Writing a Business Plan
Today, business plans are written on the computer. They usually have a word processed part that follows an outline describing all aspects of the business, its business climate, and spreadsheet parts that cover financial sources and uses of capital and pro forma financial statements. We will look at outlines for business plans later.
There are many software packages available that include templates for the wirtten narration and templates for the financial data. They cost anywhere from $50 to several hundred dollars and up. BizPlan Builderer by Jian and PlanWrite: a Business Plan Toolkit by Business resource Software, Inc. are examples that are widely available. Help is availble thru:
- software ($50 and up)
- private consultants ($50/hour and up)
- Business Classes (tutition = $12 and up, plus textbooks)
- Small Business Development Centers (SBDC’s) (40 hours free, fee thereafter)
What separates the successes from the failures?
- They are carefully planned
- They are well capitalized
- They are niche players
- They are not pioneers
- They learn from their errors
- They learn from their competitors
- They are managed according to a method
- They are customer centered
