YOUR BUSINESS PLAN   

If you require outside financing to start your business, you will definitely need a written business plan to secure financing.  Your business plan will be one of the documents the bank or mortgage company uses to review your plans and strategies, assess your knowledge of the business, and determine financial risk.

But more importantly, your business plan is for your benefit.  It is the tool you will use to help minimize risk, and assess and measure the success of your business on an on-going basis.

A business plan will help you think things through, to determine what it is that you want to do, and it will help you plan and organize what you need to do to accomplish this.  It will help you uncover both external and internal obstacles you may have to face, and it will assist you in assessing your personal strengths and weaknesses. 

A business plan focuses on the goals, plans, strategies and resources of a business.  It  gives your business a sense of direction,  and it provides a means of  benchmarking and measuring your business' progress.  

A business plan is a dynamic document that will change as your business changes.   

Your Product
What type of product or service do you plan to offer? What are your product's features and what are the benefits to the customer? Why is your product or service better than the competition?

Your Objectives
What are your goals for your company? What are your plans in terms of product expansion or financial growth? How do your plans compare with the projected growth for your industry in general?

Your Customer
Who is your intended customer, and how big is this market? What is the demand for your product or service? What are the current and expected trends for your type of business?

Your Expertise
Do you have expertise in this area? What will you need to do, or what must you learn to become an expert? Do you know someone with expertise in the areas where you are weak that could help you, or that you could hire?

Staffing
Will you need to hire people? What kind of experience will they require? Are there people available with those qualifications? What will it cost to train new employees?

Your Competition
How much competition is already out there? How does your product compare with the competition in terms of features, quality, price, customer service, target market? What is unique about your product or service? Where will you fit into the competition? Why would someone want to buy your product?

Financing
How much capital will you need to get started? What are the start-up costs for this type of business, such as licenses, legal and accounting fees, equipment, inventory, a business site? Are these expenses one-time or on-going? If you have employees, will you have the money available to pay them? If this is a sole proprietorship, do you have enough money to live on until the business gets established? How long do you project it will take for your business to break-even (that is, when will your sales equal your expenses)? Will you need financial assistance? What sources of funding are available?

Marketing Strategies
How will you market your product? Through a physical site, the internet, catalogues, etc.? How will you advertise your business? Through newspaper ads, magazines, flyers, brochures, the yellow pages, the internet?

The answers to some of these questions will depend on the type of product you are selling, the niche you are hoping to fill, and your target audience.

What are the features and benefits of your product or service? Are you offering something that has never be done before? Is your product of superior quality, a lower price than the competition, or is your primary selling point customer service? 

Please contact us with any questions or comments.