| Writing a business plan can be a lot of hard work | | | | the period your business plan covers. It is said |
| or it can be great fun. An effective plan can help | | | | that good objectives are SMART. That is specific, |
| your company to greatness. A poor one can lead | | | | measurable, achievable, realistic and targeted. |
| you out of business. No plan is like asking to fail | | | | Here's an example of a SMART objective for a |
| before you even start. | | | | hypothetical business. |
| Not every business needs a 200 page bound | | | | "By the end of this year we will have increased |
| business plan. However every business needs to | | | | sales of product X by 7.5% over the previous |
| have some idea of where they want to go and | | | | year." |
| how they are going to get there. This article | | | | You can see how clear this objective is. It is much |
| covers some key insights into writing a business | | | | easier to achieve high performance with clear |
| plan that get your business to where you want to | | | | objectives. |
| be. | | | | Now you need to outline your STRATEGY. How |
| The first stage of any plan is ANALYSIS. You | | | | are you going to reach you objective(s)? This is |
| need to take a very objective look at a number | | | | where your marketing plan often comes in as it |
| of factors that may impact your business. There | | | | helps describe the programs you will run to |
| are many factors to consider but the two major | | | | achieve your desired objective(s). To continue the |
| ones are competition and your operating | | | | example above our strategy may be to gain |
| environment. | | | | distribution for our product in one new major retail |
| Let's look first at competition. Every business has | | | | chain. |
| competition, even if you think your product or | | | | To make your strategy work you must then |
| service is unique. How is this? Well it's quite simple | | | | allocate appropriate RESOURCES. Certain things |
| really, people have choices to make. The most | | | | will need to be provided to reach your goal. This |
| fundamental choice they make in most cases is | | | | could be dollars, people, equipment, etc. Your plan |
| whether to buy what you offer or but something | | | | must have included the resources you are |
| else. For example I could buy a game console or I | | | | allocating and why you believe this is adequate to |
| could buy groceries instead. Customers only have | | | | get the result. |
| so much money available so you first task is to | | | | Every business plans also has some |
| ask yourself what is my competition like and can | | | | PROJECTIONS. This is your basic financials that |
| I beat them? The more you understand your | | | | you plan will deliver. Are you expecting a profit or |
| competition the more you can develop your | | | | loss? How much? |
| business strategy of being different and | | | | Lastly you need to allow for CONTINGENCIES. |
| outperforming them. | | | | Things change all the time and your plan needs to |
| Now let's look at operating environment. This | | | | consider these possibilities in advance. A good way |
| understands what factors around your area of | | | | to do this is to ask What if? |
| operation are likely to affect your business | | | | What if a new competitor enters our market? |
| performance. For some companies this includes | | | | What if a distributor delists our product? |
| looking around the World in other cases it's just | | | | What if interest rates rise? |
| your local neighborhood. You need to ask | | | | Your analysis should give you some idea of likely |
| questions such as: | | | | contingencies. It saves a lot of stress if you have |
| How is the economy going? | | | | some documented ideas for dealing with them |
| What is consumer confidence like? | | | | before they become a big problem. |
| Where is technology heading in my industry? | | | | Writing a business plan is never perfect, the plan |
| After answering all the questions you need to | | | | is on paper and you're operating in the real world. |
| decide how these might negatively or positively | | | | However a good plan can really guide you in the |
| influence your performance. | | | | right direction. Take time to put real thought into |
| Now you know more about your competition and | | | | preparing your plan an above all make sure you |
| operating environment it's time to set some | | | | USE YOUR PLAN! |
| OBJECTIVES. This is what you want to achieve in | | | | |