Do Business Well

When I speak with entrepreneurs who are embarking on writing a business plan, I begin by asking them some of the questions Iincluded at the end of the last article. What do you personally want from the business? What kind of business are you most comfortable with? What do you do best?

As they consider such questions, they invariably have inquiries of their own. What should the business plan look like? How should it be arranged? What should be included in each section? How long should it be?

In other words, as they begin the planning process, they also want to have a vision of the plan. They want to know what blanks they’re going to have to fill in. That’s understandable, and to help in that process this article offers some introductory answers to those questions. To illustrate different approaches to writing and organizing business plans, the article includes some contents pages and excerpts from the business plans of several successful well-known companies.

Before running through the components of a business plan, let’s look at some basic principles of business plans:

1. There’s no one right way to organize and write a business plan. Writing a business plan is as much art as science. As you’ll see in the comparisons of contents pages and opening sections from the business plans of Software Publishing, People Express, and Celestial Seasonings later in this article, business plans can differ widely in organization and contents. Moreover, fill-in-the-blank computer software programs for business plans have recently become available. I’m not too keen on these, for the reasons explained in the box on page 33.

2. You can be creative in the business plan’s packaging and presentation as long as you know the limitations of creativity. It’s fine to use the marvels of desktop publishing and graphics to package your business plan attractively. Indeed, I provide some ideas for jazzing up the appearance of yourbusiness plan in ways that can improve its selling effectiveness. But there are certain subjects—for instance, financial results and projections—that demand conformity with the tried-and- true.

3. Keep the plan as concise and focused as possible. You may feel your business is so complex that a plan requires long sentences, big words, and many pages of explanation. However, it’s essential to make the plan as accessible as possible if it is going to be of maximum use. The plan must be both complete and easy to read and understand.

4. Make sure the plan captures your company’s energy and personality. Every business has, or should have, its own special character that includes an excitement about and commitment to its markets and products or services. I’m talking about more than enthusiasm and confidence. I’m referring to the sense of purpose that sets the company and its people apart from competitors. As much as possible, the business plan should capture this special outlook and sense of purpose.

5. Be sure to include negatives as well as positives. It’s natural when writing a business plan to do what you do in sales and promotional pitches—talk only about the great things the company does. But to be credible, the business plan must acknowledge and discuss the industry and company weaknesses that are a part of every business, no matter how successful.

6. Write the business plan over a period of weeks. Few credible business plans are written over a weekend. The business plan must evolve over several weeks, and sometimes even months, to reflect the array of challenges and opportunities facing the business. However, letting the process drag on too long may mean the plan never gets completed.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Previewing the Business Plan: The Best Type for You

• A perfect Business Plan to Cash Money in, Start to Work from Home today
• Making a Plan: how to construct a simple and workable business plan part 6
• Financial Issues: How Are You Doing?
• How Your Business Situation Helps Shape Your Plan
• Ask Yourself: Would You Invest?
• Personally Presenting the Plan
• Financial Issues: How Are You Doing? continue..
• Targeting Your Plan
• What All Plans Must Cover
• Writing the Business Plan

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