A good business plan is a good plan!

If you have read some of my blog you know that I think it is crucial to dear to think grand to be able to succeed in a fierce marketplace. Additionally you have to be motivated for more than just the $$$$, you have to be fearless, you have to be able to separate good advice from noise (don’t let anyone bring you down…or your sales down) and you have to be extremely hungry for success. By that I mean SUPERHUNGRY. Sometimes this means pushing limits until there are no limits and doing what other ¨normal people¨ consider crazy. Try to take away one of those things I mention and you are pretty much screwed one way or another. But there is one more thing you need (and a thousand more…lol) and that is a business plan.

First of all a business plan is pretty much what it says it is; a plan for the business. It can be deadly for your business not to have one. A business plan should evaluate all aspects of the economic viability of your company. The business plan should also include an analysis and description of your business prospects. It is in fact the business plan you will be showing to potential investors and banks for financing. The business plan is a very useful selling tool and a great way to remind yourself where you are headed, how and when.

The easiest way to implement a business plan is to keep it simple, specific, realistic and complete. If you make it too complicated you might end up not using it to check if you are heading in the right direction compared to the goals you set 6 months ago, and you might lose an investor over nothing. You see…the investors never really invest in the business but in YOU. They want to know how you are, if they can trust you and if you are a winner or not.

The business plan is not just for potential investors and banks, but it is for you and your employees as well. Planning is a process, not just a plan. DON’T FORGET THAT. The business plan should be the companies Bible. Amen.

Producing the business plan can be very time-consuming because you need to get the right facts regarding market statistics, financing and target market so that you don’t lead your company into a ditch. Not having all these facts right is like walking around blindfolded, which is just stupid! Why would you walk around blindfolded if you can see whats in front of you?

Based on the statistics and facts you need to analyze using tools such as the PEST (political economical social technological factors) analysis or the SWOT  (strengths weakness opportunities threats) analysis to understand your data and information gathered. There are a million other tools to choose from for  analyzing information, but you should at least include the SWOT.

A business plan is not something that is done in a week, so be patient and start digging for information. Go undercover if you have to. Call your competitor and pretend that you are a costumer, or better; book a meeting! Don’t be afraid that they will reveal your purposes, so what? Be creative.

Here is a website I found that has a lot of good stuff regarding the business plan.

http://www.myownbusiness.org/s2/#3

Good luck!