Business Plan Emphasized

I can’t tell you how important the value of a business plan is, not only does it can get a startup the funds it needs, but also it’s like an instruction manual for the business, keeping the owner on track. In the last blog “want to be a business owner, make a business plan” I talked about a coupe of business plan experts. This blog just reiterates points made and adds to them. Also what I believe to be the most important section of a business plan is. I want to keep you aware of the resources and what they are saying.

Dr. Steven Gedeon is an expert business plan writer and reviewer. One very good point he makes about business plans is that they should “have creditability, and show a guide to action?” The creditability means every plan should either list all qualified management or employees, and why these particular people will add to the success of the business. Is the business owner using their capital for employees that are an asset or just working there? Also having a guide to action shows the investors that the business owner has a plan, how to go about business and what they will need to do so.

Dave Lavinsky and Jay Turo of Growthink.com are business plan developers. A point made by them that connects with Dr. Stevens’ advice is also a good action plan and being able to reverse engineer a 5-year projection. What I find even more useful though is their point on communication. They state strategies are useless if not effectively communicated. A business plan should be gone through many times, editing out any mistakes and to make sure every point is well communicated. Make sure you do not have to be in the industry to understand the plan. If you can teach someone else something you know, that means you truly understand it.

Bill Payne an entrepreneur and business plan reviewer states that business owners should research and thoroughly prepare a plan, and organizing a good management team. Nothing is better than good research and preparation, a business owner may know their business well, that’s why they started the business, but they can never know too much. Knowledge is an advantage, and more advantage over your competitors means more of the market.

If I myself were to make any changes to my own business plan it would be any additional information I have learned due to continuous research. A business plan can always be better, thinking its good enough is just plain ignorant.

The operation section of a business plan is the most important because it shows investors and banks that the business owner understands the complete production process and how much work is involved. Business owners know what kind of business they want to start and why, but knowing what it takes to keep it operational is something else. The operation section includes: where you will have your business and how much it will cost them to stay there. What does the production process entails? giving the investor a good picture of how the business owner is utilizing their time and capital. The amount of employees the business needs, what they will be doing, and how qualified they should be. Other parts of the section include quality, inventory, supply, research, regulations, legal matter, health, safety, and financial control; all that give emphasis on not what the business is, but how it is sustained.