How To Create The Perfect Business Plan
Category: Business Planning
What makes the perfect business plan? This is the ultimate questions that every single entrepreneurs has come across at one point on their path to becoming a business owner. So what is the answer?
Well that’s where it becomes a little tricky. Not all business plan are created equal. Not all business plan are made with the same intentions in mind, and not all business plans are made to be seen by anyone or everyone.
What all that really means is that when writing a business plan for your own small business you have to keep the two things in mind before you actually start:
- What is the purpose of your business plan?
- Who is the business plan for?
Sure there are more things to keep in mind when writing a business plan but these two play a major role in determining what it is you need to do with your plan to make it perfect.
What is the purpose of your business plan?
Most likely you’ve seen some Hollywood movies where business plans are written on napkins at restaurants; or a business plan written on a dorm window in a university; or on a white board – but how realistic is this?
A business plan is supposed to be professional document written by a qualified business plan writer who knows nothing else but business plan writing. The business plan has to be 30 pages minimum and every single, and I mean every single page has to be as per the standard business plan guideline. The printed business plan must be properly staples, with a cover page, a pop out executive summary and must scream elegance. – said everyone wanting to start and write a business plan over the last 10-15 years
Now we are in 2018, and things are just a little bit different – I mean with technology and people always being in a hurry and all.
Sure you can’t really go wrong with the standard business plan, but what is the purpose of your business plan?
There are many reasons why a small business may want to write a business plan:
- Need to take it a bank to get funding
- Need to apply for government funding
- Need to provide to private investors
- Need to use it a a road map for success
- Need to share with shareholders/business partners
- Need to project 1, 3, 5, 10 year growth
- Need to just have one because it’s the “business thing to do”
Whichever purpose you wish to cover, a business plan is pretty much needed.
Who is the business plan for?
You remember when you were a kid how you adjusted your behavior around different people? Your parents, grandparents, your friends, your girlfriend/boyfriend…etc
Business plan writing is sort of like that as well. A proper business plan needs to be written in a way that it reads well to the person who the business plan is intended for.
Think about it like this; if your intentions with a business plan for your small business are to apply to a government funding schemes in order to get money to help you pay for tools and equipment, do you really think a person who’s the one who will be approving or not approving your business plan really cares about how you intend to create a website to advertise your products? They might. But what the would be more interested in is how if the funding agency was to give you the funding, how will you use the money and how would the new tools and equipment help your small business. How will the funding agency benefit?
If you’re writing a business plan to share with your business partner who already knows about your business and the idea, do you really need to write the business plan in s “sales method”, or do you write a business plan in an informative, step by step, this is your guide to run the business type of way.
The perfect business plan is a plan that no matter who it’s read by it answers the top critical questions; who are you, what do you do, why do you do it, where will you do it, when will you do it, how will you do it and what happens if you can’t?
When writing a business plan it’s important to write it 2 times. The first time needs to be a rough draft of all of your ideas on paper; just so you can get it out there. The second copy needs to be the real business plan that you intend on using. This plan will take all of your rough draft ideas and implement them into the real life business plan that you will use to start and grow your small business.
A typical business plan can cost between £1,000 to £3,000 if you hire a professional writer to do your plan for you, and if you have the money to do so, it’s highly recommended. As most people don’t know how to write a business plan, often it’s better to pay to get a quality product.
Alternatively many people decide to write their own business plans; which often end up being inadequate but at least you saved some money. Again, depending on the situation of your small business and why you need a business plan, writing one on your own may be the best option. If however you need to share your business plan with banks, private investors or government funding agencies, consider getting expert help!
Many entrepreneurs need just a little bit of guidance as well; thus may turn to business plan tools, templates and examples available on the web. A cheap alternative, but many times incomplete. If you’re trying to go away from hiring a professional to write your business plan, consider using our Business Plan Builder Tool. It’s a step by step fill in the blanks style business plan tool to help you create a professional business plan in no time. Once you’ve done your business plan using the Business Plan Builder Tool, our membership allows you to have one of our Business Plan Experts review your business plan and provide feedback. Consider using our tool to create your perfect business plan today.