Starting a business plan is a detailed process that is both educational and revealing. For existing businesses it is an opportunity to evaluate profit margins and focus on the prominent areas of the business while cutting out the areas that are losing money. For business plans involving 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 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 good planning, capital resources, and solid management.
Here are 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 singular primary step in knowing your industry and understanding how to be successful in your chosen field. Part of creating a business plan should be to evaluate competitors , define your business strategy and begin to understand if your value proposition meets a tangible need in the marketplace. Walking through the initial steps of development for a business plan is an invaluable process that will help to solidify whether or not your business will be able to survive the market trends. Don’t pay someone else to do your research for you or it may end up being more costly than you think.
2) Consider Your Target Audience
Business plans are created for numerous reasons. Is it for presenting to a board for project approval? Is it to submit for funding? Is it simply to re-evaluate the business for profitability? Each of these areas will require changes to the business plan format and style you choose to incorporate throughout the document. If you are attempting to secure funding then you will have to have very specific cost and ROI projections that are measurable and realistic. If you are making a presentation to a board or non-profit it is assured that you will need to include a focus on community impact or involvement and impact (either positive or negative) to the existing business. Keep your audience in mind as you create your business plan to ensure you focus on the important topics and leave no questions unanswered.
3) Use Quality Reference Material
It is vital to use a good mix of reference material in your business plan. The internet is great for the latest news but is not nearly as highly regarded as printed publications. Be sure to use a good mix of reputable website research along with well known facts and industry specific statistics commonly found in printed books. Industry specific publications and industry magazines are an excellent way to get the most current news and trends in a reliable place. Always include references from industry publications as well to enhance your business plan and develop credibility in your research. Always be sure to properly document your research or any quotes you may use. This will also develop credibility while ensuring you are not infringing on any protected or copyrighted content you use. To easily cite your reference sources there is an web-based tool that you can use to enter in your info and get back the accurately formatted entry for the works cited section. It will help make the process a breeze: http://www.easybib.com/.
4) Using A Business Plan Template
Now that you have various notes and articles, industry insight and information and statistics it is time to put it all together in a format that will highlight the data you have compiled. Finding a good business plan example can be difficult 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 desire to cover. If you want a business plan template that comes formatted with sample headings and the different categories already built for you, consider using the plan layout from a site like http://www.business-plan-examples.com. This site has an actual business plan in Word format for easily substituting information and headings. In addition the source file 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 for your business. This is a big time saver and an easy solution to quickly get your business plan document underway without having to start from scratch.
5) Talk To Industry Experts
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 feedback and input on your plan. It always helps to get a critical eye on the plan before making the final pitch. Having multiple people look over the the document will shed light on areas that need revision or reinforce that the business plan is ready to pitch.
Don’t get distracted spending too much 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 research and presentation of your business idea.
