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How To Prepare A Business Plan That Guarantees Big Profits

It is always said "If you Fail to Plan, youdefined your market, go on to explain how you
Plan  to  Fail"intend to reach that market--how you'll these
prospects to your product or service and
induce them to buy. You might want to break
this chapter down into sections such
Success in business comes as a result ofas..publicity and promotions, advertising
planning. You have to have a detailed,plans, direct sales force, and dealer
written plan that shows what the ultimatedistributor programs. Each section would then
goal is, the reason for the goal, and eachbe  an  outline  of  your plans and policies.
milestone that must be passed in order to
reach  your  goal.
Moving into the next chapter on competition,
identify who your competitors are--their
A business plan is written definition of, andweakness and strong points--explain how you
operational plan for achieving your goal. Youintend to capitalize on those weaknesses and
need a complete but success tool in order tomatch or better the strong points. Talk to as
define your basic product, income objectivesmany of your "indirect" competitors as
and specific operating procedures. YOU HAVEpossible--those operating in different cities
TO HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN to attract investors,and  states.
obtain financing and hold onto the confidence
of your creditors, particularly in times of
cash flow shortages--in this instance, the
amount of money you have on hand comparedOne of the easiest ways of gathering a lot of
with  the  expenses  that  must  be  met.useful information about your competitors is
by developing a series of survey questions
and sending these questionnaires out to each
of them. Later on, you might want to compile
Aside from an overall directional policy forthe answers to these questionnaires into some
the production, sales effort and profit goalsform of directory or report on this type of
of your product--your basic "travel guide" tobusiness.
business success--the most important purpose
your business plan will serve, will be the
basis or foundation of any financial
proposals you submit. Many entrepreneurs areIt's also advisable to contact the trade
under the mistaken impression that a businessassociations and publications serving your
plan is the same as a financial proposal, orproposed type of business. For information on
that a financial proposal constitutes atrade associations and specific trade
business plan. This is just apublications, visit your public library, and
misunderstanding of the uses of these twoafter explaining what you want ask for the
separate and different business success aids.librarian's  help.
The business plan is a long range "map" toThe chapter on management should be an
guide your business to the goal you've setelaboration on the people operating the
for it. The plan details the what, why,business. Those people that actually run the
where, how and when, of your business--thebusiness, their job, titles, duties,
success  planning  of  your  company.responsibilities and background resume's.
It's important that you "paint" a strong
picture of your top management people because
the people coming to work for you or
Your financial proposal is a request forinvesting in your business, will be
money based upon your business plan--your"investing in these people" as much as your
business  history  and  objectives.product ideas. Individual tenacity, mature
judgement under fire, and innovative
problem-solving have "won over" more people
than all the AAA Credit Ratings and
Understand the differences. They are closelyastronomical  sales  figures  put  together.
related,  but  they  are not interchangeable.
People becoming involved with any new venture
Writing and putting together a "winning"want to know that the person in charge--the
business plan takes study, research and time,guy running the business knows what he's
so don't try to do it all in just one or twodoing, will not lose his cool when problems
days.arise, and has what it takes to make money
for all of them> After showing the "muscle"
of this person, go on to outline the other
key positions within your business; who the
The easiest way to start with a loose leafpersons are you've selected to handle those
notebook, plenty of paper, pencils, penciljobs and the sources as well as availability
sharpener, and several erasers. Once you getof  any  help  you  might  need.
your mind "in gear" and begin thinking about
your business plan, "10,000 thoughts and
ideas per minute" will begin racing thru your
mind...So, it's a good idea when you aren'tIf you've been in business of any kind scale,
actually working on your business plan, tothe next chapter is a picture of your
carry a pocket notebook and jot down thosefinancial status--a review of your operating
business ideas as they come to you--ideas forcosts and income from the business to date.
sales promotion, recruiting distributors, andGenerally, this is a listing of your profit &
any other thoughts on how to operate and/orloss statements for the six months, plus
build  your  business.copies of your business income tax records
for each of the previous three years the
business  has  been  an  entity.
Later, when you're actually working on your
business plan, you can take out this "idea
notebook" evaluate your ideas, rework them,The chapter on the explanation of your plans
refine them, and integrate them into thefor the future growth of your business is
overall  "big picture" of your business plan.just that--an explanation of how you plan to
keep your business growing--a detailed guide
of what you're going to do, and how you're
going to increase your profits. These plans
The best business plans for even the smallestshould show your goals for the coming year,
businesses run 25 to 30 pages or more, sotwo years, and three years. By breaking your
you'll need to "title" each page and arrangeobjectives down into annual milestones, your
the different aspects of your business planplan will be accepted as more realistic and
into "chapters." The format should prettybe more understandable as a part of your
much  run  as  follows:ultimate  success.
Title Page Statement of PurposeFollowing this explanation, you'll need to
Table of Contents Business Descriptionitemize the projected cost and income figures
Market Analysis Competition Businessof your three year plan. I'll take a lot of
Location Management Current Financialresearch, an undoubtedly a good deal of
Records Explanation of Plans For Growtherasing, but it's very important that you
Projected Profit & Loss/Operating Figureslist these figures based upon thorough
Explanation of Financing for Growthinvestigation. You may have to adjust some of
Documentation Summary of Business &your plans downward, but once you've got
Outlook for The Future Listing of Businessthese two chapters on paper, your whole
&  personal  Referencesbusiness plan will fall into line and begin
to make sense. You'll have a precise "map" of
where you're headed, how much it's going to
cost, when you can expect to start making
This is a logical organization of themoney,  and  how  much.
information every business plan should cover.
I'll explain each of these chapters titles in
greater detail, but first, let me elaborate
upon the reasons for proper organization ofNow that you know where you're going, how
your  business  plan.much it's going to cost and how long it's
going to be before you begin to recoup your
investment, you're ready to talk about how
and where you're going to get the money to
Having a set of "questions to answer" aboutfinance your journey. Unless you're
your business forces you to take an objectiveindependently wealthy, you'll want to use
and critical look at your ideas. Putting itthis chapter to list the possibilities and
all down on paper allows you to change, erasealternatives. Make a list of friends you
and refine everything to function in thecan approach, and perhaps induce to put up
manner of a smoothly oiled machine. You'll besome money as silent partners. Make a list of
able to spot weakness and strengthen themthose people you might be able to sell as
before they develop into major problems.stockholders in your company--in many cases
Overall, you'll be developing an operatingyou can sell up to $300,000 worth of stock on
manual for your business--a valuable toola "private issue" basis without filing papers
which will keep your business on track, andwith the Securities and Exchange Commission.
guide you in the profitable management ofCheck with a corporate or tax attorney in
your  business.your area for more details. Make a list of
relatives and friends that might help you
with an outright loan to furnish money for
the  development  of  your  business.
Because it's your idea, and your business,
it's very important that YOU do the planning.
This is YOUR business plan, so YOU develop
it, and put it all down on paper just the wayThen search out and make a list of venture
YOU want it to read. Seek out the advice ofcapital organizations. Visit the Small
other people; talk with, listen to, andBusiness Administration office in your
observe, other people running similararea--pick up the loan application papers
businesses; enlist the advice of yourthey have--read them, study them, and even
accountant and attorney--but at the bottomfill them out on a preliminary basis--and
line, don't ever forget it has to be YOURfinally, check the costs, determine which
BUSINESS  PLAN!business publications would be best to
advertise in, if you were to advertise for a
partner or investor, and write an ad you'd
want to use if you did decide to advertise
Remember too, that statistics show thefor  monetary  help.
greatest causes of business failure to be
poor management and lack of planning--without
a plan by which to operate, no one can
manage; and without a direction in which toWith listing of all the options available to
aim its efforts, no business can attain anyyour needs, all that's left is the arranging
real  success.of these options in the order you would want
to use them when the time come to ask for
money. When you're researching these money
sources, you'll save time by noting the
On the very first page, which is the title"contact" deal with when you want money, and
page, put down the name of your business-ABCwhenever possible, by developing a working
ACTION--with your business addressrelationship  with  these  people.
underneath. Now, skip a couple of lines, and
write it all in capital letters: PRINCIPAL
OWNER--followed by your name if you're the
principal owner. On your finished report, youIf your documentation section, you should
would want to center this information on thehave a credit report on yourself. Use the
page, with the words "principal owner"Yellow Pages or check at the credit
off-set  to  the  left  about  five  spaces.department in your bank for the nearest
credit reporting office. When you get your
credit report, look it over and take whatever
steps are necessary to eliminate any negative
Examples: ABC ACTIONcomments. Once these have been taken care of,
1234 SW 5th Ave. Anywhere,ask for a revised copy of your report and
USA  00000include a copy of that in your business plan.
If you own any patents or copyrights, include
copies of these. Any licenses to use someone
else's patent or copyright should also be
included. If you own the distribution,
PRINCIPAL  OWNER:  Your  Namewholesale or exclusive sales rights to a
product, include copies of this
documentation. You should also include copies
of any leases, special agreements or other
That's all you'll have on this page exceptlegal papers that might be pertinent to your
the  page  number -1-business.
Following your title page is the page forIn conclusion, write out a brief, overall
your statement purpose. This should be asummary of your business- when the business
simple statement of your primary businesswas started, the purpose of the business,
function, such as: We are a service businesswhat makes your business different, how
engaged in the business of selling businessyou're going to gain a profitable share of
success manuals and other information bythe market, and your expected success during
mail.the  coming  5  years..
The title of the page should be in allThe last page of your business plan is a
capital letters across the top of the page,"courtesy page" listing the names, addresses
centered on your final draft--skip a fewand phone numbers of personal and business
lines and write the statement of purpose.references--persons who have known you
This should be direct, clear and short--neverclosely for the past five years or
more  than  (2)  sentences  in  length.longer--and companies or firms you've had
business or credit dealings with during the
past  five  years.
Then you should skip a few lines, and from
the left hand margin of the paper, write out
a sub-heading in all capital letters, suchAnd, that's it--your complete business plan.
as:  EXPLANATION  OF  PURPOSE.Before you send it out for formal typing,
read it over once a day for a week or ten
days. Take care of any changes or
corrections, and then have it reviewed by an
From, and within this sub-heading you canattorney and then, an accountant. It would
briefly explain your statement of purpose,also be a good idea to have it reviewed by a
such as: Our surveys have found mostbusiness consultant serving the business
entrepreneurs to be "sadly" lacking in basiccommunity to which your business will be
information that will enable them to achieverelated. After these reviews, and any
success. This market is estimated at morelast-minute changes you want to make, I'll be
than a 100 million persons, with at leastready  for  formal  typing.
half of these people actively "searching" for
sources that provide the kind of information
they  want,  and  need.
Type and print the entire plan on ordinary
white bond paper. Make sure you proof-read
it against the original. Check for any
With our business, advertising and publishingcorrections and typographical errors--then
experience, it is our goal to capture atone more time--read it through for clarity
least half of this market of informationand  the  perfection  you  want  of  it.
seekers, with our publication. MONEY MAKING
MAGIC! Our market research indicates we can
achieve this goal and realize a profit of
$1,000,000 per year within the next 5Now you're ready to have it printed and
years...published for whatever use you have planned
for it--distribution amongst your partners or
stockholders as the business plan for putting
together a winning financial proposal, or as
The above example is generally the way youa  business  operating  manual.
should write your "explanation of purpose,"
and in subtle definition, why you need an
explanation. Point to remember: Keep it
short. Very few business purpose explanationsTake it to a quality printer in your area,
justify  more  than  a  half  page  long.and have three copies printed. Don't settle
for  photo-copying..Have  it  printed!
Next comes your table of contents page. Don't
really worry about this until you've got thePhoto-copying leaves a slight film on the
entire plan completed and ready for finalpaper, and will detract from the overall
typing. It's a good idea though, to list theprofessionalism of your business plan, when
subject (chapter titles) as I have, and thenpresented to someone you're trying to
check off each one as you complete that partimpress. So, after going to all this work to
of  your  plan.put together properly, go all the way and
have  it  duplicated  properly.
By having a list of the points you want to
cover, you'll also be able to skip around andNext, stop by a stationery store, variety
work on each phase of your business plan asstore or even a dime store, and pick up an
an idea or the interest in organizing thatordinary, inexpensive bind-in theme cover for
particular phase, stimulates you. In othereach copy of your business plan. Have the
words, you won't have to make your thinkingholes punched in the pages of your business
or your planning conform to the chronologicalreport to fit these binders and then slip
order of the "chapters" of your businesseach  copy  into  a  binder  of  its  own.
plan--another reason for the loose leaf
notebook.
Now, you can relax, take a break and feel
good about yourself..You have a complete and
In describing your business, it's best todetailed business plan with which to operate
begin where your statement purpose leavesa successful business of your own. A plan you
off. Describe your product, the productioncan use as a basis for any financing proposal
process, who has responsibility for what, andyou may want to submit..And a precise
most importantly, what makes your product orroad-map for the attainment of real
service unique--what gives it an edge in yoursuccess...
market. You can briefly summarize your
business beginnings, present position and
potential  for  future  success,  as  well.
You just complete one of the important steps
to fulfill of all your dreams of
success.-------------------------------------
Next, describe the buyers you're trying to--------------------Julia Tang publishes
reach--why they need and want or will buySmart Online Business Tips, a fresh and
your product--and the results of any tests orinformative newsletter dedicated to
surveys you may have conducted. Once you'vesupporting peoplelike you!



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