Operation - This is how you will operate and set-up the business; where it will operate from; business name; legal requirements; and anything else you need to operate your new small business.

Management Plan - Talk about how you intend to manage your business. Will it operate from home; or rental premises? How will you manage this? What tools and equipment do you need to support your business?

Financial Plan - How do you intend to finance your dream? Work out your budget and work out the financial projections for the future. This is vital to show potential lenders and investors you have a plan. It gives them a basis to judge whether they should back or lend you money to finance the dream. Be realistic about you projections

Instead of fearing the old business plan, think of it as your friend. The skeleton or backbone to build on. And, remember, this is only one element of starting a small business from scratch.

Copyright Bill Darken - who has a history of consulting to both small and large business over three decades and has provided a more in-depth piece at this link on starting a small business from scratch for your interest.

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