There are so many elements to plan out and focus on when starting a small business that it can be an up and down roller coaster at times. Getting a plan together for how you want to run your company is the first matter of business you should work out to ensure a successful path. Creating a business plan is ideal because it outlines the route you plan to take in order to grow revenue and boost sales. U.S. Small Business Administration has several detailed articles about how to write a business plan, but we’ll break down the big picture for you.
1. Work on your market analysis – This will be information on what your company does, what makes you stand out from competitors and the markets that you are looking to target. The SBA has five official sources of free data that will help with this. Such research is an essential step in your plan, considering it allows you to see what other businesses in your industry are doing. Information about products, pricing, website structure, social sharing, global offers and more will help you to determine where you want your company to fall within that realm.
2. Detail your company’s organization and management – This section of your business plan includes details about the ownership of your company, your management team, who does what, your salary and benefits package and so on. You want your reader to see that your employees mean something to the company and don’t just act as a number.
3. Establish a marketing strategy – Make a list of your product line and/or services, and how you intend on marketing them. Explain what you sell (this might include a set of business cards or stack of letterhead) and how it benefits your customers, as well as what your product life cycle will be. Then, come up with a sales strategy on how you expect to market it. This part of the business plan is central because it will create customers who will be the backbone of your progress.
4. Outline your financial projections – When requesting funding, projections are necessary to back up your request. If you are just starting a small business, you will want to give prospective data on what you expect your company to achieve in the next couple years. If you already own an established business, you will need to provide past information regarding your company’s finances. This will normally include the last three to five years and should be a compilation of income statements, cash flow and balance sheets for every year.
It is always important, no matter what aspect of your business you’re focusing on, to stand out from the competition, and a well thought out business plan will be your initial step in getting to that point. You won’t get very far without a plan, so follow these steps and watch the success unfold right before your eyes! Do you have any successful steps to creating a business plan? Leave a comment below.