You may be in dire need of a business plan to secure funding for
your dream project. You may start looking around for a suitable
business plan that you can use and do not have time to draw up the
plan yourself. You need to get started with the project and do
not have time or energy for all this hassle.
The business plan is a very important part of your business and
it should not only be used to secure funding! It is the
roadmap for your business. What needs to be done and when, by
whom and how much will it cost? What is the expected income
etc.
It may speed up the process to use some of the available business
plan software packages but you need to "own" the business plan
ideas.
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The real value lies
in the planning process: all the thinking and problem solving you do
as you develop your own plan.
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By starting off by using some of the available free business plans,
you will end up with
a generic, non-creative, non-specific plan that will probably
inspire the heck out of your bankers when you want to borrow
money - but won't add any value to your entrepreneurial
efforts when you hit that first hurdle.
Business planning as an ongoing process, however, is a critical part of
setting up your business and you should make time to do it properly. While you're working through the process
you visualise every aspect of it - where the clients are hiding, how
you will find them and entice them to try you out, how the money
will flow through your business, how much you will need to cover the
taxes, staff, rents, bad debts, new Mercedes sports car, telephones,
etc.
As you visualise how all the bits connect together, and look at how
much you can pump through this commercial engine you're designing,
you also begin to understand the problems - the places where the
engine will run out of oil or petrol. The planning process helps you
build the right engine for your needs - and helps you identify all
the pitfalls before they happen.
In summary - a business plan is pretty worthless unless you've taken
the time and effort to go through your own process.
Having said that, the biggest challenge is simply: Where do
I start?
The worst thing to do is get a free business plan
layout or template, fill in the blanks without too much thought, and
head for the bank to sign your home away. (The bank is not going to
lend you money on the basis of your professionally printed plan.
They're going to lend you as much money as your house is presently
worth, and they're going to tie up up in legal knots to protect
themselves.)
Next best thing to do is find a business planning consultant.
They're not all that easy to find. And they're usually pretty
expensive if you want a quality, mentored result. The usually
charge per hour and you need to explain all the detail of your
business to him. An independent opinion may be valuable but
you have the added advantage that you are dedicated to the business
and the one to get the benefits of the results, may it be good or
bad. Your biggest
challenge is establishing how good the consultant really is. In our experience
most businesses do not use consultants because of cost and lack of
"accountability" by them. The very nature of most start-up businesses
are that they do not
have much money.
Which means that the best thing you can do is to
try and find a few giants with big shoulders that you can stand on.
The best modern giants I can think of hide in software.
Modern business planning software captures the collective
knowledge of thousands of people and puts it onto the desktop in
front of you. It guides you by forcing you through a process of
carefully thinking through your business plan, testing the numbers,
and finally delivering a professionally written result that you can
use, and that your bankers or any other lenders will find useful as
well.
The best product we have encountered is
Business Plan Pro. As a bonus, their
site has a whole bunch of free business plans as well, but I used
those to see how well the software did its job, rather than to try
and hammer them into my own situation.
To the right of the page are a few links that will take you to a whole bunch of free
plans, as well as some exceptional software that we wholeheartedly
endorse. But free advice isn't worth what you pay for it.
Please make the commitment to yourself and your business, and climb
onto some strong shoulders. Only then will truly take charge of your
business.
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How to Write a Business Plan
The Business Plan Guide
provides expert advice on how to take a business idea and turn it into a
polished business plan.
Starting a
Business
Learn about the various steps required to start a business successfully.
Marketing and
Advertising
Increase your marketing and advertising knowledge to improve your
business.
Growing Your
Business
After your business is started, how do you manage its growth? How is
your cash flow?
Managing Your
E-business
How do you do business online? Find answers to that question and more.
Legal Information
Don't overlook the legal aspects of your business. Our business planning
experts explain what you need to do to protect yourself.
Purchasing a
Business
Read tips and techniques on buying a business or starting a franchise.
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