An Introduction to Business Plans

A business plan is a written description of your business's future. That's all there is to it--a document that desribes what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. If you jot down a paragraph on the back of an envelope describing your business strategy, you've written a plan, or at least the germ of a plan.

Business plans can help perform a number of tasks for those who write and read them. They're used by investment-seeking entrepreneurs to convey their vision to potential investors. They may also be used by firms that are trying to attract key employees, prospect for new business, deal with suppliers or simply to understand how to manage their companies better.

So what's included in a business plan, and how do you put one together? Simply stated, a business plan conveys your business goals, the strategies you'll use to meet them, potential problems that may confront your business and ways to solve them, the organizational structure of your business (including titles and responsibilities), and finally, the amount of capital required to finance your venture and keep it going until it breaks even.
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Sound impressive? It can be, if put together properly. A good business plan follows generally accepted guidelines for both form and content. There are three primary parts to a business plan:

* The first is the business concept, where you discuss the industry, your business structure, your particular product or service, and how you plan to make your business a success.
* The second is the marketplace section, in which you describe and analyze potential customers: who and where they are, what makes them buy and so on. Here, you also describe the competition and how you'll position yourself to beat it.
* Finally, the financial section contains your income and cash flow statement, balance sheet and other financial ratios, such as break-even analyses. This part may require help from your accountant and a good spreadsheet software program.

Breaking these three major sections down even further, a business plan consists of seven key components:

1. Executive summary
2. Business description
3. Market strategies
4. Competitive analysis
5. Design and development plan
6. Operations and management plan
7. Financial factors

In addition to these sections, a business plan should also have a cover, title page and table of contents.

How Long Should Your Business Plan Be?
Depending on what you're using it for, a useful business plan can be any length, from a scrawl on the back of an envelope to, in the case of an especially detailed plan describing a complex enterprise, more than 100 pages. A typical business plan runs 15 to 20 pages, but there's room for wide variation from that norm.

Much will depend on the nature of your business. If you have a simple concept, you may be able to express it in very few words. On the other hand, if you're proposing a new kind of business or even a new industry, it may require quite a bit of explanation to get the message across.

The purpose of your plan also determines its length. If you want to use your plan to seek millions of dollars in seed capital to start a risky venture, you may have to do a lot of explaining and convincing. If you're just going to use your plan for internal purposes to manage an ongoing business, a much more abbreviated version should be fine

Add to Cart An Introduction to Business Plans

5 Easy Ways to Kick-start Your Business Planning

1. Do a SWOT Analysis
   SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It's a great way to break out of that planning inertia. It's especially good when there's a team involved. Take an hour or two and jot down bullet points under each of these four categories.
   
   Don't spend all day, much less all week. A couple of hours should work fine.
   
   Don't argue about what goes where. Don't criticize contributions. It's brainstorming. Just jot down the points and record them. Strategy follows. You can't help it. You do a SWOT, and strategy follows.
   
   And now you're planning. 
2. Compare plans to actual sales.
   Think through what turned out differently and what didn't, and why. Soon, you'll be thinking about your marketing strategy, target markets, marketing messages, customers, channels, packaging, delivery, complaints and competitors. I'm amazed at how much of business, and the business planning process, pivots around the difference between planned and actual sales.
   
   And now you're planning.
   
   
   
   
3. Talk to 10 well-chosen people
   Funny how much time goes by for most business owners without really talking even to your customers, much less to a few people who aren't your customers but could be. I was shocked the first time I did it. I felt like I talked to customers often, but that's nothing to what you get when you dedicate time and have a real conversation.
   
   First make a good list. Don't cheat yourself and talk only to the people you always talk to anyway. Stretch yourself further and find some people you don't know, so you get a fresh look. Ask them for their time, not as a survey taker but as the owner or manager of the business. A lot of people will turn you down (I probably would), but if the conversation is framed right, you'll find some people interested.
   
   Start the conversation with interesting questions. The first couple of questions are critical to the success of the talk. Grab their interest. Wake their curiosity.
   
   And now you're planning.
4. Imagine a customer story
   That's right: I say "imagine," not find or tell a customer story. This isn't a testimonial for use by marketing.
   
   Imagine your ideal customer. Give her a gender, occupation, family (or not), children (or not), route to work, favorite magazines, television shows, hobbies, websites, music, and movies. If she owns a car, what make, what model. Imagine favorite vacations.
   
   Now imagine how she finds your business. What does he like about you, and what does she dislike? What prompts him to look for you. Where does she look? What does he tell other people about your business?
   
   How do you want to be described by your customers to their friends? What do you want to make them set you apart, in their minds?
   
   Think about that, imagine that, and now you're planning. 
5. Visualize a better future
   Where your business might be three years from now if things go really well. What will your office or store or plant look like three years from now? What will you be selling? How different is it from what you're selling today? Who will you be selling too? How different will that be from who you sell to today?
   
   Some would call this dreaming. But dreaming ahead, dreaming the future, is a vital part of business planning. Dream it, then focus, set the steps to make it happen. Then track and follow up, and manage.
   
   And now you're planning. Tim Berry: Business Plans

Add to Cart 5 Easy Ways to Kick-start Your Business Planning

Interview: 12 Top Online Entrepreneurs Share How Hard They Work

I strongly believe that behind every successful person there is a huge amount of hard work, and that is why I am always interested in learning how long and how hard other entrepreneurs work (maybe to confirm that I am not the only one crazy out there….). Thinking about this issue I decided to run a group interview, asking some of the most successful people I know how hard they work. Below you’ll find an introduction with the interviewees, and then straight to the questions.

Darren Rowse: The original Problogger, Darren has created a web publishing empire over the past few years, and has been included in the “Top 25 Web Celebrities” list by Forbes in 2007.

Rand Fishkin: Rand is the CEO and co-founder of SEOMoz, a leader in the field of search engine optimization. In 2009 he was named among the “30 Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs Under 30″ by BusinessWeek.

Aaron Wall: One of the most respected SEOs around the world, Aaron is the founder of SEO Book, a leading SEO resource and training program.

Neil Patel: By the age of 21 Neil had already co-founded three Internet companies. He blogs at Quicksprout, where he also offers a course for aspiring web entrepreneurs, called Quicksprout PRO.

Chris Pearson: One of the most talented web designers around, Chris is the creator of the hugely popular Thesis Theme for WordPress, which is used by over 20,000 webmasters.

Shawn Collins: Shawn is an authority inside the affiliate marketing industry, and he is also co-founder of the Affiliate Summit, the most successful affiliate conference around.

Yaro Starak: Yaro is a very successful online entrepreneur from Australia. Combining all his ventures he makes a 7-figure income yearly. You’ll find his blog at Entrepreneurs-Journey.com.

Dan Schawbel: Dan is the leading expert in personal branding around the world. He founded the Personal Branding Blog, and his articles are syndicated by Reuters, Forbes and Fox Business.

Jonathan Volk: A super affiliate who generates millions in sales promoting affiliate offers every year. At JonathanVolk.com you’ll find his tips on affiliate marketing, making money online, advertising and so on.

Chris Garrett: Chris is a successful blogging and Internet marketing consultant. He blogs at Chrisg.com, and he is also the co-author of the Problogger book, an Amazon best-seller.

Collis Ta’eed: Collis is the founder of Envato, one of the largest blog networks on the Internet. Combined his blogs generate over 20 million page views per month.

Trent Hamm: Trent is the owner of The Simple Dollar. With over 80,000 RSS subscribers, the blog is a must read for anyone interested in personal finance.

1. How many days do you work per week week?

Darren Rowse: 7 – but on the weekends its for only an hour or two.
Rand Fishkin: 5 full days plus mornings and nights on the weekend.
Aaron Wall: 6.5 to 7… mostly 7.
Neil Patel: I work 7 days a week.
Chris Pearson: Some weeks every day, and other weeks only a couple of days.
Shawn Collins: 7, but lighter on the weekend.
Yaro Stark: 7 days per week.
Jonathan Volk: 6 days, plus a couple of hours on Sunday.
Dan Schawbel: 7 days per week.
Chris Garrett: 7 days per week.
Collis Ta’eed: 5, but often times I work on weekends as well.
Trent Hamm: I work at least a little every day of the week, so 7.

2. How many hours do you work, in total, every week?

Darren Rowse: From 60 to 65.
Rand Fishkin: Between 65 and 70, but some weeks as low as 55.
Aaron Wall: 90+ hours typically, and often 100.
Neil Patel: I work anywhere from 60 to 80 hours a week.
Chris Pearson: I’ve definitely pulled my share of 80+ hour weeks, but to balance things out, I’ve also pulled my share of 20 hour weeks, too. As an average, I probably work 30–50 hours per week.
Shawn Collins: Around 60 hours per week.
Yaro Stark: In terms of productive output I probably do about 10-20 hours
a week, but there’s plenty more time spent in front of the computer.
Jonathan Volk: Around 60 hours per week.
Dan Schawbel: I work approximately 110 hours per week depending if I’m traveling or not.
Chris Garrett: As many as it takes. So up to 90 hours on some weeks, and only 50 on others.
Collis Ta’eed: 40 to 60 hours usually.
Trent Hamm: 40 to 45 hours.

3. Do you have a fixed work routine? Hoes does it look like?

Darren Rowse: Most mornings I usually spend a couple of hours in a local cafe working. This is often writing time. Mid morning to lunch time usually has more of an admin/networking function. Afternoons are often more about email, commenting in forums, networking. Evenings are about finalizing posts for the next day, writing newsletters etc.
Rand Fishkin: Not at all fixed – very inconsistent based on travel, meetings, phone calls, engagements, etc.
Aaron Wall: Not really…I try to do something until I feel I am getting tired of it or losing efficiency (or am done with it), and then I will either take a break or do another task.
Neil Patel: I don’t have a fix routine. Most of my days are spent meeting with other entrepreneurs and answering emails.
Chris Pearson: Generally speaking, I like to knock out “near zero sum” tasks like email, Twitter DM responses, and accounting first thing in the morning. In theory, this leaves me with the rest of the day to focus my attention on problems that I actually care about.
Shawn Collins: I do on the weekdays – I help get my kids off to school (4 kids in 3 schools) and then get to my desk around 8:30 am. I work through 6:00 pm and then stop to hang out with the family and have dinner. After the kids go to sleep, I work another hour or so – sometimes I work more after my wife goes to sleep.
Yaro Stark: Not fixed no, but loosely made up of some work on the computer when I wake up, usually around 9-10am and I do most of my solid writing at cafes, so about 2-3 hours every second or third day during the afternoons or evenings.
Jonathan Volk: Normally I work on routine stuff in the morning such as responding to emails, updating stats, checking profits, etc. By the time I am done with this, I normally break for lunch. After lunch I begin working on developing new projects and marketing campaigns.
Dan Schawbel: I don’t have a fixed work routine at all. I make a top ten list of things I need to get done each week and then commit to it.
Chris Garrett: No, one of the reasons I went to work for myself was to have freedom. There are things that I do to be productive, and stuff I have to do every day, but I do not have a fixed routine.
Collis Ta’eed: I certainly do, every day I begin by traversing my email in an attempt to keep my inbox down to zero (something I’ve only ever achieved twice!) Then I usually update my to-do list and check my calendar. And then of course it’s “real” work time!
Trent Hamm: On weekdays, I have a fixed routine. I usually block out several
hour-long chunks throughout the day for various tasks, blocking out
all interruptions.

4. How many times per year do you take vacations, and how long are they?

Darren Rowse: We try to do a combination of different types of vacations as a family. We would typically have 3-4 weekends away (often we’d do it over 3-4 days) each year. We usually would also take a week over our summer or autumn and 10-14 days in our Spring. I also tend to travel to the US for conferences twice a year (two weeks) which isn’t a vacation but it’s a break from the normal routine.
Rand Fishkin: When I travel for work to interesting locations, I’ll often spend the weekend or an extra day there with my wife when possible, but I haven’t had a serious, true vacation since my wedding in September 2008.
Aaron Wall: Roughly 0 . Need to work on that, and we will hire some folks soon to help out on that front.
Neil Patel: I don’t take vacations.
Chris Pearson: I prefer short trips to big vacations. My favorites are 3–4 day jaunts where I can either relax in an epic setting or else conquer something physically—like snowboarding, scuba diving, hiking, or launching myself off a rope swing into a freshwater lake!
Shawn Collins: I take long weekends here and there, but always bring my computer. I think the last time I took a week-long vacation was in 2002, and I was on my computer during that week. I can’t relax if I’m not caught up.
Yaro Stark: I don’t really have vacations. If I travel, I do my writing and other work wherever I am. There really is no solid line between holidays and work time for me, it’s all the same.
Jonathan Volk: I take a few vacations per year usually. I go to help out at my church’s youth camp each year for a week. I also am trying to take 2 vacations per year with my wife.
Dan Schawbel: Everyday is vacation when you’re doing what you love
Chris Garrett: We try to get away somewhere as much as possible, even if it is just a short trip to the mainland. I work hard and can not always get as much family time as I would like, so it’s important for us.
Collis Ta’eed: I like to vary it up, sometimes a few little ones and sometimes one big vacation. My favorite type of vacation is to go away for a week to somewhere very peaceful in the countryside and then write lots.
Trent Hamm: 4 or so times a year, usually for a week at a time.

5. How many hours per day do you spend on email?

Darren Rowse: 1-2 – although it’s a bit scattered through the day into 15 minute blocks.
Rand Fishkin: 3-4, sometimes more. I do lots of “work” inside email that’s not what I’d consider just classic communication (product/project reviews, scope documents, etc).
Aaron Wall: Roughly 1.5 to 2 hours. Need to work on that, and we will hire some folks soon to help out on that front.
Neil Patel: I spend at least 2 hours a day on email.
Chris Pearson: I spend about 20 minutes a day on email, and 0 minutes if I’m lucky.
Shawn Collins: No way to really calculate it – I check email every waking hour and constantly clear it out as much as I can.
Yaro Stark: I review my email and respond to really urgent things for about an hour a day, then every two weeks or so I’ll do a proper batch process and clear the inbox entirely.
Jonathan Volk: 2-3 hours per day. I spend the most amount of time on email in the morning and then leave outlook open during the entire work day. I get a lot of proposals, joint venture requests, and questions from people who have subscribed to my affiliate marketing guide and I like to try to at least reply to everyone.
Dan Schawbel: 2 hours
Chris Garrett: I am trying to kick the habit, but at worst I could be checking email all day and right into the night. Not healthy!
Collis Ta’eed: I spend the majority of my time with email open, though sometimes I’m doing the task that the email is about (like filling in this interview!) So I would say about 5 hours a day.
Trent Hamm: 1 to 2 hours per day.

6. When you are not working, what are you doing?

Darren Rowse: Sleeping, being a dad, reading novels, playing with my cameras, watching sport (either going live to the football or TV).
Rand Fishkin: I like cooking, having friends over for dinner, traveling (www.everywhereist.com) and sight-seeing and meeting other entrepreneurs and search folks around the world .
Aaron Wall: I like hanging out with my wonderful wife and our shih tzu. And video games are fun, as is reading books.
Neil Patel: I am having fun with friends when I am not working.
Chris Pearson: Over the last few years, I’ve established a pattern of learning and exploring new things when I’m not working. These range from cycling to reading books about neuroscience and economics. That is, when I’m not playing Modern Warfare 2 or Rock Band on my XBOX 360 .
Shawn Collins: Hanging out with my family and friends, exercising, going to baseball games.
Yaro Stark: I like sport – like tennis and skating. I also socialize and eat out with friends a lot. We head to the beach sometimes, see movies, travel locally around Australia, attend events in my industry, the usual.
Jonathan Volk: I enjoying hanging out with friends, playing wii or PS3 with my wife (She is awesome at modern warfare 2 haha), going to church, drumming, and finally flying my RC airplanes and helicopters.
Dan Schawbel: Going out and enjoying the nightlife here in Boston, MA.
Chris Garrett: Like many bloggers I read a *lot*, and there are a few TV programs I really enjoy, but really when I am not working it’s all family time. We like to eat out, go shopping, take the dog on long walks, and take snaps with my camera (we live quite near Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood fame, which is one of our favorite walks).
Collis Ta’eed: It’s embarrassing to say, but I’m usually thinking about work Although I do really love movies as well as I can switch off when I’m watching a good movie. My current favorite is the movie “Kick-Ass” which really lived up to its name!
Trent Hamm: Mostly spending time with my family – a wife, a four year old son, a two year old daughter, and a newborn son.

Add to Cart Interview: 12 Top Online Entrepreneurs Share How Hard They Work

5 Tips for Effective Business Planning

1. Clearly define your business idea and be able to succinctly articulate it. Know your mission.
2. Examine your motives. Make sure that you have a passion for owning a business and for this particular business.
3. Be willing to commit to the hours, discipline, continuous learning and the frustrations of owning your own business.
4. Conduct a competitive analysis in your market, including products, prices, promotions, advertising, distribution, quality, service, and be aware of the outside influences that affect your business.
5. Seek help from other small businesses, vendors, professionals, government agencies, employees, trade associations and trade shows. Be alert, ask questions, and visit your local SCORE office.

Add to Cart 5 Tips for Effective Business Planning

Business Plan Help, Information and Writing Tips

Writing a business plan for your small business is key in getting your new venture off on the right foot. Lenders won't even consider your request for a loan without a written business plan in hand. And, preparing a business plan forces entrepreneurs to consider every aspect of their company's operations -- from inventory requirements to how many employees they'll need to hire.

Add to Cart Business Plan Help, Information and Writing Tips