Want to survive the recession? Be your own boss!
Posted December 17, 2008 by Bernz
Continuous layoffs around the country are causing people who have only considered starting a small business or home based business to go ahead and make that leap into business ownership. Congratulations on your investment. You’ve just increased your opportunity for long term sustainability. But before you move forward on your business idea, put a plan in place. A business plan that is. It’s the tool you need to get your business off the ground.
Your business plan identifies your business goals and defines your step-by-step actions to achieve them. A business plan is also critical for raising capital or when you want to create strategic business partnerships, as a well-written business plan will help you secure a bank loan or capital from private investors.
Here’s what your business plan should include:
1) Executive Summary – This is the most important part of your business plan because it persuades investors to read your plan from the first page to the very end.
2) Company Description – Explains the basics of your business (legal status, company mission, milestones, etc).
3) Industry Analysis – Evaluates the external entities that impact your business industry. For example, how many businesses are like yours within a certain radius? What current trends or market demands give your business an advantage over others?
4) Target Market – Identifies who your ideal customers are, what they want, need, and are willing to pay for your product or services.
5) Competition – Identifies who you’re up against. This part of the plan also increases your understanding of your own product and identifies your company strengths to investors.
6) Strategic Position and Risk Assessment – This step defines your road map for making solid business decisions.
7) Sales & Marketing Strategy – Tell how will you promote your products, your company message, and how will you position and differentiate your products or services.
Operations and Technology – This section should describes how you plan to run your business.
9) Management Structure – Here you give details about the qualifications of the people who will help you run and operate your business.
10) Financials – This is a cash flow analysis where you discuss how will you obtain and manage your company cash flow.
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