What is the Value of a Business Plan?
In our last blog, we began the process of defending the Business Plan. We discussed:
Business Plan Basics
What is a Business Plan?
Do I Need a Business Plan?
The next step is to offer practical advice on the use and importance of a business plan.
What are the components of a Business Plan?
Anyone can Google what the components of a business plan are. It isn’t a big secret. I could also Google the manual to change a transmission, but I wouldn’t even consider doing that. Maybe a business plan isn’t as complicated as a transmission, but I can promise you that it will feel that way if you don’t understand what each section is asking for and how to complete it.
The outline of a business plan includes items such as:
Executive Summary
Business Description
Products and Services
Market Analysis
Budget
Marketing Plan
Evaluation Process
These are larger categories with many subcategories under each, but this list gives you an idea of the scope of a business plan.
How Long is a Business Plan?
Business plans can range from one page to 30 or more pages. In my opinion, a one page business plan is more difficult to complete, but can be used to effectively summarize a larger, well thought out plan. There is no need to be verbose, but the complexity of your business may dictate more research than another, less complicated business.
What do I do with a Business Plan?
The answer really is what your business plan does with you. A business plan creates clarity, opens up white space for consideration on things like goals, financials, target market, and offers a level of credibility and confidence in an idea. Your gut feeling and intuition about a business may be on point. Or maybe not. Business planning is an exercise, not in futility, but in strategy. It gives the business owner direction and a timeline for execution.
Start the Process with a Business Consultant
For more information about what a Business Consultant can do for your business, set up a free initial consultation with us at Leap Year Marketing Strategies. You can call anytime at 603-344-8843 or email us at joanne@leapyearmarketing.com.
Learn more about our founder, Joanne Randall, here.
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