Corporate Business Plans
The Professional Approach
I. Why A Business Plan:
A Business Plan precisely defines your business, ignites goals, and serves as the firm's resume. The basic components include a thorough business description, marketing objectives, financial analysis with supporting documentation (current and pro forma balance sheet, an income statement, and a cash flow analysis), and executive profiles and managemnet structure. The Business Plan helps allocate resources properly, handle unforeseen complications, and make good business decisions. Because it provides specific and organized information about the company and how it will repay borrowed money, a good Business Plan is a crucial part of any loan application. Additionally, it informs sales personnel, suppliers, and others about your operations and goals.
Using your Plan - A business plan is a tool with three basic purposes: communication, management, and planning.
As a communication tool, it is used to attract investment capital, secure loans, convince workers to hire on and assist in attracting strategic business partners. The development of a comprehensive Business Plan shows whether or not a business has the potential to make a profit. It requires a realistic look at almost every phase of business and shows that you have worked out all the problems and decided on potential alternatives before actually lauching your business.
As a managemnet tool, the Business Plan helps you track, monitor and evaluate progress. The Business Plan is a living document that will be modified as you gain knowledge and experience. By using the Business Plan to establish timelines and milestones, you can gauge progress and compare projections to actual accomplishments.
As a planning tool the Business Plan acts as a guide through the various phases of a business. A thoughful plan will help identify roadblocks and obstacles so that they may be avoided, while allowing for alternatives to be established. Many business owners opt to share their Business Plans with their employees to foster a broader understanding of where the business is going.
The importance of a comprehensive, thoughtful Business Plan cannot be overemphasized. Much hinges on it: outside funding, credit from suppliers, management of your operation and finances, promotion and marketing, and achievement of the company's goals and objectives.
