One of the most important tasks to carry out when you are planning to launch a brand new small business, is to take time to prepare a fully functional small business plan.
I thought I would go through a step by step guide to what you need for an effective small business plan. Many people try and start a business without any true expectations for the future other then 'oh this is going to work'. You have to know exactly what "should" happen so that the surprises are less. In most cases surprises in business aren't positive.
Another key benefit of a well written business plan is that it becomes a permanent reference point for you to view as needed and will assist you in maintaining your focus for the life of your business.
I am writing this guide in small sections to allow you to follow the plan in your own time. This article will demonstrate the complete overview of what you will need to consider when writing your small business plan.
Small business plan - an overview
There are 6 key elements to consider when preparing to write your business plan they are:
Your business aim: this section should indicate your businesses generic goals and should also identify what areas you will need to research (such as marketplace, route to market etc) and also pinpoint an accurate timetable for your small business development.Stock: this section should demonstrate your products and/or services that your are planning to specialise in, where you may source your products and any legislation you may need to be aware of and comply to.
Promotional: here you should plan to demonstrate how you intend to get your products and services to the marketplace, how you are to proceed with advertising media, where you plan to retail your products and services and also note any restrictions that may apply to certain products or services.Operational: This is where you should identify the time constraints that may apply (production time, supplier lead time etc), delivery timescale's to your customers, supplier conformance, shipping options and the limits that will apply.
Financial: This is a key section and should clearly demonstrate your total costing's, direct expenses, projected stock holding (if applicable), accounting methods, sales tables and your sales targets and company budget controls.Timetable: When writing your business plan, you will need to focus on 'forward planning'. This will encompass you projecting a timetable of development .where do you see your company in 5 years for example.
Once you have all these areas done, you have to know how you are going to promote your business and keep the business coming in. This seems to be the biggest problem most business owners have. You know everything there is to know about your products/services, but you know nothing about marketing. That's expected too. Marketing is an expertise in itself. If you've read much of my blog, you know how I preach about smart marketing. Smart marketing is all about spending your hard earned dollar and getting more then you spent in return. In other words, big return on investment (ROI). Every market will be different and different marketing tactics will work in each of them. You have a huge list of options too.
Newspapers, Yellow Pages, Radio, Television Ads,Fliers, postcards, promotion coupons,Referral programs,Internet marketing,Email marketing,Holding seminars and special events,Business to business referral programs.
In my next article we shall begin attacking each aspect of the business plan in detail beginning with your business aims.I hope you find this resource useful and remember, taking a week or so to write your small business plan will save you time AND money in the future.
I'm Dennis and I'd love the opportunity to help you grow your internet marketing and Empower business with my group. We are growing daily, learning from our mistakes and others too! Experience & Education & Enthusiasm is HOW we grow.
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