Writing a business plan and getting help on it
A business plan is the most important document that your company will ever produce, it will make the difference between whether or not you are able to get the funding that you need. Bankers and investors will make their decision based almost entirely what is in this plan. It is also helpful for you as the owner of the business since it helps to make sure that you have a clear idea of what it is your business is going to do. This will help you to avoid getting sidetracked.
The first part of the business plan is relatively straightforward you will lay out what exactly it is that your company does. You will want to be fairly detailed here so that potential investors know what you are trying to sell. You are also going to want to briefly describe the management team who will be running the business. This should include their backgrounds and the strengths that they bring to the business. The next part is where things start to get difficult you need to do some market research, this can get quite involved.
The market research section of your business plan will need to detail how many potential customers there are for your product and who they are. You also have to have a plan for how you are going to reach them. It will also be necessary to cover who your competitors are and what it is that sets you apart. Basically what you want this section to say is what makes your product different from your competitors and who is going to buy it.
Knowing who you are going to sell to is important but you also have to know how you are going to sell to them. This is where you are going to have to detail your marketing plan. This will be based in large part on your market research, you should know who you will be selling to and where those people are. This is where you spell out how you are going to go about getting them to be customers.
The last part of your marketing plan is the part that really trips up most new business owners, the financial projections. This is going to be based on your market research and some educated guesses. It is often a good idea at this point to contact an accountant and have him help you work out your financial projections.
Most small business owners write their own business plan, there are lots of books out there that can help you to do it. There are also people that you can hire to do it, some will assist you, others will do the whole thing for you. It is best to not have somebody else do the whole thing, the future of your business depends on this document you don't want to leave it somebody else's hands. Getting assistance is alright but you do have to be involved in creating your business plan.