Many entrepreneurs falsely believe that a business plan is a start-up activity only. While the business plan is designed to set out and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of business ideas by evaluating market demand and competition, it is also a tool for executives to address an enterprise's financial, technical and management goals, and conduct business risks analysis as a going concern of the firm.
"This past decade has seen two busts and a boom, so if you have not adapted your business model for these fluxes you're doing something wrong," said Paul Johns, vice president of Complinet Inc., a risk and compliance provider to the Wall Street Journal.
Business Plan Consulting: From Business Idea, Business Goal, to Business Innovation
Business goals give flight to business ideas. A business idea would be to start a pet clothing line, while a business goal would be to "report annual sales of $2 million within three years for dog raincoat clothing line." Tangible actions for achieving a business goal based on changed conditions may include: (1) decrease production costs by 20%, (2) increase on-line sells for pet fashions by 25% by revamping and increasing marketing for business website, and (3) conduct market research to uncover potential export markets for dog clothing line.
Business goals should be distinguished from the daily "to do" list. The to-do list is the individual undertaking of daily activities to keep the business running. While a to-do list system for a business owner is important, many of the items on such a list may be delegable. Business strategies, however, are blueprints defining the business owner’s vision and the enterprise's long-term and short-term goals to achieve the vision.
The Sample Business Plan: Outlines and Templates
Getting started with writing the business plan is usually the biggest obstacle to surmount for entrepreneurs. There are a growing number of business plan outlines, business plan templates, and business plan software available in the market to make business plan writing easier.
Counselors to America's Small Business (SCORE) has made an assortment of business plan templates available online. This includes templates for start-up business plans, business plans for established businesses, financial forecasts, balance sheets, cash flow sheets, sales forecasts, competitive analysis, profit and loss statements, and more. Also, the U.S. Small Business Administration provides free on-line business plan writing courses on how to prepare a business plan (available in English and Spanish) and strategy planning and execution.
Using Business Plan Software
Additionally, there are business plan software available on-line for free, such as Planware, or commercially, such as Business Plan Pro. These business plan software programs can be used for both creating a start-up business plan or updating an old business plan.
General Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for tax or legal advice.
Vanessa Cross - Vanessa Cross is a freelance writer who writes about international trade, business law and small business development issues.
