The Non-business Person’s Guide To Writing A Business Plan

December 10, 2013 Blogging Guide

A business plan, well thought out and clearly written, serves as a roadmap for meeting company goals and for obtaining financing. It serves as an internal blueprint for the future and as a persuasion piece for bankers, financiers, and family investors.

There are two things you need to remember:

• There is no single business plan template that covers every business, because each is unique.
• Your first business plan does not have to be perfect. It serves as a starting point.

If you keep those things in mind, writing the business plan the first time is not so daunting.

Preparation is Most of the Work

Most of the work that you do in writing a business plan is actually the prep work. To get started, answer these questions in as much detail as possible:

• Who is most likely to buy your product? Your target consumer might be a teenage boy, a middle-aged married woman, or a senior citizen with specific health concerns. You may have more than one target customer.
• How big is your pool of potential target customers? A local store front can reach an audience within X number of miles. An online store can reach a wider audience.
• Who is your competition? Knowing your competition allows you to understand what makes your company different. It also offers you the chance to learn from their successes and failures.
• How does your company stand out from the competition? Your customer wants to know how you differ from other stores selling the same product/service. Do you offer an exclusive brand? Do you have a superior warranty program?
• How does your product/service meet your target customer’s wants or needs? The customer needs a reason to do business with your company. It might be a need to fix something or a want to have the latest gadget.
• How do you run your business? The way you run a store business will greatly differ from running an online store.
• How are you going to market your business? Outline your plans for reaching your target customers through advertisements, your website, and other means.

Writing the Plan

Once you complete the prep work, the next step is to put everything down into writing. Let’s look at the typical elements of a business plan and what goes into each one.

• Executive summary — Give the reader a summary of the plan’s contents.
• Company overview — Use this section to introduce the reader to why the company exists, its mission, and how you do business.
• Business offering — Outline the products and services your company offers. Talk about your key suppliers. If you plan to add future products or services, mention them here.
• Marketing plan and analysis — Layout your sales and marketing plans. Talk about how you plan to reach your target audience.
• Strategy and implementation — Use this section to outline your business goals. Be sure to have specific dates and specifics on how to measure the goal’s success.
• Management team — Outline the qualifications of the company’s management team, even if there is only one person doing everything.
• Financial projections — This section shows your financial projections for the next 1 to 3 years. It should include data that backs up the marketing and strategy sections.

While a business plan is a preliminary document that outlines your business, there are many smaller decisions outside the plan that will determine the way you run your business. One element is how you will manage cash flow. Many small businesses find that a business debit card is better for tracking spending as the company cannot spend more than it has in the bank.

Write the company overview, business offering, marketing plan, strategy, and management projection sections first. Then put you projection data together. The last step is to write the executive summary.

When you have completed all these elements, you have written your business plan. You have created a document that will help you and your investors envision your company’s future.