The Business Plan

A business plan can serve many purposes. It is frequently used as the document to raise funding for new businesses. As such the plan is a selling document. A business plan is also a useful roadmap that can help you to get where you want to go. When you use the team approach to the planning process, the plan can be an excellent management tool that aids you in motivating employees, obtaining better information for decision-making, and improves communication within your company. In many cases, the business plan becomes a reality check for business owners. Thus, the business plan and the process of producing it can help you to establish direction, set goals, and begin the process of accomplishing those goals.

Who Writes the Plan?

An effective business plan should not be done by a consultant or one of your employees. YOU should direct the process and be as involved as possible. It comes from your goals, vision, philosophies, experiences, thoughts, and finally, your research into the business opportunity you are pursuing. This planning guide outlines the fundamentals of creating your own workable business plan.

Why Plan?

People frequently start businesses to gain more control over their professional destinies. Unfortunately, the reverse frequently occurs. Business owners often find that they spend most of their time "putting out fires" and spending very little time on direction setting and planning. As a result, business owners often report that they are frustrated by their lack of control over their businesses. The business plan is a means of gaining additional control over where your business is headed. As described above, the mere process of planning can help you establish direction and movement in that direction.

What is a Good Plan?

A good business plan is a dynamic document. You don't just "set it and forget it." It should be referred to frequently in decision-making, evaluating, and future planning. Your business plan should change as the environment in which you work changes. It may contain some gospel, but the plan itself is not sacred. The world changes and so must you. You must be prepared to significantly change or even scrap ideas from your plan occasionally. Using milestones developed in the planning process will help you to determine if and when this may be necessary. Writing and maintaining an effective, dynamic, and flexible plan will be one of the most difficult tasks you will encounter in developing, growing and maintaining your business.