Why Should You Write a Business Plan?
A business plan is the most important and often overlooked part of running or starting a business, expanding an existing business or obtaining finance for a business. If a plan is developed effectively, the success rate for the purpose of the plan rises exponentially, whether it is to start, expand or run a business, and/or obtain finance for the business.
A well developed Business Plan leaves less room for errors and failure. While you cannot predict everything that happens in a company's future, a good Business Plan helps you to avoid certain pitfalls, overcome obstacles and anticipate and create business opportunities. When you do encounter obstacles and problems, having a Plan in place, integrated into the business, provides you with a system and mechanism to effectively deal with challenges, often turning these challenges into manageable situations or even future opportunities.
Let's start with the fundamental questions: Why have a Business Plan? What can a Plan do for my company?
First, a Business Plan helps you run a Business and is the roadmap to business success. This is the primary reason for a Plan, and the plan should be initially written from this standpoint. However, there are many other beneficial reasons for developing and implementing a plan. A Business Plan forces the various departments in your company to work together to implement a synergistic Strategic Plan. A well developed plan helps your Sales Team close more deals and provides them effective tools to use in the field with your customers. A Plan helps your customers understand the direction your Company is taking, encouraging them to become "partners" in your business' success. Your Plan can help you solidify relationships with necessary suppliers, helping them to more effectively understand how to contribute to your Company's growth. A Plan can also effectively assist in obtaining the necessary finance to start or grow your Company.
Business Plan Uses
There are different Business Plan formats and purposes for various circumstances and situations. It is recommended to first develop a Comprehensive Plan to effectively and successfully run your Business, Venture or Projects. Once the Comprehensive Plan is completed, you can take certain parts of the Plan to form other Business Plans for various purposes and situations, such as a Funding Business Plan for a Bank or Venture Capital Firm. A good Business Plan Workbook will take you step by step in developing a Comprehensive Plan, which you will be able to "adjust" for various purposes and uses beyond the effective management of your company.
Internal Uses of a Business Plan
1) Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of a company's operation and potential problem areas.
2) Improved company performance results from developing and implementing Strategies which simultaneously builds on a Company's strengths and correcting its weaknesses.
3) Communicate effectively to Management and Employees clear expectations of a Company's performance and priorities to ensure a coordinated execution of a Company's Strategic Plan.
4) An Effective, Comprehensive Plan coordinates and assures consistency between a Company's various divisions and departments to bring about the successful operation of the Company's various units.
5) A Plan provides a mechanism to measure a firm's and individual's performance. It establishes a clear standard for determining whether actual performance is good, bad or neutral.
6) A Plan establishes a system for making key decisions in the Management process of a Company. As new developments, opportunities and difficulties arise, the Business Plan provides a solid structure to evaluate the impact of developments and opportunities on the operations and performance of the Company as a whole and in its individual departments and units.
7) A Plan's development process will educate and motivate a Company's employees. Management, Executives and Key People learn more about a Company's Operation and the direct relationship of their areas of responsibility toward the achievement of a Company's goals. This is achieved through analyzing variables like past performance or the impact of trends and developments, while developing Action Plans for the future success of the Company. The process solidifies your people's commitment and motivation toward achieving the Company's Strategic Plan.
External Uses of a Business Plan
1) A Plan can update and educate outside parties (i.e. investors, shareholders, suppliers, customers, regulators, legislators, etc.) regarding the structure, organization, objectives, goals and performance of your Company.
2) A Plan can secure finance and investment to fund your Company.
3) A well executed Plan can preempt your competition, making barriers to entry apparent.
4) Solidify your customer relationships making them true partners in your Company's products and service offerings, innovation, research and development, and most importantly, your growth.
5) A Plan provides your important suppliers insight into your Company so they can help you manage costs and promote growth. A slight change in a supplier's offering or terms can have a dramatic effect on your Company's profitability.
6) A Plan is a sales tool, assisting your Sales Team to promote understanding throughout your customer base of your Company's direction, competitiveness and uniqueness. An integrated Business Plan enables your Marketing Team and Sales Team to open new markets and opportunities and close more deals.
7) The Plan demonstrates to third parties your Company's core accountability, beliefs and integrity.
Alice In Wonderland – A Parable for A Business Plan
Remember reading "Alice in Wonderland?"
She asks the Cheshire Cat, "which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where," said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
Alice was floundering because she, like many in business management, have not defined what they want or where they need to go. They don't have firm short-term and long-term goals. They don't delegate, lead, or follow-up. Often, like Alice, who jumped down the Rabbit's Hole, they jump at opportunities without considering whether those opportunities are appropriate, affordable or too risky and then have to deal with the results later.
If you, unlike Alice, do care where you and your business are going, "then it does matter which way you go." Businesspeople who know and understand their goals and ambitions write business plans, marketing plans, and action plans. They develop projects that are appropriate to their plans. They don't find themselves turning and spinning like Alice at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.
I'd love to tell you that, when you know where you want to go, the road is smooth and traffic flows. Unfortunately, in the real world, even with a good roadmap (or business plan) the road is often bumpy and potholes abound, but without disciplined planning that road will seem as crazy as "Wonderland." So take the time and write your roadmap to success instead of jumping down that Rabbit's Hole and ending up at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.
Contents of a Business Plan
Business plan is a certain result oriented methodical and organized script. Without good business plan, it is not possible to get success in the business world. It is the main difference between you and your competitors. If you are able to write a good and comprehensive business plan, then certainly you are going to get success in the business arena. If you want to devise a good plan, then you should keep in mind all the contents of it. Here is a list of the contents of a well knit plan.
Executive Summary
It is the concise summary of your business and it is written at the top of the business plan. However, you should write it in the end when you have finished your plan. The length of it should not exceed one or two page.
Company Description
This part contains the legal establishment; start-up plans the information about your staff, history etc.
Product or Service
In this part, you will describe the product or service that you are going to sell. You should describe the customer benefits in detail.
Market Analysis
Needs of the market, detailed analysis of the market trends, target sector of the market and the location of the targeted area, how you will reach them etc? By conducting a comprehensive analysis of the market, you will be able to include all these things in your plan.
Strategy and Implementation
In this part, you should be very specific and to the point. You should include the management responsibilities with specific budgets and deadlines.
Web Plan Summary
You should include discussion of website, development costs, sales, operations and marketing strategies. In this way, you will be able to tackle the e-market as well.
Management Team
Mention the organization and the key team members in this part.
Financial Analysis
Though it is very difficult to mention the sales, however you can at least forecast the sales, projected profit and loss.
So, these are the contents of a good business plan. By including all these contents in your plan, you will be able to devise a complete and comprehensive business plan.
Bookkeeping Business Plan – How To Develop It?
Starting a bookkeeping business is an extremely financially option. There will always be a great need for professional bookkeeping services specifically for small to medium sized companies. Developing a tight and effective business plan should be one of the first steps you take towards achieving success in your bookkeeping business. By designing this plan you are effectively laying out the strategy and goals you want to achieve within a given time.
The steps in creating a business plan for your bookkeeping business are ideally the same as for any other venture. Firstly market research is key- see what your competitors are doing right, and wrong. Research can be easily performed on the web, or you could call up your competitors feigning interest as a potential client to see what services they offer. Learn from your competitors mistakes so you don't follow the same pitfalls, and improve on the positive aspects of their business.
Potential clients are the key to establishing any successful business; you need to know what the client wants and how to keep them happy. Further to this you need to know how to attract the client in the first place. For a new small bookkeeping business localized pay per click campaigns could be a great method of turning on-line clicks to off-line sales.
In setting up your business plan, you need to know exactly which client