Posts Tagged ‘How To Write A Business Plan’

Small business is a vital part of the overall economy. In these difficult economic circumstances, it is more important than ever for small businesses stay afloat. This can be quite a challenge considering the current state of things. When starting up a business or maintaining one that is already established, it is key to learn how to write a business plan. This plan is the guiding force behind your entire operation. You will need to have a solid plan if you want to achieve success in this market. That is why a template can be so valuable.

Experts agree that a business plan is crucial if you want to develop a quality strategy for your company. The size and niche of your operation does not matter. You need to learn how to write a business plan regardless. Small business contributes a lot to the economy. The valuable services and products they provide cannot be replaced by massive corporations. You can succeed with a small business, but you need a plan that lets you test your ideas and make major decisions for your company. People who take the time to invest in a solid plan have a far greater chance of success than those who do not plan appropriately.

There are a variety of business plan template options for a small business. You can get resources for a start up plan, an online plan, a home based plan, or an existing business expansion plan. Whatever you need, there is a template out there that will help guide your towards your ultimate goals. Figuring out the viability of your business on paper is the most important step you will take. Often times, a small business owner has a vision for his enterprise, but he does not have the training or knowledge to properly plan the execution of this vision. A business plan template allows you to insert all relevant information into a custom plan. As you go through the material, your customized business plan takes form.

Different service providers have various templates. You do not want a template that is long and tedious. You want to avoid templates that go into too much detail and that are not immediately relevant to your business needs. As a small business owner, you need a template that condenses all the fundamental information into a usable plan that is easy to understand. Look for the perfect template for your new business plan today.

Todd Capper
http://www.abusinessplantemplate.com

Author: Todd Capper
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is basically a blue print to success. It sets out the parameters of how the business will operate, who the key players are, the plan going forward and any other relevant information that the author deems necessary should be included.

Why do I need a Business Plan?

You need a Business Plan for a number of reasons. First and foremost it is will focus your mind on where you are going or where you intend to go. It will dictate the speed of growth and will also allow your staff and other members of your team to share the vision.

Secondly, a Business Plan will be required if you intend to raise finance. If you intend obtaining a Business Loan or finance through other funding streams then again you will need a Business Plan. One thing is for certain, it is imperative that you construct a plan and amend/update it regularly.

Does the Business Plan change?

Yes it does. As your Business grows and changes, so should your Business Plan. It is wrong to assume that a Business Plan, once created, is filed away in a draw for 12 months. It should be kept in an easily accessible place and be update on a regular basis – for this reason alone it will focus your mind on where you are going.

What should the Business Plan contain?

This will depend on your own requirements but let’s take a look at some basic components:

SECTION 1 – Principle Business Details and Activities.

1. NAME OF BUSINESS

The name of your Business goes here.

2. BUSINESS ADDRESS

Company address goes here.

3. BUSINESS TELEPHONE CONTACTS

Your business telephone contacts go here.

4. DATE BUSINESS COMMENCED

This is the date that your business started or was registered with Companies house.

5. LEGAL STATUS

Whether you are a sole trader or a Limited company.

6. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES

Describe your main business activities. For example:

The development and creation of jewellery which is then sold via the internet worldwide.

SECTION 2 – Your key Business Objectives

SHORT TERM BUSINESS OBJECTIVES

Here you should include your short term vision. An example of this would be as follows:

To develop a sustainable business through the development of excellent products and customer service. We aim to develop 30 products within the first 12 months of trading, and achieve a turnover of £50,000.

MEDIUM TERM BUSINESS OBJECTIVES

A medium term business objective should be 3 to 5 years maximum. Include here where you want to be by this time and how you plan to get there. For example:

We aim to have created 100 products by 2008. The majority of these will be created by staff that will be employed as a result of the short term aim achievement.

Our turnover by this date will be £250,000 with a profit margin of 35%. Our sales will be predominantly achieved through internet advertising although we expect during this period to trial other methods such as National newspaper advertising.

LONG TERM BUSINESS OBJECTIVE

The long term business aim should be your ultimate goal. This can be any length of time from 5 years to 15 years. An example of this would be:

To have 50 different retail outlets strategically placed around the UK in areas of high demand. The company aims to exceed an annual turnover of £2,000,000 with a profit margin of 35%. The company will still continue to trade via the internet and it is expected that this will account for 40% of our business.

SECTION 3 – Key personnel

NAME AND POSITION

Insert name and position. Example:

Richard McMunn – Business Development Director

DOB

Insert date of birth

STATUS

Business Development Director and shareholder.

EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE INDUSTRY

Insert any experience and knowledge of the industry.

PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT

Insert previous employment here.

QUALIFICATIONS

Insert qualifications here.

NAME

Repeat the above for all key personnel.

SECTION 4 – Premise details

In this section, indicate where the business is registered and where the business operates out of.

SECTION 5 – Equipment

Include all equipment that is owned by the company. Examples of these would be:

- Computers including software and hardware
- Vehicles
- Manufacturing equipment etc

SECTION 6 – Products and services

Indicate here what services and products are offered by the company.

SECTION 7 – Advertising

Here, include details of how the company advertises its products. This may either be in the form of internet advertising (Google, Yahoo or otherwise), Newspaper advertising (either National or local), other media avenues such as Admedia or any other form of advertising.

SECTION 8 – New products and services

Include here all of your predicted new products and services that will go on sale within the next 12 months.

SECTION 9 – Pricing

- How do you price your products?
- What is the profit margin of each product?

Include a breakdown of how much each product is on sale for and how much that product costs to produce.

SECTION 10 – Customers

What is your target audience and how do you know this? (i.e. ages 16 – 30). How to you reach your customers? How many visits does your website get each week?

SECTION 11 – Business strengths

Include here all of your business strengths.

SECTION 12 – Areas for Improvement

Here, include all of the areas you believe you can improve on. A business that has no areas to improve on is not telling the truth!

Be honest and look critically for ways in which you can improve or develop.

SECTION 13 – Business competition

Who are your major competitors? How do you monitor your performance against theirs? What are they doing that’s different or better than you?

SECTION 14 – Market predictions

How do you predict your market and adapt to the changing conditions? For example, during Christmas time sales may increase depending on the type of product you are selling or the service you provide. January through to April maybe slow in terms of sales due to the fact that people are less likely to spend after the expensive Christmas period.

Think about your business and how the market will vary from month to month. It is essential that you begin to track your daily sales/turnover right from the word go. After a year or two of trading, you will be able to predict your sales and adapt accordingly.

SECTION 15 – Sales and Promotions

What are your predicted sales and the reason why? Are you planning on running any promotions throughout the year?

SECTION 16 – Financial Information

How long have you been trading and what is your monthly/annual turnover?

How much have you spent on starting up your business? How did you finance this initial investment?

What is your predicted turnover for the next 12 months and why?

SECTION 17 – Business asset statement

What are the financial assets of the business including stock.

Richard McMunn, a Firefighter for the last 17 years and a HSBC Award winning Entrepreneur, has created a winning formula that will show you how to succeed at any business, even if it’s part time. Claim Richard’s free course now : => http://www.how-to-start-a-business.co.uk.

Author: Richard McMunn
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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You may feel bored when you sit down at your computer and write a business plan as a means for raising funds. However, it is not necessary to write the business plan all by yourself, because there are other alternatives too, that are simple and handy to write business plans effectively.

Some Simple Ways to Get a Good Business Plan:

Consider the simple ways mentioned below to make an effective business plan:

1. Hire a Professional Writer: A professional writer creates and designs a business plan for you effectively. However, you need to be well prepared to decide how your business will operate and know the essential ideas in your business plan. You need to work together with your writer to make sure that he/she develops a concise plan that exactly communicates the principles of your business. This type of professional writer can be found by advertising either in the local newspaper or online.

2. Buy a Book on Writing a Business Proposal: There are several great books available from various publishers to assist you in comprehending and writing well-formed business plan. These books suggest to you what things are required to be present in a good business plan. You can get this type of book from local book stores or get them conveniently through an online retailer.

3. Software for Business Planning: An ideal business planning software tells you how you need to write an well-constructed, well-developed, and successful business plan. also, software packages get rid of the difficulty that beginners often have in organizing business plans. These software programs ask you pertinent questions that get at the most significant and essential concepts regarding your business venture.

Through these tips, you no longer need to worry about how to write a well-formed business plan. Consider these above-discussed fruitful ways to write a good business plan as ways to raise funds for your enterprise.

Visit Here To Discover much more on how to write a business plan.

Benny Horowitz is a business initiative who has written dozens of articles on the subject of business world, business plan and how to start and manage your business.

Author: Benny Horowitz
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Are you currently running a cleaning service, or interested in starting up a laundromat business? One might think that running this business is as simple as wash, rinse, and dry; however, there is much more to it than that.

It’s a Business!
A laundromat is a business, just like any other. The goal of a business is to make a profit for its owner. However, if proper care is not given to implementing a plan, your finances may be what are eventually taken to the cleaners.

What is a Business Plan?
Before creating a business plan, one must know what a business plan is. Simply stated, a business plan is a statement of business goals, or the reasons why these business goals are attainable and the plan for achieving said goals. The plan may also contain background information about the specific business and/or information about the ownership.

Setting Goals!
Goals are at the heart of an effective plan. However, if the goals are not effectively set, the plan will be useless. The business goals must be realistic, attainable, measurable, and thoughtfully considered. All members of the laundromat ownership should be involved in the goal setting process. Key employees may also be able to provide insights that would be helpful to setting effective goals.

Benefits of a Business Plan!
The main benefit of an effective plan is to create a vision of where the business will go in the future and give the ownership a plan to get there. For example, if owners are seeking to double the revenue of a business, the plan will give detailed goals and a way to accomplish them that if followed will help the business flourish.

Additionally, a plan is almost always needed if the franchisee needs financing. Banks will rarely finance a small business, if the business does not have a well-written plan in place.

Help in Writing a Business Plan!
You may be saying to yourself, “I have no idea how to write a business plan.” This is okay. There are many professionals who can help you write a business plan. Accountants, attorneys, and financial consultants will all be happy to assist you in this process. If you do not already have an accountant or attorney, one of the best ways to find a good professional is to ask other small business owners who their accountant or attorney is, and ask if they are satisfied with their services. If so, these professionals may be able to help you with your plan.

Be Flexible!
After putting your business plan in writing, it is important to remember to be flexible. Business conditions will likely change from year to year, and you may need to adjust your goals and plans to meet these changes. It is a good idea to review your plan at least annually to see what changes need to be made.

JD Files is an accomplished website developer and author. To learn more about Laundromat Business Plan visit Laundromat-Franchising for current articles and discussions.

Author: JD Files
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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