What is a Business plan?What is a Business Plan I have noted below the “formal” or authorized definition but for the purposes of putting a plan together for your unique small online business I have simplified it below. You definitely need to know what is a business plan and develop one for your own business concept. But let’s not complicate it! A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals. The business goals being attempted may be for-profit or non-profit. For-profit business plans typically focus on financial goals. Non-profit and government agency business plans tend to focus on service goals, although non-profits may also focus on maximizing profit. Business plans may also target changes in perception and branding by the customer, client, tax-payer, or larger community. A business plan having changes in perception and branding as its primary goals is called a marketing plan. Business plans may be internally or externally focused. Externally focused plans target goals that are important to external stakeholders, particularly financial stakeholders. They typically have detailed information about the organization or team attempting to reach the goals. Internally focused business plans target intermediate goals required to reach the external goals. They may cover the development of a new product, a new service, a new IT system, a restructuring of finance, the refurbishing of a factory or a restructuring of the organization. YOUR BUSINESS PLAN Now, as we conceive and begin to build an online business we need to have a plan but it needs to be based on using S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) goals. And we need to keep it somewhat simple to start out and allow plenty of room for flexibility. At the very least Your “What is a business plan” needs to:
Once you have these areas clarified and clear enough to explain to someone else then you essentially have what you need to get started. Yes, there are more details as you should create a cash flow statement, do a pro-forma profit and loss statement but if you are starting out as one or two people what’s listed above will get you rolling. What is a Business Plan - Example You will also want to read the 16 steps Michael Gerber lists out as essential to starting and growing your business: 16 Steps To Build and Grow Your Business Here is a great place to download a business plan template (and others) at the SCORE site (the free counseling arm of SBA for small businesses.
|
