Where would a business be without a business plan?
A business plan sets the course for the future of the
business. It gives the business owner or manager a
sense of direction, listing the objectives and goals of
the business from the outset.
Writing a business plan requires a lot of time; a
successful business plan cannot be a rush job. Once
an idea for a business has been developed,
researching the many facets of owning and operating a
business is the next most important step. Your local
county council should be able to assist you with
accessing the required information of a legal nature, as
should your local business enterprise center. The rest
of the research will be up to you! You will need to
research products for your business, at the same time
as researching other enterprises that may be in direct
competition to you. Furthermore, you need to research
the market to determine whether there is a need for
your business product or service.
With the research out of the way, sitting down to write
a business plan requires focus. Your business plan will
become the bible of your business for at least the next
3 to 5 years so it is important to make it clear, concise
and comprehensive. Most enterprises will complete a
SWOT analysis to determine their strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the
business. Whilst the business is in infancy,
brainstorming would be the most accurate way of
performing the analysis, as the business would not yet
have customers and profitability would not yet have
been experienced. However, it is very important to
remember that a good business plan is flexible and
can be changed as your business experiences growth.
After completing a SWOT analysis, you will need to
determine your business name if it has not already
been decided (and register it), as well as your vision
and values, your business goals and long term mission
and how you will achieve all of this when the business
is up and running. Writing every thought down
regardless of how minute you feel it is will allow you to
collate everything pertinent to your business for easy
reference in the future. Who knows, the thought or idea
that you have today may well turn into a million dollar
idea in a year’s time! Maintaining good records and
following a strong business plan is the key to a
successful business!
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