As its name implies, a Business Plan is a summary of how the owner of the business, a manager or an entrepreneur wishes to organize his business as well as lay down the procedures and processes needed in implementing the plans to a logical and fruitful conclusion. It sets down in writing a guide of the company's business purpose.
A good Business Plan has two main objectives: The first is to use it for internal management and planning while the second objective is to help convince outsiders into investing in their company based on the information contained in the Business Plan.
Though it is widely perceived in commercial circles that these Business Plans very soon become outdated, nevertheless the Business Plan is a tool for planning your business success, which in turn helps managers to better comprehend the business objectives and then choose wisely from among a set of competing options.
Business Plans are dependent on the area of expertise within the organization that one wants to focus one's attention upon. There are Business Plans for Marketing, Finance, Production and Human Resources. Each delves deeply into the technicalities involved and arrives at a suitable Business Plan relevant to that particular field.
Though the Business Plan has many different forms, there are, however, certain formats that do address their particular needs. They contain information regarding the following topics:
Executive summary
Company Background
Marketing
Production and manufacturing
Finance
Human Resources
As mentioned earlier, this document is aimed at serving two purposes. It acts as a guide from inception until fruition. It functions as a blueprint that will smoothly keep you running on the right track at all times. Having expended enough time and energy into planning for the future, the chances of avoiding hazards and experiencing frustrating times are greatly reduced. It also serves as a useful guideline to potential investors, who glean their knowledge about the company from the business plan before deciding on investment options. The subject matter must be concise as well as hold all necessary information required in this context.
Creating a good business plan is not an easy task. It requires thorough knowledge and patience and a lot of endeavor. It can run into scores of pages. It need to be structured carefully and in fact, should be broken down into sections. Support it with supportive documents that spell out any additional information.
You would most certainly start with a cover sheet, which is the title page of your plan. It will contain the Name of the company, Company address, Company phone number (with area code), Logo (if applicable), names, titles, addresses, phone numbers (with area code) of owners, month and year in which the plan is issued, Name of preparer. Next is the mission statement, information about the business, products and services, location, management, personnel and method of record keeping, insurance and security.
In addition, the Business Plan will state the marketing plan of the company in full detail. Another aspect covered is financial statements that spell out past, present and future finances. The entire document should be professional in format and appearance. Making a favorable first impression will set the company on the right path from the very outset. |
