Objective: the business plan is the key ingredient for a successful business and is often ignored. This session shows you how to create an individualized business plan, and provides the tools to make it easy. We believe that preparing and maintaining a business plan is important for any business regardless of its size or nature.

If you maintain a correct assessment of the changing economics of your business, your plan will provide a useful roadmap as well as a financing tool. But if you have miscalculated the potential, then your business plan could become a roadmap leading to failure. Since the my own business institute mobi course is broken down into fifteen of the most important topics to consider in starting or operating a business, your business plan can easily be organized into this same format.

Included in this session, a business plan template, which you can fill in and print. Search engines, libraries and bookstores provide sources that sell ready made plans for specific businesses. Keep in mind that creating a business plan is an essential step for any prudent entrepreneur to take, regardless of the size of the business. This step is too often skipped, but we have made it easy for you by providing this ready format to build your plan as you progress through this course. be aware now that most start up entrepreneurs are reluctant to write down their business plan.

It is, therefore, strongly recommended that you complete each segment of the plan as you progress through this course. We make it easy for you by providing sample plans for both product and service businesses and also an attractive blank form that you can download onto ms word and customize yourself. do not expect that all of your plan's initial assumptions will be correct. Instead, look at your business plan as an ongoing assessment that you will frequently review and change to conform to actual operating experiences. For example, your cash flow projection should be updated frequently to ensure ongoing liquidity not running out of cash. Your business plan will become your roadmap to chart the course of your business. But at the outset you cannot predict all of changing conditions that will surface. So after you have opened for business, it is important that you periodically review and update you plan.

why prepare a business plan? your business plan is going to be useful in a number of ways. First and foremost, it will define and focus your objective using appropriate information and analysis. You can use it as a selling tool in dealing with important relationships including your lenders, investors and banks. Your business plan can uncover omissions and/or weaknesses in your planning process. You can use the plan to solicit opinions and advice from people, including those in your intended field of business, who will freely give you invaluable advice. Too often, entrepreneurs forge ahead my way! without the benefit of input from experts who could save them from potentially disastrous mistakes.

To help get started in lining up appointments, you can fill in and use the following template. We have also provided a larger blank template for you to use at the end of this session. People to see include your investors, family members, banker, lawyer, attorney, business mentors, trusted business friends, potential customers, competitors distant ones , potential landlords, and the u.s. what to avoid in your business plan place some reasonable limits on long term, future projections. Better to stick with short term objectives and modify the plan as your business progresses. Too often, long range planning becomes meaningless because the reality of your business can be different from your initial concept.

In fact, to offset optimism, be extremely conservative in predicting capital requirements, timelines, sales and profits. Few business plans correctly anticipate how much money and time will be required. Do not ignore spelling out what your strategies will be in the event of business adversities. Don't depend entirely on the uniqueness of your business or even a patented invention. Success comes to those who start businesses with great economics and not necessarily great inventions. The business plan format is a systematic assessment of all the factors critical to your business purpose and goals. Here are some suggested topics you can tailor into your plan: a vision statement: this will be a concise outline of your business purpose and goals.

the people: by far, the most important ingredient for your success will be yourself. Prepare a résumé of yourself and one for each person who will be involved with you in starting the business. This part of your business plan will be read very carefully by those with whom you will be having relationships, including lenders, investors and vendors. Provides detailed recommendations on delegating authority, employee motivation, training and other key management tools.

If you lack the ability to perform a key function, include this in your business plan. For example, if you lack the ability to train staff, include an explanation how you will compensate for this deficiency. You could add a partner to your plan discussed in section 5 or plan to hire key people who will provide skills you don't have. your business profile: define and describe your intended business and exactly how you plan to go about it. economic assessment: provide a complete assessment of the economic environment in which your business will become a part.

Explain how your business will be appropriate for the regulatory agencies and demographics with which you will be dealing. If appropriate, provide demographic studies and traffic flow data normally available from local planning departments. cash flow assessment: include a one year cash flow that will incorporate your capital requirements covered in session 11 . Include your assessment of what could go wrong and how you would plan to handle problems.

marketing plan and expansion plans: your expansion plan should describe how you plan to test markets and products before rolling out. damage control plan: all businesses will experience episodes of distress. Your damage control plan should anticipate potential threats to your business and how you plan to overcome them. Here are three examples: plan for 35% loss of sales: during economic downturns, your survival will depend on your ability to maintain liquidity for a period of at least 12 months.