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