No business can effectively operate nor attract the funds needed to survive prosper and grow without a good business plan. A good plan is a management tool that shows where your business is going, and just how you plan to get there, and is a necessity for attracting lenders, investors, partners and key personnel, plan outlines vary but they all must cover certain key areas, such as: Executive Summary, Business Description, Marketing Plan, Financial Plan, Management Team, and Appendix.

Moreover, there are many kinds of software on the market that can help you write you write a good plan, but you must still input the data needed to write your plan into the software. The output of the software can never be any better than the data you put into it and you must manually put that in yourself. Here are four steps to help you write a strong business plan:

1. Put all of your plan data and information into several good old fashion file folders and label each folder so that you know what is in it. This data and information will include such materials as marketing methods you will use, market research, management team bio’s, financial statements, profit projects and other similar items.

2. Get a good outline or use the outline in the software you will be using to help draft your plan. And write a 250 to 500 word summary for each section of your business plan using the materials that you have in your plan data and information file folders.

3. Expand upon your brief summary descriptions for each section of your plan to write your actual plan, or let the software write this for you. Be sure to give extra attention to the marketing section of your plan because this section gets the more attention than any other part of your plan from lenders and investors, since this tells how your profits will be obtained.

4. Keep your plan to between eight to 12 pages, because when it comes to business plans more it not better, and anything longer than that quite simply won’t get read, then put a list of other information you have available in your appendix to be requested if wanted. You want your business plan to be a clear concise document that is easy to read and understand, because a confused mind will usually say no to what is being proposed.

A good business plan will help you to effectively and profitably operate your business, and is a clear road map that shows where you business is going, how you plan to get there, the people you will need to get there, and the profits your business will produce when you get there. And it will help you to get the money you need from lenders and investors to get where you want to go with your business. So do not underestimate the power of a good well written business plan, and by all means prepare you one getting started today.

More often than not business owners talk about business plans in elusive terms, leaving one to wonder if they will ever write one at all. How often have you heard – “I wrote one then put it on the shelf,” “Our plan is out of date – it’s useless,” “It’s too long – no one will read it,” or my favorite – “I’ll pay a consultant to write one!”

Too often the focus has been on writing your plan. I am suggesting a better focus – implementing your plan. Implement it by asking 5 key questions. So, let’s review the 5 key questions, apply them to your business, and discuss next steps.

This process is not new. Some years ago Jim Horan founded The One Page Business Plan Company expressly to help business owners define and implement their plan. He simplified the process by identifying the standard elements of a business plan with 5 simple, universal questions.

1. Vision: What are you building?

2. Mission: Why does your business exist?

3. Objectives: What results will you measure?

4. Strategy: How will you build this company?

5. Plans: What is the work to be done?

Your Vision – What are you building? Simple enough? Where are you now, where do you want to be in 5 years – can you define it in terms of sales, target markets, products and services, and geographic reach? Oftentimes business owners are challenged to answer this question, but when they focus on it – watch out, the dream reignites and the creative energy starts to flow again.

Your Mission – Why does your business exist? Think brand, think benefits (especially when viewed through the eyes of your customer), and think simple, direct, and memorable. What is the Mission of Burger King, of FedEx?

Your Objectives – What results will you measure? What did your gross in sales last year? What do you want to achieve for sales this year? What other goals do you have for your business? Don’t have goals yet? Getting very focused and specific is a key ingredient to your success. Prioritize them and clearly state them.

Your Strategy – How are you going to build your company? What specific strategies and programs do you need to develop and implement to get you there? Think multi-year, look at marketing, sales, organization, technology, process change, human resources. Get the picture?

Your Plans – What work needs to be done? Well, every year you need a plan to get you from point A to point B. How are you going to accomplish your vision, your mission, your objectives, and your strategies? Can you develop a series of action steps to help you get there this year? Do they tie into your other plan elements?

Preparing and implementing a business plan requires a strong, exacting, specific, goals-oriented focus. Simpler is often better. If you can prepare it on one page it will be easier to follow, easier to explain, easier to measure accomplishments, and, yes, easier to achieve the profitability and growth you have envisioned, perhaps in a shorter time frame than you planned. Now, how cool is that!

Try to work a plan that is action-oriented, that is goals-focused, that is top-of-mind every day. Working your business in this way increases the potential for your short term and longer term success. And, don’t let that plan become static. Make it a living, breathing organism, let it encourage you to improve it, update it, and enhance it as you move on your road to success.

Now that we have outlined these 5 simple questions, how about giving it a try? I would love to hear from you. Need any help, let me know.

Do you want your business to succeed? Of course you do. Every business looking to succeed would be wise to take a little time to create a business plan. This important document will help you in any stage of business from start up to expansion to financing a new product or idea. Writing a business plan can help your business to increase its chances of success which is especially helpful during these difficult financial times.

Writing a business plan will be a lot of work. However, you will find that the process is not that difficult once you get started. One of the most difficult parts of writing a business plan is just getting started. Of course, having some tips and guidelines to follow can be especially useful. Here are some ideas to help you as you write your business plan.

What Do I Need To Include?

Your business plan needs to demonstrate that you know what you are doing and that you understand your business. Generally this knowledge and information is broken into distinct sections. This helps you to keep your business plan organized and easy to write. Lets look at each of the nine sections in a little more depth.

Executive Summary

Since your executive summary leads your business plan, it is important that you carefully construct this first section. In fact, the executive summary is so important that it is placed directly after the title page, even before the table of contents. Many find that writing this key section works best when completed last. The executive summary serves as a synopsis of all the sections of the business plan. If you wait until the end, you will be better able to write a cohesive and complete executive summary.

Within the executive summary, you will include your company mission statement. This mission statement should not be long, probably about four sentences in length, but should be carefully instructed. Many say that the mission statement is the most important part of the overall business plan.

Since your mission statement is only a few pages long, your executive summary will allow you to further expand upon key points mentioned in the mission statement. Consider including your business history, biographies of key players, an overview of the business including locations, employees and available products and services. You can also discuss goals and future plans. Use this section to really draw in the readers.

Many find that a bulleted format is ideal for this section. This section should be easy to read and scan so that potential investors can easily get an overview of your business. The biggest mistake that many make is including too much information. Make sure that your information only encompasses one or two pages.

Market Analysis

In the second section of your business plan, you will cover the analysis of your specific market. During this section you will showcase your business’ ability to succeed. Success is dependent upon accurate and complete market analysis. This section will show that you have done your research. Use this section to sell your business to potential investors. Show them how your business can succeed.

Thoroughly cover your business’ market. Talk about your industry and use specific details to support your statements. Details like industry size, growth rate and customer group will help you showcase your business. Include as many details as possible. Do not fill this section with generalized information. Make sure it is industry and business specific.

In this section you should also include the results of any market research studied that your company has completed. Also briefly discuss your competitors and their strengths and weaknesses. You may want to cover how your services will appeal to customers more than your competitors.

Detailed Description of the Company

After showcasing how your business can succeed in your specific market, it is time to illustrate a comprehensive picture of your business. Cover in detail your business including information regarding the type of business, the target market and how you can meet their needs and distinguishing factors that make your business unique.

Remember that each section in your business plan will overlap. This means that you may cover information more than once as you move from section to section. This is okay. Your business plan may be considered as a whole or may be viewed as individual sections. This means that each section must include all key information. Don’t neglect including important information simply because you feel it has been covered in other sections.

Organization Structure/Management

This section will detail specific information regarding your staff and executive positions. Cover how your company will divide work. Who will do what jobs? How does your business management structure work? Include biographies of key business personnel including owners, board of directors, management and other company executives. You should also discuss employee compensation and benefits.

In this section you will demonstrate your company’s ability to succeed through your management plan. Additionally you will help investors to realize your company’s potential as far as an employer is concerned. Investors know that good, long lasting employees can help your business to succeed. Therefore they are looking for strong and effective management as well as the ability to retain and inspire employees.

Marketing

How are you going to get the word out about your business? In this section, you will detail your plan. You can also discuss how your marketing strategy will lead to growth. Be complete and detailed in your plan.

Product and Service Offerings

This section may sound like a simple list of your available products or services. While this is one aspect, there is other information that needs to be included in this section. For each service detail the specific benefits of the products and services you offer. Discuss the advantages you have over your competitors with a specific focus on products and services. Also discuss how you can expand your product and services offering as time goes on.

Funding Request/Requirements

A business plan is often a tool used to help your business secure needed funding. If this is the case, make sure you include a funding request in your business plan. Be specific. Remember that potential investors need a thorough understanding of your requests so that they can make a decision about whether or not to approve your request. Be sure that you include the following information:

• What you need immediately in terms of funding
• Funding needs over the next several years
• How the money will be spent (be specific)
• Do you want loans, investors, partners, etc?
• How you plan to repay the loan

Financial Statement

This section is often carefully considered by potential investors. It helps investors to determine the financial solvency of your company. You will not just discuss your current financial state. In this section you will cover your financial past, your current state and your goals for the future. Include income statements over the last several years, balance sheets (both prior and projected), projections and available collateral.

It can be especially effective to include charts and graphs to better illustrate your financial plan. Including graphs and charts will help investors see the growth potential for your business and will make them more likely to approve your loan. Remember that the amount of funding desired must be in accordance with your financial projections. Investors want a return on their investment and will not invest more that they will get back.

Other Information

At this point you may feel that you have covered everything. However, there is probably other information that you want to include that couldn’t fit into one of the previous sections. This is the place where you will include it. You may want to list specific details in this section and then reference them in the other sections. This will keep your business plan from being cluttered with extensive details and information. Many business plans include items such as: credit reports, letters of recommendation, licensing and patent information, legal documentation, executive resumes and a list of business associates including your lawyer, accountant and business consultant.

Getting Started

You may be feeling overwhelmed at this point by the wealth of information you need to include in your business plan. Make sure you use an easy to read format. This means that you should definitely utilize headings, bullets and lists. Focus your writing to your audience. If the purpose of the business plan is getting a business loan, make sure your writing conveys this message.

How Long Should My Business Plan Be?

Try to keep your business plan between 20 and 40 pages. This may sound like an unachievable task. However, much of the finished length will be encompassed by formatting. Using bullet points, lists, charts and pictures will not only make your business plan more effective, they will help your business plan to be longer as well.

As you create your business plan, tailor your presentation to a busy professional. Assume that they will only spend 10-20 minutes perusing your plan. Make sure that you thoroughly sell your idea, needs and business during this brief time period. Further attract your audience using clear formatting, easy to read content, well thought out wording and correct spelling and grammar.