Plan Archives - Page 4 of 10 - BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

Build a Successful Marketing Plan – 15 Key Business Success Factors

Every marketing plan needs to include an industry analysis. Why? Because it is of critical importance to understand the industry you operate in, and to identify and track your performance to key business success factors (KSFs) for your organization.

Understanding your industry and identifying your KSFs will help in building a successful marketing plan; one that is based on measurable progress and results. A key success factor is an element of a whole that affects your business’ ability to do well in your market.

Most businesses focus on between three and five of the most important (to their business) success factors. From time to time, or year to year, these key success factors may change, as the industry or the market changes.

15 Examples of Key Business Success Factors (and this is not a comprehensive list) are:

Number of new customers per year;
Number of lost customers per year OR the number of customers retained (it is important to understand and measure the potential customer lifetime value for each customer on a regular basis);
Hire and retain excellent employees (measured by employee turn-over, job vacancies, customer satisfaction);
Successful new product introductions (measured by sales and costs);
Successful promotional programs (measured by sales and costs);
Good/healthy financial indicators: for example, working capital, acceptable ratios (in particular debt to equity ratios), profit margins, cash flow, receivables and more;
If in the manufacturing industry, high operating capacity utilization;
Strong supplier network;
Strong distribution network or channel;
Successful product positioning;
Low cost structure;
Niche product/service – track the number of competitors entering and/or leaving the niche. Is the cost of entry into the market high or low?
Market leader or follower or challenger, and is your relative market position and why? Are you able to support that position if under ‘attack’?
Product differentiation: Do you have technology or service advantages that others can’t easily copy? How unique and differentiated is your product or service?
Time to market: is your product or service able to be delivered quickly and easily; from the first point of contact to the time shipped and subsequently invoiced?

Once you have identified your specific KSFs, build strategies around those factors and integrate those strategies into your marketing and business plans to ensure business success. Develop measurement programs to help you track your progress against your success factors. You also need to assess your competition and see if your competitors’ key success factors are similar or different than yours (depending on your strengths and weaknesses and your marketing and business strategies, they might be very different). One way of comparing and assessing is to do a competitive strength analysis; find out what your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses are and build your competitive strategy accordingly. (A sample swot analysis can show you how to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that your business faces.)

For example, if retaining your existing customers is a key success factor, your business objective must be to grow sales with your existing customers. How do you do that? First, do a customer satisfaction survey to assess how satisfied your existing customers are (or aren’t). Then determine what needs to be changed and what you need to focus on. Make sure that you understand how your customers chose between competitors: is it price, service, quality, knowledge, reliability, relationships, or all of these factors? What product or service attributes are most important to your customers? What is the unique difference between your product or service and your competition’s product or service (from your customer’s perspective)?

Once you have identified your key success factors; built measurement devices to track them; assessed and compared your competitors’ KSFs – and the industry’s; built your strategies and objectives into your marketing and business plans(phew!); you need to act! Build your business on these key success factors.

The Essentials of How to Write a Business Plan

As long as you have the key facts figured out, getting your business plan on paper need not be such a challenge.

Industry experts agree that the most common reasons why b-plans head straight for the shredder are because of the small things that give it away as an amateur production: unrealistic claims about competition or risk, spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors, content and formatting errors, incomplete or vague information and so on.

Considering that your business plan is the first ever impression of your business, a sloppy piece of work is not going to be read through seriously – especially if its being read by angels and VCs who have to choose among several businesses vying for their attention.

Most plans are divided into standard sections to discuss the business proposition, the management, the market and unique strategies for marketing and operations. The most critical information should be presented upfront rather than buried deep inside the pages, and sections should be well-balanced and inter-related.

Having said that, there is no fixed format for a business plan – sections are put together depending on their relevance to who is going to be reading the plan. For example, a plan for investors is quite different from one put together for internal purposes only.

Presentation is key so that the content is not unnecessarily complex or overly simplified – the plan should be easy to read and build up excitement from logical reasoning and facts (not hot air). Along the way, a clearly emergent SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) should become evident.

The executive summary at the beginning can make it or break it, so it needs to receive as much attention. Together with the investor presentation, it should do a nice job of summing up your entire plan so even though it is the first chapter, it should be written last.

Financial projections that can be supported by actual market facts and data will make sure the nuts and bolts are in place since a lot of investors might read nothing more than the executive summary and the financial projections (though all the other sections need to be there for reference and due diligence once your business is short-listed).

No matter what level you are at, a proper business plan is ideally never written by one person alone – there are bound to be some gaping holes you somehow overlooked in all your excitement.

Business plan software and templates give you some broad areas to discuss, but you should spend your time on more focused responses. Rather than ‘filling in’ sections using a hammer and chisel, try to find answers to specific questions your potential investors will be asking you.

Business consulting firms are usually far more useful than software or templates that are one-size-fits-all, and can help you write a solid plan that gets results.

If you can come up with good answers to questions the consultants put forward, you do not have to worry about the presentation, since the documentation of your responses (with added value) is the responsibility of the consulting firm. The Q&A sessions will also help you build confidence when you actually talk to investors.

Services provided typically include writing, market research, financial modelling, proof-reading, editing and review. For a slightly larger budget, a serious firm will even provide consulting to develop your business strategy. However, you should make sure the consultant works closely with you so that the end result is no less than what you bargained for.

In case you are not in for the additional investment for acquiring these services, make sure your plan receives a good sanity check from your cohorts and is looked over with a critical eye by at least one person external to your business. And don’t forget to spell-check and watch your grammar.

The Structure of Your Business Plan

Your business plan is vital to establish the structure of your business, its aims and objectives, strategies, products and staffing. It is used to plan and manage your business, apply for funding or show to potential investors. It has ten main parts and these are:

1. Cover and index

Sounds a little silly, but a great cover to your business plan will show the professionalism and care that has gone into its production. It is also the ideal place to include your company logo and contact details. If appropriate, include photos of your products.

Vitally you should also include your company name and number as well as your contact details such as address, website, social media accounts and email and phone number of your relevant director. You will surprised at the number of people that forget this feature.

To help potential investors to navigate around, the index must include all the points of the business plan with the corresponding page number. Make it as complete as possible so that the reader has a clear idea of what the document contains.

However producing the index also gives you, the writer a great planning tool to ensure that you include all the points and information you need to include.

2. Executive summary with the needs and objectives of your business

In the first part of the document you must make a descriptive summary of the idea that includes the following points:

• The opportunity in the market

• The product or service and its advantages

• The management team

• Financial summary the financing needs and expected profitability

By writing the executive summary first, your put all the information down that is in your head. You can always come back to it at the end of your wiring of the main body.

Remember, you need to capture the attention of investors in approximately two pages where you will summarise the most important points of the text. You must also take into account several things:

• Vitally you must define the need or problem that your business intends to solve.

• You need to define the fundamental objectives of the company.

• You need to tell the investor at what stage your company currently is. Whether you are pre-production, starting to expand or in profit for example.

3. Plan out your business

Here is the point where you get your scrap paper out.

• You must describe the mission of your business – that is what you hope to achieve. Then you need a list of actions that your company needs to get to this point.

• Next you need to work out how you will solve the business problems you have identified.

• Now describe what your product or service is, what customers will get with their purchase and what their weaknesses or inconveniences are.

• Discover what price point your potential customers will be comfortable with.

• Lastly you need to discover how you can find these customers.

Often this can all be defined by the use of a business model canvas and this is the subject of another of my articles. You can purchase consultancy to produce this model.

Usually there are already companies that are working for the same goals. Identify them and ask yourself: How am I going to differentiate myself from my competitors?

4. Explain the structure of your business

Making a business plan involves examining the strengths and weaknesses of your competition, once identified you can justify why your business is unique. You must distinguish yourself from the crowd to increase the investment opportunity. That is, refer to the following information:

• Describe what you will be selling to whom and at what price point.

• Introduce your branding concepts – are you going to be a luxury company for example or pile it high and sell it cheap kind of company?

• Describe how you will fulfil an order – in other words, the whole process from purchasing the products yourself to actually delivering them to your customer and offering after service.

• Clarify how you will cover the main areas of production, sales, marketing, finance and administration.

• Include management, sales, stock control and quality control accounts.

• Define how you will sell your products and analyse, if necessary, the location of the company and the advantages and disadvantages of this situation.

Make sure that you solve the following investors’ doubts: What are the products of your competition and how do they create them?

5. List the characteristics of the market in which you will develop your business

You will have to analyse the market conditions: how big it is, how fast it is growing and what its profit potential is. Explain how you are going to investigate your audience and with what tools.

Know the target of the market in which the business will be developed and direct marketing strategies towards that target. If you do not have a working marketing strategy you will lose time, effort and money.

Answer the following question: Where are you going to find your customers?

6. Devise promotional strategies

This is where the marketing plan of your business should be included. It is perhaps one of the most relevant steps when making a business plan. Promotional and marketing strategies could determine the success or failure of your company. Try to answer several questions:

• How are you going to position your product or service? This is where you want the 4 Ps of marketing: Price, Product, Promotion, and Place.

• Compare features such as price, quality and customer service with your competitors.

• How are you going to sell to your customers? Phone, web page, face to face, agents?

• How will you identify potential customers?

• How are you going to promote your business? Advertising, public relations, email marketing, content strategy, social media etc?

• What benefit will each part of your business achieve?

• Why is someone going to abandon your current competitors to buy in your business?

• How are you going to attract them to your company and its products?

• What is a fair estimate of the number of customers you will achieve each year for the first three years?

• What will be your estimate of the cost of attaining each new customer?

• What is the estimate of the cost of retaining each customer?

7. Define your source of income

This is where you put down all the information about what your company will be selling and where the source of income will come from.

• The products and services you will be providing.

• Any advertising fees, commissions, membership fees etc. you will receive.

The analysis should include: price structure, costs, margins and expenses.

Include details of your anticipated cash flow over the first three years. Cash flow is a major consideration. In web based companies it is referred to as the burn rate.

8. Your team

Here is where you wax lyrical about the strength of your directors and major staff. Include their experience in similar posts and what they can do for your fledgling company. Include basis resumes for each of them and state their responsibilities. If you have a particularly renowned supporter, mentor or director here is where you mention it.

9. Your financials

When you reach this point when making your business plan you should start translating everything you have said into numbers. That is, analyse the financial forecasts of your business. Also include your financial strategy – how you will manage your cash flow, vital for any new company. If don’t have a plan, the business could suddenly sink or fail. If, on the other hand, you receive unexpected success, your goals may suddenly change and you will need a new business plan. Therefore, you should assess the risks of your business, identify areas where something could go wrong and explain what you would do in that case. You should include any other investments you have or are going to receive. Details of your share allocations, particularly large percentages, should be included.

9. What you are going to do with the investment

Very importantly, include what you are seeking the financing for and how and when you intend spending the investment. It is vital that the potential investor sees that the company will be vastly improved from the investment.

State how soon and how often the potential investor will see a return for their investment. Also include the offered shares as well as their potential involvement with the company after they have invested.

It is vital that they are offered an exit strategy so that they can have a healthy return on their investment and then move on to the next new company.

10. Annexes

It is very possible that after making the business plan you need to give additional information to complement it. For example:

• Market research data that you have used.

• Resumes of the team that will form your company. This is very important if you are seeking high levels of financing.

• Technical specifications of the product or service (you can include photographs).

• The names of some potential customers.

Creating a business plan involves writing many pages with attractive, dynamic and precise texts that capture the attention of very demanding people. It should attract the attention of investors, who despite having read hundreds of them must find something unique in your business plan.

Fatal Flaws in Your Business Plan

A business plan is the blueprint that guides aspiring entrepreneurs as they build their new business ventures. From 2008 – 2010, I taught a 20-week business plan writing course at an SBA-affiliated women’s business development organization. We met for three hours each week and students wrote their plans week by week, guided by the lessons.

When evaluating a business concept, unrealistic expectations or flawed thinking could creep in and undermine the planning. Excitement about the idea might distort one’s ability to see potential obstacles. What follows are scenarios that entrepreneurs-in-the-making should beware.

Unrealistic expectations

While it is sometimes true that using yourself as the ideal customer is a smart idea, since you understand the value and availability of that product or service, you might misinterpret the size of the market and the traction that can be achieved beyond a select group of true believers.

Insufficient information

Confirm the need for your products or services when you research and verify the number of potential customers who have the money and motive to buy from you.

Furthermore, make sure that you understand the buying process. Who green-lights the sale? What is the sweet spot price range? Lastly, where do potential customers obtain these products or services now?

Access to customers

Access to customers is everything and some industries or target customers seem impenetrable. You may identify the right customers, understand how your products or services fit their needs and know how to price and deliver. But if potential customers do not have the confidence to work with you because you lack an endorsement from a trusted source, you’ll starve.

Overestimating cash-flow

Usually, businesses won’t achieve desirable gross sales and or show a net profit in the first year of operations. Businesses that require high start-up costs especially will require long ramping-up periods. The business plan must acknowledge the potential for negative cash-flow and demonstrate how fixed and variable expenses will be met during that time. One must know how inventory will be financed, payroll will be met and office rent will be paid.

When writing your business plan, conservative financial projections are strongly advised. Customer acquisition may take longer than expected and the size of their purchases may initially be small. Moreover, it’s possible for a venture to be profitable on paper and still suffer from cash-flow problems, if customers do not pay on time.

Underestimating start-up costs

Developing a reasonable estimate of how much it will cost to get the venture up and running is essential. You must be prepared to meet the cost of all permits, equipment, inventory and staffing necessary to conduct business. If you plan to hire employees, it’s important to have a good idea of your minimum staffing needs up front (you can hire more as revenues increase).

“Magical thinking” business model

The business model illustrates how your venture will become profitable. Well thought-out interactions between marketing, financial and operations processes will promote and sustain profitability and you must map out how these will occur. The business model describes the core functions of the venture.

Likewise, the value proposition of your products or services must be articulated. The overall marketing strategy and selected tactics and resources that will promote the value proposition—intellectual property, patent rights, key relationships, or capital—will be accounted for. Sales distribution channels will be detailed.

Getting to Plan B (2009), by Randy Komisar and John Mullins, details the key business model components and advises business plan writers to segment their models into sub-headings:

The Revenue Model, to describe what you’ll sell, your marketing plans and how you expect to generate revenue
The Operating Model, to detail where you’ll do business and how day-to-day operations will function
The Working Capital model, meaning the business cash-flow requirements. Understanding cash-flow helps you know when money will be available to meet expenses like rent and payroll (it is distinct from revenue). A business can generate adequate revenue (sales) and still suffer from cash-flow problems.

Your business model will keep you organized and your priorities realistic. Matters such as quality control, collecting accounts receivable, inventory management and identifying strategic partners will mean much more than your number of Facebook followers, for example. Best of luck to you and your new business!

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Woodworking Business Plan

Starting a woodworking business can be a highly profitable enterprise with a lot of flexibility however it is important that you plan it carefully. Having a woodworking business plan will allow you to borrow funds from investors or the bank in order to get you started. In this guide you will learn what you need to have in your woodworking business plan.

Executive Summary

Your business plan should start with an executive summary. This will outline the purpose of your enterprise, for example to sell handcrafted wooden furniture, and how you will achieve this goal. It should be brief and to the point.

Basic Business Information

Here you will list basic information about your business. This should include the hours of operation, how long you have been in business, your contact details such as your phone number, email address and website. This does not need to be extensive but should cover the essentials of your business operation.

Products or Services Offered

Here you will give a summary or the products or services you will be offering. For example if you were producing hand crafted wooden jewellery boxes you might describe the wood that is being used in the construction as well as the techniques that you use to produce these boxes.

Management and Organization Details

This is where you will list who the management is for your business. If you are at this point the only person involved in the company then this will simply be you. If you have others working in the company detail the organization structure of your enterprise. Below this list the ownership structure of the business. This is whether your are running a sole proprietorship, partnership or a limited liability company.

Marketing Plan

This is where you include how you are going to get your customers. This is one of the most important parts of your woodworking business plan because without customers you don’t have a business. For example if you are going to have a mail order side to the business you might include direct mail as a marketing method. If you are going to advertise in home and garden magazines this could be another marketing method. List these in bullet point form so they are easy to understand.

Plan of Operations

Think of this as how you are going to spend a day at your business. How will work get done, from taking orders through to delivery? This can really help you to understand how your business will work and any potential problems or room for improvements.

Financial Projections

If you are planning on borrowing money then this is a very important section. If you are already in business and have a track record of earnings you can include that here. You can then extend out to the future based on your previous growth.

The key to a successful business plan is to include all of the information that is pertinent but no extraneous information. It should be clear and to the point so that even someone who is not familiar with the woodworking industry can follow it.

Preparing A Wine Business Plan

Getting started on a wine business plan can be very complicated. It would take months for businessmen to brainstorm over the idea before beginning the actual process. In fact, there are a variety of studies involved when the goal is to generate boundless income. For those who have been in the business for a number of years, it is undeniable that they have regained part of their revenues. This is because consumers continue to demand for more thereby the speedy production of supply. If you want to be successful in this business field, it is important to know the different ways by which you can prepare to take part of the wine industry.

Being an expert in the specific business field chosen is by far the most vital contributor to success. This rule plays as well in the wine trade. To be able to achieve excellent results, you have to first understand the stages involved in wine production. This should not be a problem for people who have had the experience in a similar arena. On the other hand, those who aspire to expand their pool of knowledge would definitely have to go through a series of studies that will help in the mastery of the subject. Only then will you truly comprehend the essentials of a wine business plan.

It is advised to connect with individuals who have had the experience of working in the wine industry for some time as they possess vast knowledge on the topic. Look for advisors who will offer tips in starting your plan. They can guide you in accomplishing objectives through effective strategies, and steer you away from making common mistakes. Make sure though that the person is not into the business anymore otherwise you could be taking the advice of a competitor which is not really a pleasant scenario.

Financial boundaries matter in the preparation stage of the plan. It would be wise to initially lay out a capital and make this the basis of your plans rather than the other way around. Upon establishing a plan, always keep in mind that wine businesses necessitate considerably large amounts of money. It would be wise to plan according to the money on hand. Never push too hard. On many instances through your brainstorming, you may need to revise your plan from going for a solely-owned company to a wine store franchise instead. As a starter, this is good enough. You can always make improvements later on with sufficient funds.

Mind Mapping and Information Gathering For Successful Drafting Of a Business Plan

Information Gathering Prior To Drafting the Business Plan – The planning phase.

Business or hobby?

A question begging an honest answer is, “Is it a business you want to start or is it a hobby?” This is a vitally important question because these are two very different enterprises or entities. To start and run a business takes a lot of extensive, in depth analytical thinking, legal steps need to be taken, and a lot of planning and budgeting needs to be done. One can’t stress this enough.

Entrepreneurial skills

Entrepreneurial skills are naturally inbred in very few people. The Indians and Chinese seem to have it as a natural trait. Many people think that because they’re starting a trading business, that it should just succeed because they are buying at a low cost and selling at a higher price. So, therefore then, a profit should be shown and all should be in order. Not true in many cases, many hidden costs are not taken account of. Hidden costs exist such as telephone, petrol/transport, stall or rental, packaging, owner’s salary, and so forth.

Many times the business owner uses the money, which should be in reserve for purchasing more stock, for his personal use and then he wonders how all the money or profit has “disappeared”. Now he would need to raise more money somehow to purchase his next batch of stock and/or raw materials. Such a business owner is actually getting poorer each day and he is hardly aware of it.

If one approaches only one’s friends and family with a business idea, and none of them have the necessary knowledge to advise one, the rot will begin to set in. Wrong or ill-informed advice is not what you need.

Drafting a complete and accurate business plan is a very important step that anyone can take who wants to start any new business, or expand an existing business. The business plan covers all the important steps, decisions, reports and forecasts needed to assess the likelihood of success or failure in the new venture. At least one then has a foundation from which to work. It can always be used for reference purposes during the life of the business and it can easily be adjusted for future expansions or changes to the business process.

Planning the business, mind mapping and information gathering

The act of planning helps you to think things through thoroughly, study and research if you are not sure of the facts, and look at your ideas critically. It takes time now, but avoids costly, perhaps disastrous, mistakes later.

Bankers and financiers presume that one means business when one approaches them in this regard and they expect to receive honest and accurate information. There is no quick and easy way to deal with this; it’s their way or no way.

We all have skills, talents and learned abilities. These can be used to operate a business, which will generate an income. Extensive, in depth analytical thinking and planning is very important though because, without it one is destined to fail.

Discuss your business plan with people who can give you advice; Bankers, Dept. Trade and Industry, Business Partners Inc., other institutions who grant money for small business initiatives, an attorney, an accountant and various other people who have a wealth of experience in their fields of speciality.

When planning to start a business take the following steps:

Speak to product specialists for their advice concerning your products and/or services.
Speak to bankers, a lawyer, an accountant and a number of institutions offering grants or loans to small business initiatives.
The above people will give you a blank Business Plan form, among other forms, to complete.
The business plan is normally of great assistance in planning and budgeting for the business. And it is a good guide to all that needs to be done and decided upon.

Meet with whoever your partners will be, if any, and discuss the whole planned business process, including:

The type of business ownership best suited to your business
The products or services to be offered
The premises needed
The machinery and vehicles needed
Start up expenses need to be established and discussed
Capital requirements and directorship of the business
Decide on who will perform which functions in the running of the business.
Your target market
The environment of your area to be covered
The economy relating to that area, current demand, future growth, etc.
Determine what barriers exist at present which may hinder your success
Promotion of your products and/or services
Distribution channels
Operational plan i.r.o purchasing, production, sales, etc. needs discussing
Legal environment and requirements
Inventory and suppliers
Insurance and other professional advisory requirements like, lawyer, accountant.
Establish a system of record keeping
Bank services needed
Personnel requirements and Human Resource policies
Do the costing of each product very accurately.
Calculate selling prices based on all costs plus mark up
Draft the projected financial plan or budget for twelve months
Draft the projected cash flow for twelve months
Draft a starting balance sheet

This key information will then be used to draft a meaningful business plan. And the information is all inter related an in sync. In closing, the pre-planning phase takes time and effort but it is very necessary as a step to ensuring success.

The Importance of Your Concept in Writing a Business Plan for Your Small Business

What is a concept? Good question. I answer it this way: What you are trying to do and how you are trying to do it. People start with a good idea and sometimes begin the process of opening a business without properly developing the idea to the point where it makes sense to start. You need a business plan and the business plan is based on the concept. Development of your concept is an exercise that you have to go through. By doing so you are ensuring that your idea has ‘legs’.

Close your eyes and explain what is happening in your small business a year from now. “What the?” you may ask; but hold on here. This is what I am asking you to do. Answer questions like these ones. It is a Tuesday in February of next year:

What are you doing at 10 in the morning?

How about 5 in the evening?

What color is on the walls?

How many workers are on the floor?

What are they wearing?

How many customers do you have?

What are they buying?

How much are they paying?

By going through this exercise you will fully develop your concept to the point where you will eventually be able to know how many people you have to hire, how big a space you need to rent, what products you need and in what amount, and who you want to attract as customers. Think for a minute. You cannot write a business plan unless you have all the answers before you begin.

You can then take this valuable information and build your financial forecast with it. Once you have your concept worked out, go and try it on for size with some people who will give you objective feedback. Don’t go to your neighbour or brother-in-law because they may say things like: “I knew a guy who tried that and it failed.” It may be that they are jealous and are scared that you might succeed in your venture and they are terrified. Instead go and search out people who are entrepreneurs with loads of experience. Look for the white hair and wrinkles. They’ve made the mistakes you’ll make if you don’t listen to them. Got it?

After getting solid feedback go back and tweak your concept and then give it a go again. By going through this process you’ll be able to clearly define your concept and get closer to turning your idea into an actual business. People who have clearly defined concepts usually succeed more than those who just “wing it”. The difference? The ones that succeed have a business plan and the business plan is based around a well thought-out concept.

And remember, if your idea is not well received – lingerie and bait shop? – abandon it and look at something new. Never and I mean never ever go ahead without having received positive feedback about your idea. Listen, please.

The Importance of a Business Plan

Your business plan is your company’s calling card. It allows you to see your business through your investor’s eyes. As the name suggests it is a plan of your business; your communication tool; selling your marketing, sales and operations.

Every time you meet with a property manager about leasing space for your business or you have a meeting with a potential lender/investor it is your business plan that will do most of the talking.

Use your business plan to present your business concept in away others can understand. You should focus on exactly what you want to achieve, where you want your business to go and how you plan to get it there. Projected sales and monthly expenses will also be included in your plan. All of this information will influence your choices, including the type of location you will be looking for. Your business plan will monitor whether you are achieving these objectives and maximise your changes of success by allowing you to keep adding to it.

A business plan is the key to long term success for new and old businesses. Your business must have a foundation to start from and you have to give your business time as success will take longer then merely weeks.

If you’re a new retail business you should think about things such as will you have a walk in store? A catalogue? Will your store have an internet site? Will it enable Internet ordering? What will your delivery methods be? You should also think about who your competition is and how you are better than your competition.

Your business plan will:

o Help clarify/focus and research your businesses development and prospects.

o Provides a considered and logical framework within which a business can develop and pursue business strategies not just for the near future but throughout your business

o Serves as a basis for discussion with third parties such as shareholders, agencies, banks, investors etc.

o Offers a benchmark against which actual performance can be measured and reviewed.

Your business plan is a framework which your business must operate within. It will ultimately determine whether your business succeeds or fails. For management or entrepreneurs seeking external support, the plan is the most important sales document that they are ever likely to produce. It acts as the key to raising finance. Preparation of a comprehensive plan will not guarantee success in raising funds or mobilizing support, but having no plan at all will more than likely result in failure.

Some of the things that are worth thinking about before you start writing your business plan are:

o Clearly defining your target audience

o Determine your businesses requirements in relation to the contents and levels of detail

o Map out your plan’s structure

o Decide on the likely length of your plan

o Identify all the main issues to be addressed within your plan

For many people the mere process of planning, thinking, discussing, researching and analysing can often be just, if not, more helpful than the actual outcome, which is your plan.

No businesses are the same, just as no plans are the same. Your business plan might seem like a daunting task but the results it will produce will be worth it and if you are having trouble writing the plan yourself there are many websites that offer help and, along with your help, will actually write the business plan for you.

Startup Business Plan For A Restaurant

The success of any business, start with a good and efficient plan and this is true in the case of food service trades like restaurants. Generally, Startup food business planning for a restaurant should begin with an executive summary, which will give a summary or overview of the entire business plan. This can act as a blueprint towards guiding entrepreneurs from the initial stages to the first 3-5 years of operation. This plan will document each and every detail about the operation of the restaurant.

Executive summary: When a professional Food service franchise business consultant is asked, the professional will suggest that the executive summary will identify how much financing will be needed to begin with the operations. It will also specify the funding needed until the food business begins to show up profits. Experts are of the opinion that income projections for the first three to five years should also be present in this summary. This part should also encompass a description of the proposed restaurant that identifies the unique aspects of the operation.

Concept: Professional food service franchise business consultant will also suggest that the concept, theme and the type of cuisine to be served in the restaurant and the important components that should be documented in detail in the food service startup plan. Here, the location of the restaurant should be identified.

Startup expenses: In the process of startup food business planning, it is important that appropriate plan must be documented for anticipated expenses. Generally, there will be startup costs associated with the establishment of the restaurant and it will of course include one-time expenses like purchase of furniture, commercial kitchen equipment, building alterations and initial construction. In addition, other startup expenses include glassware, table linens, theme-compatible table settings, etc… Apart from these expenses, there will be administrative costs like permission from health department, business licensing fee, etc…

Budgets: When it comes to preparing budgets, the costs for initial setup should be identified. Here, both fixed and variable expenses should be identified. Fixed expenses include those that are the same each month like lease payments. Variable expenses include regular menu items, whose cost will vary as per season.

There are professional consultants, who can help people planning to start any type of food-related trades like a food truck business. They can give the appropriate suggestion for framing a food truck business plan. They are of the opinion that the some of the above-mentioned items like budget and startup expenses should be included in the process of the food truck business plan.