...How to Write a Business Plan A business plan is an essential roadmap for business success. This living, breathing document generally projects 3-5 years ahead and outlines the route a company intends to take to reach, maintain and grow revenues. A well thought out plan also helps you to step-back and think objectively about the key elements of your business venture and informs your decision-making. The following guides offer tips that will help you research and develop a winning plan. Essential Elements of a Good Business Plan What are the key elements of a business plan? From market analysis to your company financials, this guide walks you through the essential components of your plan, including how to develop a funding request. Finding a Niche: Make Your Business Plan Stand Out One of the first steps in the business planning process is determining who your target market is and why they would want to buy from you. Is the market you serve the best one for your product or service? Are your business benefits clear and aligned with the needs of your target customers? This guide can help. Guide For Writing a Business Plan What goes into a business plan? This guide will assist you as you write your plan. Additional Resources Learn more about the importance of business planning, the components of a business plan, and access sample plans in this self-paced online training course: How to Prepare a Business Plan. SBA has developed...
Words: 272 - Pages: 2
...Business planning is essential for the success of any business. A business plan provides direction, keeps you on track and is usually a requirement when you seek finance. Read Why do I need a business plan to find out how writing a business plan can assist your business. Once you've read Before starting a business plan and conducted research into the feasibility of your new business you're ready to write your plan. We have a number of free templates and downloads to help you get started. This section is based on our free business template and guide and steps through the various areas and information you need to include in your business plan. Your business plan may vary from this depending on the type and structure of your business. Tips when writing your business plan When writing your business plan and before you start using it, consider the following: Do your research - You will need to make quite a few decisions about your business including structure, marketing strategies and finances before you can complete your plan. By having the right information to hand you also can be more accurate in your forecasts and analysis. Determine who the plan is for - Does it have more than one purpose? Will it be used internally or will third parties be involved? Deciding the purpose of the plan can help you target your answers. If third parties are involved, what are they interested in? Although don't assume they are just interested in the finance part of your business. They will...
Words: 896 - Pages: 4
...HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN Planning for Success You've no doubt heard the expression, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." Many entrepreneurs write a business plan only when they need to secure start-up financing. However, your plan is far more than a document for banks and investors to read; it's an invaluable roadmap for launching and growing your business. In order to put your business concept on paper, you need to think through and research the many factors that are needed to make sure your business is a success. With a plan, not only can you spot potential weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, your plan can help you make informed decisions about your venture before you commit yourself legally or financially. Here, we've summarized the key sections that you'll find in a business plan. The Seven Key Sections of a Business Plan 1. Executive summary Your executive summary should be 1–2 pages long, and provide an overview of your business concept, key objectives of your business and your plan, ownership structure, management team, your product or service offering, target market(s), competitive advantages, marketing strategy, and a summary of your financial projections. Your executive summary should be written last, after you've written the rest of the plan; each paragraph should be a summary of the more detailed, related section of the plan. 2. Business Overview In your overview, include details regarding your business’s history, vision and/or mission, objectives...
Words: 1003 - Pages: 5
...UNCTAD/ITE/IIA/5 UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT How to Prepare Your Business Plan UNITED NATIONS New York and Geneva, 2002 Note UNCTAD serves as the focal point within the United Nations Secretariat for all matters related to foreign direct investment and transnational corporations. In the past, the Programme on Transnational Corporations was carried out by the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations (19751992) and the Transnational Corporations and Management Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Development. UNCTAD seeks to create an enabling environment for international investment and enterprise development. Its work is carried out through intergovernmental deliberations, technical assistance activities, seminars, workshops and conferences. The term “country” as used in this study also refers, as appropriate, to territories or areas; the designations employed and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. In addition, the designations of country groups are intended solely for statistical or analytical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage of development reached by a particular country or area in the development...
Words: 55910 - Pages: 224
...How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan By: Ronald C. Manalastas Writing a restaurant business plan, whether for a proposed or existing venture, represents the daunting task of researching, organizing, and integrating loose information into a compelling business blueprint. How you develop the plan assumes critical importance because it can make or break your financial interest. A restaurant business plan is a resource document that reflects your strategic intent or vision as a business owner, manager, or entrepreneur. It details how you intend to achieve that vision after understanding the external context of the business and determining your internal capacity to effectively address opportunities and threats, face competition, and mitigate risks. How then do you write a restaurant business plan in a manner that creates value to all business stakeholders? The following is a basic tutorial in writing a restaurant business plan: I. Assess the nature and scope of information requirement Before writing, you must ascertain with particularity what information you will need to progressively proceed with the completion of the plan. Here, you have to establish what kind of information is available in-house or from your own database and what must be researched from primary and secondary sources. You must determine if you need to conduct interviews or surveys and formulate questionnaires to support the process. Once the types and sources of information are identified, you can prioritize...
Words: 1509 - Pages: 7
...Morris MG 210 Entrepreneurship Dr. Dana Leland April 20, 2014 Project #1: The Business Plan When should an entrepreneur write a business plan? Writing a business plan ahead of time, before you open your doors for business, appear to help the performance of the business subsequently. Business plans are all about walking the walk. People who write business plans also do more stuff so doing more stuff, such as researching markets and preparing projections, increases the chances an entrepreneur will follow through. a well-written plan is great for attracting talent. When a prospect asks to understand your business, you can hand them a plan that gives them an entire overview. The written record of your goals coupled with a track record of delivering against those goals sends a message loud and clear: You understand your business and can deliver the results you promise. Great employees will respond to that message-as will banks and investors the next time you need to raise money. (http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230350, n.d.) When might it not be necessary to write a business plan? Some entrepreneurs fail to write business plans because they don’t want to test their ideas too much, for fear they won’t withstand the scrutiny. Taken seriously, a business plan will show that some businesses should not be started, a possibility some entrepreneurs don’t want to confront. Most of the business plans had nothing to do with what the businesses eventually became. People who said they...
Words: 768 - Pages: 4
...How to Write an Executive Summary: Why Write It? Investors, lenders, executives, managers and CEOs are busy. Always. That means that the executive summary is an essential gateway for your business plan to get read. Think about it this way: if you had an endless list of things to do, and someone handed you an 80-page document and said "read this! you'd probably first want to know why. "The most important reason to include an executive summary is that in many cases, it is the only thing the reader will read," says Pablo Bonjour, founder & CEO of Katy, Texas-based SMG Business Plans, a company that offers entrepreneurs assistance in writing business plans. According to Bonjour, investors will read the executive summary to decide if they will even bother reading the rest of the business plan. It's rare for an investor or lender to read an entire business plan, at least in the initial stages of analysis and consideration for funding, so having a strong executive summary is key. When you're writing your business plan, your goal is to get your foot in the door and face-time with the investor. "Assuming that your business is a good fit for the investor, a strong executive summary will get you invited in for a meeting," Hirai says. "A poor executive summary will leave you standing in the cold." Dig Deeper: How to Write a Great Business Plan How to Write an Executive Summary: The First Paragraph Just like a movie might begin with a fight scene or a magazine article opens...
Words: 1409 - Pages: 6
...Entrepreneur Business Plan Outline Cover Page (Do this page last!) Name of the company (full business name): Company address: Company phone number(s) including phone Company fax number Company email Company website Company logo or other graphic depicting the business Name(s) of owners Title(s) Owner(s) Address; Month and year the plan was completed. A Sample Cover Page A Business Plan for Wool ‘n Wood 219 Cloverleaf Place Lincoln NE 68583 phone: 555-578-9797 fax: 555-578-9797 Business email: Wooly@Wool’nWood.biz Woody@Wool’nWood.biz Company website: www.Wool’nWood.biz W(W Wooly Woody Jane Doe, President Bill Smith, CEO 219 Cloverleaf Place 2345 Apple Way Lincoln, NE 68583 Lincoln, NE 68583 May 2008 Table of Contents (You’ll develop this section after writing the business plan and executive summary.) The table of contents should show major section headings and the page number that starts the section. It’s even better if you can show the detailed subheadings under the major sections with corresponding page numbers. Section I. Executive Summary (You’ll develop this section after completing your business plan.) Write a one to two page summary representing the various sections of your Business Plan. Your goal is to make...
Words: 1866 - Pages: 8
...|WRITING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN | Most Business Plans include the following sections: Title Page Contents Page Business Description Personal Information Curriculum Vitae Market Pricing Promotion Business Organisation Work Tasks Bookkeeping System Job Description/s Contract/s of Employment Legal Structure Premises Cash Flows Cash Flow Notes Action Now Long-term Plans Appendices [e.g. photographs of products etc] The main purposes of writing a Business Plan are: - a. To present information [such as to potential funders] about your proposed business both thoroughly and clearly. b. For you to think carefully and write about your proposed business. c. To provide you with an action plan to follow when establishing and running the business. You will be able to refer to this once you have started trading. Your Business Plan will be best presented...
Words: 1932 - Pages: 8
...|[pic] |Course Syllabus | | |School of Business | | |BCOM/230 Version 3 | | |Business Communication for Accountants | Copyright © 2012, 2010 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course introduces students to the foundations of communication in a business accounting setting. Students are exposed to various topics related to interpersonal and group communications within the context of applications to the accounting field. Students will develop skills in the forms of written communication, including memos, e-mails, business letters, and reports. Other topics include communication ethics, collaboration, information utilization, critical thinking, and professional competence and values. Policies Faculty and students will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document...
Words: 1982 - Pages: 8
...How to Write a Great Business Plan The following are recommended components of your business plan, although the order in which you write and present these sections can be subject to change: Executive Summary: This is the abstract of your business plan, a summary of everything you will say in greater detail in the ensuing pages. It spells out the content and goals of your plan, hitting all the highlights. This section is key if you are seeking outside funding as it introduces possible investors to your business. Be sure to include background about your company, the market opportunity, your capital requirements, a mission statement, an overview of management, competitors, your business's competitive advantages, and a summary of your financial projections over the next three years. "Some people write the executive summary first, but I would never do that," Pinson says. "I would go through and write my plan first and come back to the executive summary." Keep this to no greater than three or four pages. Company Overview: The company overview is designed to provide more information about your business, why and when it was formed, its mission, business model, strategy, and any existing strategic relationships. Pinson recommends including this section as part of an Organizational Plan that also covers administrative issues, such as intellectual property you may own, costs associated with your location, the legal structure of your company, management, personnel, and how you...
Words: 848 - Pages: 4
...entrepreneurs.” DALLAS MORNING NEWS How to Write a O RM D S ON C Business Plan THE LEADING BUSINESS PLAN BOOK FOR • Write a winning proposal • Prepare cash flow and profit & loss forecasts • Get backers to invest 25 YEARS Mike McKeever Free Legal Updates at Nolo.com R OM - AL L L F F e Story Dear friends, Founded in 1971, and based in an old clock factory in Berkeley, California, Nolo has always strived to offer clear legal information and solutions. Today we are proud to offer a full range of plain-English law books, legal forms, software and an award-winning website. Everything we publish is relentlessly researched and tested by a dedicated group of in-house legal editors, who together have more than 150 years’ experience. And when legal changes occur after publication, we promptly post free updates at Nolo.com. Tens of millions of Americans have looked to Nolo to help solve their legal and business problems. We work every day to be worthy of this trust. Ralph Warner Nolo co-founder Emma Cofod Products Books & Software & Services Get in-depth information. Nolo publishes hundreds of great books and software programs for consumers and business owners. ey’re all available in print or as downloads at Nolo.com. Legal Encyclopedia Free at Nolo.com. Here are more than 1,400 free articles and answers to common questions about everyday legal issues including wills, bankruptcy, small business formation, divorce, patents, employment...
Words: 94141 - Pages: 377
...e- Book Series Guide to Writing a Killer Marketing Plan Written by: Steven Fisher Purpose of this book You are either someone that has been doing marketing as a part of your professional career or you look at as that “thing you do to promote your business and attract customers to buy”. Regardless of where you are along that spectrum, you have arrived here because you have been charged by the CEO of the startup you work for to write a marketing plan for your business or you need to create one for your own business. You need to not just write just any marketing plan. You need to write a Killer Marketing Plan. One that your boss will say “awesome, let’s get started” and which will tell all those people who have been looking for a product or service like yours for a long time. This book is written for you. Marketing plans are sexy mistresses that tempt you to include all of the coolest of campaign ideas without the sanity of budgetary constraints. While marketing is one of the more important functions of a small business, it is one that is limited by the budgets of that business and campaigns must demonstrate a return in order to justify their existence. Since I have written more marketing plans than I care to tell you, I can share with you my knowledge and experience of what has worked almost all the time, some of the time and none of the time. While this is not the single tome on marketing plans, I hope that this helps you balance the unlimited creative...
Words: 8694 - Pages: 35
...If you want to identify how to write a business essay with subjects like Finance, Marketing, Management and others, certain guidelines may help you in developing the essay which is perceptive, coherent and credible. The most significant considerations about how to write a business essay are that it provides related content as well as its opinions being supported with qualified examples or references. Some other important factors about how to write a business essay include management, design and usage of the suitable language. Breaking the procedure of how to write a business essay into different phases makes it less daunting and ensures that you cover all the angles. Prior to writing you business essay, you should: 1. Study the Essay Question: Determine exactly what the title or essay question is requesting you to deal with. Examine any particular wording for exercises and the approach that you need to take. The keywords that appear often in the business questions incorporate ‘analyse’, ‘illustrate’, ‘discuss’, ‘describe’, ‘compare’, ‘interpret’, ‘criticise’, ‘examine’, ‘review’, or ‘explain’. The question like ‘observe how use of the Internet could impact on the Marketing Mix for the organization’ might engage an exhaustive presentation of issues as well as an investigation for its implications. The topic implies ‘discussing’, so you will need to review the key arguments and provide reasons for as well as against. In this case, compose your individual essay question;...
Words: 1116 - Pages: 5
... |Phoenix Material: ERM Paper located on the student website. | | | | | | | | | |Option 1: Write a paper of no more than 1,750 words in which you identify potential tort | | | | |risks that arose in the Business Regulation simulation. Identify a tort violation from the | | | | |simulation. Then use the 7-step process as defined in the Harb article to apply the risk | | | | |management process to mitigate the business risk associated with that violation. | | | | | | | | | |Option 2: Write a paper of no more than 1,750 words in which you identify potential tort | | | | |risks that arose in the Product Liability video. Identify a tort violation from the video. |...
Words: 1021 - Pages: 5
