I am a business advisor so I talk to a lot of business owners and it constantly astounds me how many do little or no planning.  Without a plan, or at the very least an income and expenditure and a cash flow forecast, it is very difficult to know how well your business is performing let alone where it is headed.  Writing a business plan need not be a huge chore, there are plenty of good software programmes around. Good programmes usually include ready made business plans to give you a head start.

1.  Many UK companies don’t have a business plan

Not having a business plan is like walking around in the dark without a torch. You may get where you are going but it will take longer and you may tip over several times on route.  I recently helped a business move from being loss making to making a good profit.  All I had to do was plot forecast income and expenditure for it to became blindly obvious that, unless my client put up his prices, he would continue to fail.  The forecast showed that there was no way that he could realistically bring in enough new clients to become profitable.  A small price increase against existing client accounts soon sorted most of his problem.  If he had an active, simple business plan, which he could have easily put together using software such as Business Plan Pro, he would not have got into difficulty in the first place and would have saved money by not needing my services.

2.  Start-up businesses are often too optimistic in their income forecasts

We all tend to be over optimistic.  There are plenty of high profile, high value projects that ended up with a price tag many time greater than the initial budget forecast — the building of the Channel Tunnel or the Millenium Dome (now the O2 Area in Greenwich) are just two examples.  Getting input from professional business plan writers is one way to deal with this problem.  Having an active business plan also means that you can monitor actual performances against your plan and take action if you see that things are going off course.

3. Business owners don’t know what is in their business plans

This can happen when professional business plan writers are brought in.  The plan they create is great and secures the funds the business needs, but all too often the business owner manager never really understood what was in their plan. It collects dust on the shelf so is of little ongoing use and their business risks going off track.

4. Start-up companies do a bad job of identifying their target markets

Perhaps one of the most tricky elements of the business plan is identifying your target market.  Its not necessary to do lots of research but it is important to think deeply about what you know about the people who will buy your products and services. Who are they? How old are they? How wealthy are they? Where do they live? What to they like and dislike? Where and how to they currently buy similar services and products? If you have worked through these questions for each of your products and uses this data to write the marketing section of your business plan that is a good start. If you also devise a mechanism for monitoring sales against your assumptions you will have good information to inform your marketing strategies and improve you sales forecasts as your business develops.

5. Once the business plan is written it just collects dust somewhere

Too many UK business plans are buried somewhere in the office once they have been written.  A business plan is a tool for managing your business performance. It needs to be kept up to date and used as a monitoring tool. Good business planning software includes monitoring tools so it is easy to monitor actual income, expenditure and cash flows against your plans which is essential to avoiding failure.

In the current economic climate it is essential that businesses have plans and that all UK Business Plans are live documents. Your business plan should be an essential tool to help you manage your business through the downturn.  If you are not familiar with writing a business plan buy a good software programme such as Business Plan Pro, which includes templates and ready made business plans, or seek help from professional business plan writers.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/five-inconvenient-truths-about-uk-business-plans-3011881.html

I know. I know. You are too busy to write your own business plan, but your banker is asking you to provide the bank with a copy of your business plan for your loan application.  What do you do?  Well many small business owners may decide to take the easy way out, and send their information to an online business planner like:

• Masterplans.com
• Growthink.com
• Ethos360.com

Don’t get me wrong I am sure these professional business planners provide a great product and service, but you are missing out when you are not writing your own business plan.  There are 3 specific reasons I believe that you should write your own business plan.

1. You Know Best - Professional business planners know how to write, format, build financial projections, and make your business plan look “pretty”.  What they don’t know is your business.  You built the business, you live and breathe it each and every day.  Even though you may not be able to develop a 500 page excel template with your financial projections for the next 100 years, you know your pricing model, you know where to acquire new business, you know what your customers think about your product or service.  Take what you know and build your own business plan.  Then you will actually be able to use it, even after your submit your loan application.  If you don’t think you have the writing skills to craft a strong plan, then write what you can, and bring your plan to your local SBDC counselor for a free review of your plan. SBDC Locator
2. You will Learn Something New - I can guarantee you, no matter how long you have run your business or how much of an expert in your field you are, you will learn something new if you write your own business plan.  One area where you will almost certainly learn something new is your Competitor Overview section.  Your competition is constantly changing in this global marketplace.  Six months ago your biggest competition may have been on the other side of town, and now it may be a company based in China or India.  Franklin Adams said, “I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.”  Writing your own business plan may just give you the opportunity to stumble upon something that could completely change your business for the better.  Just give it a chance.
3. It’s Free – I know that your time is money, and writing your own business plan will take a considerable amount of your time, but professional business planners are expensive.  For most small business owners $4,000 is a lot of money, but if you are successful enough to throw away $4,000 to have someone else write your business plan, then by all means, go for it!  Now for the rest of us, go to the Small Business Administration website and access their free business plan template that includes links with explanations of what you should include in each section. Essential Elements of a Good Business Plan for Growing Companies For most small business owners this will be sufficient.  Again remember to make use of your local SBDC counselor, who will review your business plan for free.  If you are still unsatisfied with your plan, then you can send it to a professional business planner to improve.  They will probably be able to improve the aesthetics of your plan, and maybe improve your wording to help better relate to your banker.  A professional business plan review should save you thousands of dollars, and allow you to gain the benefits of writing your own plan.

So give it a try, you might just learn something and save a lot of money too!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/small-business-articles/3-reasons-you-should-write-your-own-business-plan-3035773.html

I wrote my own for my firm Lemongrass Consulting.  I read books and figured out the sales forecast; and financial expenses and revenue projections.  When my firm became Small Business Administration (SBA) 8a certified, I wrote our SBA Form 1010c Business Plan.

I am a strategic planner and AICP certified city planner.  In the 1990s, I actually worked as a city planner managing transportation improvement programs, capital improvement programs, and comprehensive development plans.  These are mega project oriented plans.  I coordinated the City of Atlanta’s 1997 Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) and its accompanying Capital Improvement Program (CIP) representing 400 projects valued at $3.6 Billion.  I also managed the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Transportation [Environmental] Enhancement Activities (TEA) program was 90 proposed projects valued at $62 Million.

What I learned as a city planner is that plans can be extremely pie in the sky.  They can be pretty elaborate wish lists to appease political constituents.  These types of plans rarely get implemented because there will never be enough money to fund the proposed projects.

As a business owner, I learned that plans need to be much more realistic and broken down into doable action items that result in real return on investment (ROI) and generate real revenue so that real paychecks can be drawn.

Here are some tips:

(1)     Your sales forecast is just that – a forecast.  It is not carved in stone and will likely not match actual sales.  Start with reasonable assumptions and adjust as reality sets in.  Your actual sales may be less.  This is usually the case.  However, you may have great fortune and your actual sales may surpass your forecasted sales.

(2)     If after regular, periodic, scheduled reviews, your actual sales are significantly lower than your forecast, desired sales, then you may want to re-engineer your business model, get sales coaching help, or take some other course of action to increase sales.

(3)     Start ups should start with short term business plans which depicts your sales goals and anticipated expenses in short quarterly increments of 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months.

(4)     For the purpose of having a long term vision, create a 3 or 5 year vision with annual sales goals and anticipated expenses.

(5)     The business plan goals should be used to influence your operational decisions as you conduct business from day to day.

Here is how No. 5 would work.  You would simply put a summary of your business plan sales forecast and anticipated budgeted expenses on your desk as a daily constant reminder of where to drive your ship.  Take this summary financial operating plan and gage your actual performance against it.  For example, if you need to decide whether or not to spend money to hire a staff person or consultant; or to order certain equipment or supplies, then look over at your business plan first.  Ask yourself whether the proposed expense is in alignment with your plan.  Ask yourself whether taking on this particular new consulting project or product sales order will catapult you any closer to your sales and profit goals.

Some may argue that business plans should not be the focus of your operations.  I beg to differ.  I think the plan needs to be right in front of you.  In my opinion, it is akin to a simple daily “things to do” list.  For example, on any given day you may list out that you need to go to the post office, to the office supply store, to a few meetings, send some emails, do some data entries, etc.  This is your road map.  If you were able to get it all done, you would have a sense of accomplishment.

A business plan is no different.  You look over at your business plan and you let it guide and drive your business decisions so that you can achieve real results.

Another thing I learned as a city planner is that it is important to get buy-in.  In order to decide whether or not to include a project in a CDP and its accompanying CIP, city planning professionals hold public meetings to get feedback. Business owners should also get input from individuals they may need buy-in from.  Internally, they should make sure the business leadership team has an opportunity to comment on budget and sales projections.  This may be a great way to get a dose of reality from differing perspectives.  Externally, business owners can turn to nonprofit organizations or other consultants that help small businesses and have dealt with bankers that loan to small businesses.

Cash is Queen!  If you are starting a business, you may want to save first.  I heard and read two different schools of thoughts when I first started years ago.  Some advocate that you do not need money to get started and to make money.  That may prove true for some.  But, I can tell you there are very real expenses if you want to go about being in business the right, professional way: phone, fax, website hosting, graphics design, office supplies, domain name registration, taxes.  The taxes can crush you.

This leads us to the second school of thought which is save first.  I have heard that it is best to save 3 months, 6 months or 1 year of your business operating expenses before you launch.  The idea is to not be dependent on sales at all.  But rather, have savings to invest in your business venture.

If I could do it over, I would have saved extensively while building my network of relationships and client base.  Of course, hindsight is 20:20.

I was in the City of Atlanta’s Watershed Department Small Business Development Program.  The accounting trainer advised us to bank our customer payments and cut ourselves pay checks.  But, she advised that we should put our pay checks away in a drawer and forget about them.  This will build up cash in your business bank account and help you to earn creditability so that you can later get lines of credit and loans.  Well, what if you were a single mom? What if you actually need to cash that pay check?  I am a single mom and this tactic would have never worked for me.

If you make it without planning ahead and implementing your plans, you are probably making it on pure luck.  We have all heard people state that business success is 90% luck.  Well, it really does not have to be.  We can choose to draft and work a plan, or we choose to leave our futures in the hand of Lady Luck.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/small-business-articles/how-to-put-your-business-plan-into-actual-use-3044387.html

Like I have mentioned before you can outsource your business plan writing to an online, professional business plan writer, and pay thousands of dollars, or you can write your business plan yourself, for free.  You may know that I think writing your business plan is an important exercise that every business owner should work through; however, you may be more interested in crafting a great business plan for the least amount of dollars.  I can understand that, so today I want to point you to 3 Free Resources that will help you write a pretty sweet business plan.

1.  Startupnation Knowledge Hub – This site will provide you with a great foundation before you even start writing your business plan.  Check out the Knowledge Hub where you will be able to search for a number of different topics including business plan writing.  Here you will find dozens if not hundreds of articles providing you with “expert” advice for your business plan writing endeavor.  Don’t take everything they say as gospel though because business plan writing is not an exact science.  The various contributors all have different opinions, so read through a few of the articles and make note of the items that come up time and time again.  That will give you a strong foundation in which to build your business plan.

2. Business Plan Generator – This sounds a bit strange, and I have not used this myself yet because I just came across it this morning, but it seems to have some good feedback.  At the very least this may help you lay a foundation and an outline for your plan.  Go to DealHorizon.com and click on the Business Plan Generator link on the right side.  Apparently you will submit information about your business and it will generate a basic business plan for free.  The sites founder claims that, “Creating a business plan and five-year financial model using DealHorizon.com should take you less than an hour.”  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  I hope to submit a plan to it myself to test it out in the next week or so.

3. The Small Business Administration – Small business owners tend to misunderstand the role of the SBA.  Many even think that they provide grants from small businesses.  This probably has to do with those stupid TV commercials that suggest that the government passes out grants to small businesses like candy.  Although the SBA does not provide small businesses with grants, they do offer various loan programs, but more importantly they offer access to a number of free resources.  If you use the free business plan generator to get started I would suggest comparing your generated plan to the outline provided at Business Plan Outline.  Make the necessary improvements to your plan as suggested by the SBA’s outline descriptions, and then take your plan to your local Small Business Development Center SBDC Locator for a free business plan review and one-on-one coaching.

If you make use of these 3 free resources my guess is that you will come away with a professional looking plan, and more importantly a plan that will serve you as a roadmap as you start or grow your business.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/small-business-articles/write-a-great-business-plan-with-these-3-free-resources-3074090.html

Many of you may have heard of the 1 Page Business Plan.  A smart, and now rich man, once determined that business plans were too long, and that often times VIP’s and decision makers don’t even read past the first couple pages of your business plan.  In response to this problem he created the 1 Page Business Plan brand.  He wrote books, trained others, and made a fortune I am sure.  Although his assumptions were correct that many people will not read more than a page or two of your business plan, there are still a number of reasons why you should not simply write a 1 page business plan.

Credibility – Whether a banker or investor actually reads your entire business plan is besides the point. Handing over a nicely bound and professionally written business plan to your banker will provide immediate credibility that you have done the work.  On the other hand, if you simply write a one page business plan, which is essentially an executive summary, it will look like you have not done the work and the research to validate your business endeavour.  The business plan gives the banker or potential investor the impression that you have at least considered items like your competition, your marketing plan, and your business model.

Business Plans are for Internal Use – The purpose of a business plan is not only to appease a banker or investor, rather a business plan can be valuable for internal use.  If you have a simple one page business plan you will probably run out of direction for your business after week one.  Your business plan should be an internal road map for you business that is constantly changing and adapting with the competitive environment you find your business in.

The Purpose of an Executive Summary is to Intrigue the Reader – If your executive summary or one page business plan is successful, it will intrigue the banker or investor to ask for more questions or more detail about your business.  If all you wrote was an executive summary, what extra detail can you provide?  A full business plan will allow you to provide interested parties with additional detail regarding your business.

Ultimately there are a number of reasons why you should write a full business plan.  The value of a one page business plan or an executive summary is that is compels the reader to ask for more.  It should be intriguing and should supplement a document that provides the reader with more detail on any aspect of the business that they wish to learn more about.  Keep this in mind as you consider taking the easy way out when writing your business plan.

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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/small-business-articles/3-reasons-why-you-should-not-write-a-1-page-business-plan-3154222.html

Starting a business plan is a detailed process that is both educational and revealing. With existing companies it is a chance to re-evaluate profit margins and focus on the prominent areas of the business while cutting out the departments that are losing money. For business plans for new companies it is an opportunity to really focus on, and understand the industry and evaluate whether your next big idea will be successful before you make a large investment.
Although up to 44% of new businesses survive 4 years or more the success of any new business is good planning, access to capital and good business management.
Here are the 5 best tips for creating a killer business plan that will undoubtedly impress:
1) Consider Your Audience
Business plans are developed for many different reasons. Is it for presenting to a panel for project approval? Will it be to submit for funding? Is it simply to restructure the business for profitability? Each of these avenues will require adjustments to the plan format and style you will need to use throughout the document. If you are attempting to obtain funding then you will have to have very detailed cost and ROI projections that are measurable and realistic. If you are making a presentation to a non-profit or a board of directors it is likely that you will need to include a directive on community impact or involvement and impact (either positive or negative) to the existing business. Remember your audience as you creates your document to ensure you focus on the important topics and leave no questions unanswered.
2) Quality Reference Material Is Key
It is important to integrate a diverse mix of reference material in your plan document. The web is great for the latest news but is not nearly as highly regarded as printed documents. Be sure to use a good mix of reputable internet reference along with well-known facts and industry statistics most often found in printed literature. Industry specific publications and industry magazines are an excellent way to get the latest news and trends in a reliable place. Always include references from industry publications as well to raise the standard your business plan and build credibility in your due diligence. Always make sure to cite your research or any quotes you may use. This will also build credibility while ensuring you are not infringing on any protected or copyrighted content you use. To quickly and easily cite your sources there is a web-based tool that you can use to enter in your info and get back the properly formatted entry for the works cited page. It makes the process a breeze: easybib.com.
3) Do Your Own Research
Creating a solid business plan is the singular first step in knowing your industry and understanding what it will take to be successful in your chosen field. Part of developing a plan should be to evaluate competitors, define your business strategy and start to understand if your value proposition meets a tangible need in the marketplace. Walking through the initial steps of creating a business plan is an invaluable process that will help to ensure that your business can survive the market trends. Don’t pay someone else to do your research for you or it may end up costing you more than you think.
4) Using a Business Plan Template
Now that you have various notes and articles, market information and loads of statistics it is time to put it all together in a layout that will highlight the data you have compiled. Finding business plan examples can be a challenge as every business plan is different (see point #2 above), however you can develop your own based on a compilation of the different topics or areas you want to cover. If you want a business plan template that comes formatted with sample headings and the different categories already setup, try using the plan layout from online websites. This site has a real business plan in Word format for quickly changing out headings and information. In addition the plan comes with a break-even analysis template in Excel as well as a 1 year Pro-Forma template in Excel with the formulas already built for easily updating and projecting costs for your business. This is a big time saver and an easy way to quickly get the business plan document underway without having to start from scratch.
5) Seek Out Experts in the Industry
Finally, after you have organized your information reach out to some industry experts like local college professors, trade show organizers, or even your local Chamber of Commerce for some insight and feedback on your plan. It always helps to get a second opinion on the plan before making the final presentation. Having one or more individuals look over the plan will shed light on areas that need to be revised or reinforce that the business plan is ready to present.
Don’t get distracted spending valuable time figuring out the Works Cited, Table of Contents or overall plan layout. Use the templates or resources that are readily available to you and spend the time focusing where you should, on the reporting and presentation of your business idea.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-ideas-articles/top-5-tips-for-writing-a-killer-business-plan-3231860.html

Starting a business plan is a detailed process that is both revealing and educational. To get started find some good business plan examples and decide what the purpose of your plan will be based on the examples you have. For existing businesses it is an opportunity to re-evaluate profit margins and focus on successful areas of the business while cutting out the departments that are not profitable. For business plans in startup companies it is an opportunity to really focus on, and understand the industry and evaluate whether your shiny new opportunity will be successful before you make an investment of time and money.
Although up to 44% of new companies survive 4 years or more the success of any new startup is proper planning and projection, capital resources, and good business management.
Here are the top 5 tips for creating a killer business plan that will undoubtedly impress:
1) Don’t Skip the Research
Creating a solid business plan is the very first step in knowing your industry and understanding what it will take to be successful in your chosen field. Part of creating a business plan should be to evaluate the competition, refine your business strategy and begin to understand if your value proposition meets a tangible need in the marketplace. Going through the steps of creating a business plan is an invaluable process that will help to ensure that your business will be able to survive the market trends. Don’t pay someone else to do this part for you or it may end up costing you more than you think.
2) Consider Your Audience
Business plans are created for many different reasons. Will it be for presenting to a board for project approval? Will it be to submit for funding? Is it simply to re-evaluate the business and profitability? Each of these areas will require adjustments to the plan format and style you choose to use throughout the document. Find a good business plan example to use as a starting point to help focus your project. If you are trying to get funding then you will need to have very detailed cost and ROI projections that are realistic and measurable. If you are presenting to a board or non-profit it is likely that you will need to include a focus on community impact or involvement and impact (either positive or negative) to the existing organization. Keep your audiences in mind as you create your document to ensure you hit the right points and leave no questions unanswered.
3) Use Quality Reference Material
It is important to use a good mix of reference material in your business plan. The internet is great for up to date news but is not nearly as reliable and printed publications. Be sure to use a good mix of reputable website research along with solid facts and industry statistics commonly found in printed books. Industry publications and magazines are a great way to get the latest news and trends in a reputable place. Include research from industry publications as well to enhance your plan and build credibility in your due diligence. Always be sure to cite your research or any quotes you may use. This will also build credibility while ensuring you are not infringing on any copyright protections of the content you use. To quickly and easily cite your sources there is an online tool that you can use to enter in your info and get back the properly formatted entry for a works cited page. It makes the process a breeze: easybib.com
4) Find a Good Business Plan Example Template
Now that you have countless articles and notes, market information and statistics it is time to put it all together in a format that will highlight the research you have compiled. Finding a business plan example template can be a challenge as every business plan is different (see point #2 above), however you can create your own based on a combination of the different areas or topics you want to cover. If you want something that is already formatted with sample headings and the different categories already setup consider using the plan package from the online websites. This site offers a real business plan example in Word format for easily changing out headings and information. In addition the plan comes with a break-even analysis template in Excel as well as a 1 year Pro-Forma in Excel with the formulas in place for easily updating and projecting costs for the year. Finding a business plan example in Word format is a big time saver and an easy way to quickly get the business plan document underway without starting from scratch.
5) Talk to Industry Experts
Finally, once you have compiled your research reach out to some industry experts like local college professors, trade show organizers, or even the local Chamber of Commerce for some feedback and input on your plan. It always helps to get a critical eye on the plan before making the final presentation. Having one or more people review the work will shed light of areas that may be lacking or confirm that the business plan is ready to present.
Don’t get caught spending too much time figuring out the Table of Contents, Works Cited or overall plan formatting. Use a business plan example template or other resources that are readily available to you and spend your time focusing where you should, on the research and presentation of your business idea.
After struggling to find the tools to write his own business plan for a local small business, Craig Frazier compiled the final product of the actual business plan and spreadsheets into a business plan example package that is available online.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-ideas-articles/business-plan-example-writing-a-killer-business-plan-in-5-steps-3231907.html

It is always said “If you Fail to Plan, you Plan to Fail”

Success in business comes as a result of planning. You have to have a detailed, written plan that shows what the ultimate goal is, the reason for the goal, and each milestone that must be passed in order to reach your goal.

A business plan is written definition of, and operational plan for achieving your goal. You need a complete but success tool in order to define your basic product, income objectives and specific operating procedures. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN to attract investors, obtain financing and hold onto the confidence of your creditors, particularly in times of cash flow shortages–in this instance, the amount of money you have on hand compared with the expenses that must be met.

Aside from an overall directional policy for the production, sales effort and profit goals of your product–your basic “travel guide” to business success–the most important purpose your business plan will serve, will be the basis or foundation of any financial proposals you submit. Many entrepreneurs are under the mistaken impression that a business plan is the same as a financial proposal, or that a financial proposal constitutes a business plan. This is just a misunderstanding of the uses of these two separate and different business success aids.

The business plan is a long range “map” to guide your business to the goal you’ve set for it. The plan details the what, why, where, how and when, of your business–the success planning of your company.

Your financial proposal is a request for money based upon your business plan–your business history and objectives.

Understand the differences. They are closely related, but they are not interchangeable.

Writing and putting together a “winning” business plan takes study, research and time, so don’t try to do it all in just one or two days.

The easiest way to start with a loose leaf notebook, plenty of paper, pencils, pencil sharpener, and several erasers. Once you get your mind “in gear” and begin thinking about your business plan, “10,000 thoughts and ideas per minute” will begin racing thru your mind…So, it’s a good idea when you aren’t actually working on your business plan, to carry a pocket notebook and jot down those business ideas as they come to you–ideas for sales promotion, recruiting distributors, and any other thoughts on how to operate and/or build your business.

Later, when you’re actually working on your business plan, you can take out this “idea notebook” evaluate your ideas, rework them, refine them, and integrate them into the overall “big picture” of your business plan.

The best business plans for even the smallest businesses run 25 to 30 pages or more, so you’ll need to “title” each page and arrange the different aspects of your business plan into “chapters.” The format should pretty much run as follows:

Title Page Statement of Purpose Table of Contents Business Description Market Analysis Competition Business Location Management Current Financial Records Explanation of Plans For Growth Projected Profit & Loss/Operating Figures Explanation of Financing for Growth Documentation Summary of Business & Outlook for The Future Listing of Business & personal References

This is a logical organization of the information every business plan should cover. I’ll explain each of these chapters titles in greater detail, but first, let me elaborate upon the reasons for proper organization of your business plan.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-ideas-articles/how-to-prepare-a-business-plan-that-guarantees-big-profits-3285128.html

Every business plan is different. A company and its products and services are unique. The purpose of a business plan could be to either start a completely new business venture or grow an existing business. The audience could be investors, bankers, managers, or major suppliers. The sections or topics of a business plan may not apply to every business. Listed here are the top 10 sections that are found in most successful business plans.

The first, and most popular, part of a business plan is the Executive Summary. It provides an introduction to the company, its business opportunity, products or services, current business position, financial potential, and a closing paragraph stating what you want from the reader. Remember, this is a summary – most of these topics will be explained in more detail later in the business plan. The Executive Summary is the most important section since it will be read first and is used to entice the audience to read more of the business plan.

The second topic is the Company Background. This section tells the story of how the company began and why. It also describes the ownership of the business and business type (Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, S Corporation, C Corporation, Limited Liability Company).

The third topic is Products. It describes the product, competitors, market research and demand, and suppliers. The fourth topic is Services. This is similar to Products except that with services, a business plan needs to explain how the service will be provided. The Products and Services sections are an example of how an entrepreneur or business owner needs to apply the sections that work best for them. Some companies will have products, some will have services, and some will have both.

The fifth topic of a business plan is an analysis of the Industry, Competition, and Market. This section includes in-depth details about the current condition and trends for the industry, specific companies that will be the primary competitors, the market size, projected market growth, and the characteristics or profile of a typical customer.

The sixth section is the Marketing Plan. A marketing plan is important because it describes how the company will reach its revenue goals. It should outline the promotional plans and distribution channels, and explain pricing and the company’s competitive advantage.

The seventh section of a business plan is the Operating Plan. An operating plan talks about what is needed to operate the business, such as employees, equipment, the location, and supplies. It describes how the business will be run on a day-to-day basis.

The eighth section goes over Management, Organization, and Ownership. It will include information about outside consultants, including attorneys, accountants, and advertising professionals. Typically, investors will need to feel comfortable with the owners, advisory board, and managers before they back a venture.

The ninth section of a business plan is Goals and Strategies. Discuss business goals, such as increasing market share, expanding into new markets, adding a location, and sales revenue. It’s important that these goals are as realistic as possible.

The tenth section is the Financial Projections. This can be the most intimidating part of a business plan for most people. But, with a good idea of your expenses and projected income, business planning software can automatically prepare financial statements for you.

Business planning software helps entrepreneurs and business owners prepare their entire business plan by providing examples of each topic, practical advice, and a list of start-up resources. Even though every business plan may be different, using a standard process found in business planning software can help walk you through each of the top 10 sections found in most business plans

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Business plan is the top essential thing to have when setting up a new business or expanding an existing one; however, it is a challenging undertaking, and there is need for expertise in order to create a sound and workable plan. A well-written business plan is necessary for every aspect of your business such as securing loans and working with vendors.

As your mind is occupied with other aspects of setting up the business or trying to implement business expansion strategy, you may not be able to come forth with a sound plan, especially if you do not have skills in creating such an important piece that determines the success of your business. Therefore, hiring a professional business plan service provider is the best option at your disposal.

Business Plan Cost

The entire cost you will incur when hiring the services of a business plan writer is largely determined by the aspects of the service you want handled for you. For instance, you may opt to have the service provider write only the business plan and leave out the marketing strategy. On the other hand, it is likely to cost more when both the plan and marketing strategy are undertaken by the expert. A good number of the business plan services do not charge for consultation and would also offer free business plan quote.

Tips on Choosing a Business Plan Provider

Sometimes, it could help substantially to search and read business plan writers reviews online to help you make a better choice. However, ensure that the reviews are genuine, visit sites that offer honest reviews of such services. You may also choose to use business plan software to write your business plan; again, it’s a good idea to read genuine business plan software reviews online.

Business Plan Service Process

For most business plan services, the same process applies but may vary slightly.

This is how it goes;

You will first of all undergo an interview with the business plan service provider along side with your management team. The essence is to capture a good picture of your intended business or an existing one in order to build a solid and relevant plan thereafter.

Subsequently, the business plan service will conduct an extensive research which will include studying related businesses to aid them in structuring relevant content for your business plan. There may be need for revisions along the line in order to come forth with the best plan. Usually, you will be consulted all along to ensure that you participate in the structuring of your business plan. They will also advise you accordingly on marketing strategies (or even come forth with excellent marketing strategies for you if you choose so) and business finance sources.

Bear in mind that a sound business plan is necessary to get financial assistance and funding for your business. This is why you must choose a business plan writer wisely, and ensure that your investment in business plan will pay you off excellently at last.

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