One of the most important things you can do as a small business owner is formulate a business plan. Business plans are great for organizing your thoughts and ideas and developing the strategies you need to succeed.
But how do you make a business plan? This daunting task doesn’t have to be as scary as it can seem. You should follow a few steps to create a detailed, actionable plan to help your new small business thrive.
Post Contents
Do Some Research
The first thing any entrepreneur needs to do is to figure out if their business idea even has a chance to work. You wouldn’t want to get all the way to your launch only to find out that no one wants what you’re selling! So it’s very important to conduct market research to better understand what your business will provide people.
Research can come in many different forms. Entrepreneurs looking to break into a specific field should look at similar companies or even direct competitors to see how their businesses are structured. This can be especially important for small business owners, as you’ll likely have a few direct competitors.
Another good idea is to look at small business statistics to better understand what you’re getting into. Looking over the stats can give you a better idea of what kinds of issues you and your business are likely to face. You would also be well served to find some market research statistics that can illuminate your target market a bit for you.
Finally, it’s always a good idea to talk to others about their experiences in the business world. Whether you have an entrepreneur friend or someone in your industry that you wish to emulate, reach out to them and see if they have any advice for newcomers. That advice can be more valuable than any pie charts and graphs you can find.
Write Out Your Executive Summary And Goals
Once you have an idea of what you really want your business to be, the next step is to put it into words. This takes the form of an executive summary, which is hopefully a term you’re familiar with now. With an executive summary, you lay out your mission statement and vision for the company’s future, both in the short and long term.
Your executive summary should be written like a pitch to potential investors or other interested parties. After all, you will most likely need to secure funding from other avenues to really get your business up and running. And if you can’t sell your business idea to yourself in writing form, how will you sell it to investors?
You should also lay out some specific and realistic goals for your business. These goals can range from the first day of official operations to years down the line, but they should be as clear and specific as possible.
They can also be based on specific numbers to hit (such as a volume of sales) or less tangible goals like maintaining an excellent reputation among customers. Either way, it’s a good idea to write these ideas out, so they are easier to keep in mind in the future.
Pick Your Next Course Of Action
Business planning can take as little time as just a few days and as much as years. That’s because a ton of work goes into just envisioning your business’s future, both immediate and long-term. Once you have your executive summary in place, you can decide what step you want to take next.
Many entrepreneurs go straight to financial planning. Figuring out what your rough operations costs and other expenses will give you an idea of what your business has to work with going forward, which can bring into focus which goals are achievable and which aren’t.
You can then reach out to venture capitalists, apply for a small business loan, or even ask family members for funds. Financial planning is an essential part of the business planning process. You can also take plenty of other steps in this stage.
You can conduct additional research to refine your plan further and dig deeper into your business’s niche. You can start working on a sales or marketing plan, which is a great idea for businesses that will market a specific product.
And if you intend to hire employees and expand your business beyond just yourself, it would be helpful to outline the exact structure of your business going forward. That way, you’ll eliminate confusion down the line as to who exactly has what role within the business.
Conclusion
Creating a business plan for a small business is incredibly important. Small business owners need to have a clear business plan before they can start operating comfortably. Firstly, they should research to ensure their business idea is sound and doesn’t just sound good in their head.
Next, they need to work on an executive summary that outlines exactly what their business will do. From there, they can plan their financials and business structure or even start bringing others into the fold. Once you have your business plan in place, you can get to what you do best: making your business ideas come to life.
