Why You Need A Business Plan

Have you considered writing a business plan for your new internet business? Many owners skip this vital step when setting up their small start-up companies. And why do you think a smart, energetic, excited and knowledgeable entrepreneur would skip this step? Precisely the reason they’re starting their business in the first place, because they’re excited and energetic and want to get things started. Writing a business plan slows down the process of getting started as it involves a lot of hard work, research, and introspective reasoning.

One of the most important things you will ever do for your business is to write a business plan. Those who take the time, do the research, and commit a plan to paper are 80% more likely to succeed with their venture. And that’s exactly the reason you need to take the time to write one. Doing the work to create a business plan will challenge any preconceived assumptions you may have and raise questions that will require you to find answers. The exercise of committing your plan to paper will highlight the strengths and weakness of your business idea and prove to you whether or not your plan is viable.

During the process of creating your business plan you will anticipate problems that may cause roadblocks for you in the future. You will learn to do research to collect information so you can make more informed decisions regarding your business. And after doing the legwork necessary to write a business plan, you will have an organized document to help you approach issues as they arise.

Since a business plan defines key areas of your business, it will become your “roadmap,” so to speak, to lead your business to a place in the future. Without this “roadmap”, it’s hard to know where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. It will also serve in the months and years to come as a measurement tool to tell you how well you’re doing against your original objectives.

In your business plan, you will articulate in narrative form the following key strategies:

• Executive Summary – a compelling overview of the entire plan
• Company Profile – what the business does and how it will make money
• Business History – only necessary if expanding an existing business
• Marketing Plan – how you will market your products including market trends, target market, competitive analysis, and distributions strategy
• Operational Strategy – how you plan to make your product including information about inventory, processes, risk management, facility, equipment
• Management Team – key personnel and their background
• Financial Plan – start-up costs, income statement (projected revenue, cost of goods sold and expenses for the first year of business), cash flow analysis, breakeven analysis, balance sheet (assets, liabilities, and equity), explanation for the use of funds, and expected outcome
• Conclusions/Actions – what are the actions needed to fulfill your plan

As you can see, there is a lot of information that needs to be analyzed and a lot of research will need to be done before you can even sit down to write your plan. If you’re feeling a little lost about where to start, don’t panic. Don’t expect to be able to just whip this out in one afternoon, and don’t skip the hard questions for if you ask and answer them now, before you commit your investment money to your new venture, you will be way ahead of your competitors.

I found two excellent resources to help you organize your business plan and all the information that needs to be considered. They are both free, the first is a business plan workbook that leads you through the exercises and asks the questions you need to answer. The second is a software program that takes you step by step in writing your plan. Using these two resources in conjunction with each other gives you everything you need to know about how a business plan is presented and what information needs to be included. All downloads offered at www.download.com have been tested and are certified virus and spyware free, so be sure to take the time to download these excellent resources and get started today writing the “roadmap” to your next new venture.

http://www.download.com/The-Business-Plan-Workbook/3000-2066_4-10073482.html?tag=mncol&cdlPid=8742938

http://www.download.com/Ultimate-Business-Plan-Starter/3000-2066_4-10380256.html?tag=mncol&cdlPid=10599927

Reba

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