Business Planning

If you are a budding entrepreneur, you likely have a clear idea of what you want your business to be and where you want it to go.  But business planning involves more than just dreams. There are clear steps you need to take in order to be successful, including having a business plan.

Many people think of a business plan as some sort of box to check, but not something they necessarily need — especially if they have their own funding and don’t need a loan or venture capital. This theory is counterproductive: even businesses that don’t need funding will benefit from putting pen to paper and creating this essential roadmap.

Experts in business planning agree that every successful business plan contains 7 key elements. They are:

• The executive summary, which boils your business down to its most important information and provides all the information that is pertinent to you, potential investors, employees, and anybody else who needs a snapshot of what your business is all about.
• The business description, which tells what your business will do and includes your mission statement. When you look back at your business description, it will remind you of what inspired you to get started in the first place, as well as any special features that your business has, the who, why, where and how of your business, and where you expect it to be in the future.
• The market analysis, which takes a close look at the competition as well as the overall market. The market analysis aims to describe where your business fits, and why it represents an improvement over the other offerings that exist.
• The organization’s management, which highlights the most essential elements and talents of your team.
• The sales strategies that your company plans for making your dream into a reality and making your company profitable. This includes pricing, promotional strategies, social media efforts and more.
• Your funding requirements, which is where you can specify the funding that you need if you need it. This should include why you need the money, how you plan to spend it, what kind of reporting you will provide, a timeline for expenses and repayment, and why it is worthwhile for investors or lenders to provide you with these funds.
• Financial projections are the last element of a successful business plan. It should include any revenues already realized and the revenue growth that you anticipate

Our firm can help you with this essential business planning step, guiding you through each element to make sure that you have addressed all aspects of this important document. Contact us today to set up an appointment and learn more about how we can help.