These are the introductory pages of the business plan software. They describe how a business plan works, and why it is important to have a business plan. The navigation bar on the left-hand side of this screen offers links to those pages, as well as links to a page full of links to outside websites which may offer help on getting your business started. After reading all of this information carefully, you may click on the link labeled "Creation" to begin creating your business plan.

Create Your Business Plan

Introduction: A Recipe for Success

Do you want your business to succeed?

A well-developed Business Plan can serve as one of your most important management tools. The Business Plan is the design for the implementation of the business. Its purpose is to serve as a blueprint for the business' responses during operations. It presents the guideline for the profitably marketed service or product of your business. It is focused on what action steps will be taken during and after project implementation.

A Tool to Help you Succeed

Studies show that small business owners who complete a Business Plan before starting their businesses are much more likely to succeed than small business owners who do not.

A written Business Plan can help you organize all the pieces that will have to come together to make you business a success. Moreover, the odds are that the entrepreneur has not thought out every significant aspect of his/her future business. Going through the process of creating a written Business Plan can help to be sure you do not miss any significant factors.

A Business Plan can assist an entrepreneur to succeed through a myriad of ways that include:

• A reality check to consider the feasibility of your business idea, and consider all relevant factors.
• A timetable to assist you to coordinate the diverse activities of the business operations.
• An analytical tool to help you evaluate the factors impacting on the business. The Plan presents the business' step-by-step intended responses to the critical issues as they arise.
• An allocation guide of time, energy and resources to make your business accomplish its goals.
• A projection technique that shows the future business growth and the required costs to achieve this growth.
• A vehicle to provide direction: the Business Plan permits you to provide specific information on how you will operate the business. All Business Plans provide responses to the following questions:
• What kind of business are you starting?
• What are your goals?
• How will you achieve these goals?
• Who are your customers?
• Who is the competition
• Where will your business operate?
• Who are your key employees?
• What methods will you use to finance your business?
• How will you market your business?
• A blueprint, against which you can track the projections, and progress towards your goals with the actual results your business is obtaining.

Preparing a Business Plan takes time and effort, but, in the long run, it will save you time and effort, and probably money as well. The Business Plan will serve as your guide throughout the entire start-up process and as reference to measure the mileposts of your venture. Its importance cannon be overemphasized.

Business Plan Audiences

Most Business Plans have multiple potential uses, so it is critical to design the study so that the material provided serves everyone's needs. Both internal and external constituencies typically utilize Business Plans. The internal users of the Business Plan tend to be management, owners and employees. External users include bankers, financiers, and investors.

Managers and entrepreneurs use a Business Plan as a blueprint for the future of the business. The plan can also serve internal groups within the business, such as employees, by providing a clear plan that states the resource allocations among different areas of the business. Also, the Business Plan can serve internal business users by providing a forum for buy-in for the employees to the plans and goals that the owners and management have for the business.

Potential investors, bankers and other financiers, and others external constituencies use the Business Plan to help determine their support for the project. This support is typically expressed in terms of investment dollars or loans.

Bankers' primary concerns focus on repayment, the bank's exposure, and a project's strengths and weaknesses. Bankers classify these concerns into the "5-C's." While the financier may be interested in other aspects of the project, the Business Plan should include information to address the following points:

The 5 C's of lending  1. Capacity: What is your ability to repay the loan?  2. Capital: What assets are being financed and ho much is requested?  3. Character: Who are the principals of the project? What is their background?  4. Collateral: What is being used to guarantee the loan? How is it valued?  5. Conditions: What other factors can affect the loan?

If a financier cannot understand the basics of the project, the odds for financing diminish. Using a standard format, such as that provided with the CD, will enable the financier to concentrate on the merits of the business and not miss information in the Business Plan.

Review of the Business Plan

The Business Plan should be professional in its organization and its presentation. Details such as a table of contents, page numbers, and references that make understanding the document easier should be included.

The perceived objectivity and reality of the plan is an important factor in the credibility placed on the plan by potential investors and financiers. Investors, community supporters, or outside financiers will often judge the perceived reliability of the entire study based on its least accurate piece. An otherwise well-conducted Business Plan could be viewed as inaccurate by a simple mistake.

To prevent this, the Business Plan should be carefully reviewed. It should be examined for overall clarity and logical consistency. Appropriate questions to keep in mind include:

• Have you checked the spelling?
• Is the language appropriate?
• Is the document well organized?
• Can someone who is not familiar with the project understand the study?

The reviewers should confirm that the assumptions utilized are valid and assure that the assumptions have been explained.

The Business Plan Cycle Described

IDENTIFICATION: preliminary idea creation, planning, pre-Business Plan study studies refining ideas.

DELIBERATION: formalization of business, create the business, decision to proceed.

IMPLEMENTATION: securing capital, construction, obtaining permits, hiring management.

EXECUTION: mobilization of manpower, equipment, and materials to carry out the plan.

EVALUATION: determine what worked and did not work (to plan again).

Business Planning is a continuous process. The Business Plan is not a document that is done once and then put away on a shelf. The business typically develops its Business Plan internally. It revises the plan with information from managers, bankers, and investors, as the project situation becomes more defined. As situations in business evolve rapidly, the plan should be updated every quarter, or at the minimum annually, to compare the actual figures that have transpired with the projections that were initially included in the plan. Comparing your budget with what has actually happened will keep a company "on track" and prevent future surprises.

This CD is designed to make the process of preparing a Business Plan easier. It is a map for you to follow on the exciting road of entrepreneurship. If you really want to have a successful business, and are willing to invest the time and effort required to be successful, continue reading.

Elements of the Business Plan (Return to top)

The Business Plan serves as a forum to present key information about the business. This analytical tool used during the project planning process shows how a business would operate under an explicitly stated set of assumptions - the technology used (the facilities, types of equipment, manufacturing process, etc.) and the financial aspects of the project (capital needs, volume, cost of goods, wages, etc.). The Business Plan represents the first time in a project development process that the pieces are put together to see if they perform together to create a technically and economically feasible concept.

Standard Business Plans include details such as key management personnel, business location the financial package, product flow, and possible customers. The exact appearance of each business Plan varies slightly. The unique qualities of the Business Plan varies slightly. The unique qualities of the Business Plan will depend on the industry, the critical factors for that project, and the complexity of the business. Emphasis can be placed on various sections of an individual Business Plan depending upon the characteristics and needs of the venture for which the study was prepared.

The Business Plan consists of:

1) Cover Page
The cover page consists of your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and web site.

2) Table of Contents
The table of contents should provide page numbers for the key sections of the Business Plan.

3) Executive Summary
The Executive Summary is the most important suction, as it is the first (and sometimes only) part of the plan that some interested parties may read. It contains a summary, consisting of no more than one to two pages, of the Business Plan. You will prepare this section last, after completing the other parts of the Business Plan.

4) Background Information
This section includes:
a) Your personal background and qualifications to run the business.
b) A mission statement for your business.
c) Background information on the type of industry into which your business fits, and its place within that industry.
d) Your business' goals and objectives.

5) Description of Products and/or Services
This section includes a description of the product(s) and/or service(s) you are selling. The description should include the price of each product or service, and the cost to your business to produce each product or service.

6) Organizational Matters
This section tells how your business will be managed and organized. Questions answered will include: What is the legal structure of the business? (a sold proprietorship, partnership, corporation or limited liability company). Who are the key employees of the business? Who will be the business advisors?

7) Marketing Plan
The Marketing Plan includes information on your customers and competitors. Based on this information, you will decide where to locate your business and how to promote its product or service.

8) Financial Plan
The Financial Plan presents detailed information about your resources for running the business and your projections for profits. These details are supported with financial data tables. This section is the longest and most critical part of the business Plan. Based on the information provided in the Financial Plan, you should be able to determine if your business will be profitable.

9) Conclusion (optional)
The Conclusion presents a summary of why your business will be successful, using data gained in the other sections to support your claim. It may also present how much money is required for the business, where the money will come from and where it will be used.

10) Appendix (optional)
The Appendix contains any supporting materials, such as your personal resume, technical information on products or services you are selling, newspaper articles, or other information about your business. The appendix can be used to give more details that support information you have provided elsewhere in the plan.

If you would like to view a sample Business Plan, choose one or both of the business plans listed below:

Benita's Bagels | Sorrel's Horse Farm

The CD will walk you through the creation of each of these sections.

Click here to begin the creation of your business plan.

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