Having a business plan format that is relevant to your specific situation and simple to
implement is the cornerstone to success. You see business plans are not just for starting a
business or to focus on obtaining funding. These are two primary reasons for planning but
there are many more reasons.
Statistics already prove to us from various studies that you are more likely to succeed if
you have a business plan. Studies from all around the world highlight the fact of increased
business success equals good planning. One Australian study of small business indicated that
the enterprise with a strong but simple and current business plan will be 15% more likely to
succeed over the long term. This was based on a sampling of over one hundred small
businesses.
The other reasons why you must have a current business plan are:
1.Focuses leaders and team members on internal operations.
2.Focuses on the objectives to be accomplished (the goals and targets) and a step by step
strategy to get you there.
3.Allows a focus on all areas of the business. A business plan format covering all 10 areas
of business is particularly valuable.
So as a business coach, I focus on 10 key areas of every business I work with. I have found
this is a very powerful formula which I will outline below. This is relevant to every
business regardless of industry.
An important point: It is fine to construct a large business plan for starting a business or
to obtain funding but a more successful way to go for business growth is to complete 90 day
action plans of 2-3 pages in length every 90 days.
The benefits of constructing a simple business plan format for the next 90 days are too many
to mention here. But here is what you should include.
10 Key Items to Include In your 90 day business plan format.
1. Leadership: How will you lead yourself and your team? What is the big vision for 3-5 years
down the track for the business? What is the vision for the next 1 year in your business?
2. Management: How will you spend your time? What strategies need to be implemented here to
ensure efficiency for yourself and team? How much time will you spend working ON the
marketing, sales and growth aspects of your business per week?
3. Financial Targets: Taking a 3 month view what will be your turnover or revenue per month?
Your expenses forecast and most importantly, your profit targets per month?
4. Marketing strategy: What specific strategies will you target for lead generation over the
next 90 days?
5. Marketing strategy for Increasing the Average Spend: Increasing the average spend should
be measured. How will you increase this and what strategies will you implement over the next
90 days?
6. Marketing strategy for Repeat Customers: Exactly what strategy will you implement over the
next 90 days to get more customers coming back again and again?
7. Planning: Do a 90 day plan every quarter forever and focus on it weekly or daily to plan
out the next item to be implemented.
8. Systems: What internal procedures need to be written down, improved on or fine tuned?
9. Team: What training, learning and communication will you do as a team to improve the
business over the next 90 days?
10. Sales: How can you improve your conversion rate from prospect to sale? Will you measure
this and exactly what will you implement over the next 90 days? What are the sales targets
per month? You need to include these crucial answers in your own business plan format.
Constructing a business plan format like this every 90 days means rapid focus on the key
performance indicators which bring on success. Try it yourself and reap the benefits.
Try This Superior Business Plan Format For 90 Days And Watch For All Round Results
Develop a Marketing Plan For Your Concession Business
So you have your written business plan and know that you are going to sell donuts. What is next in line? Why a marketing plan of course. You will need to figure out two things: how to connect people with your product and how to make them realize that they have to have your product. I want to discuss the parts of marketing without delving into specific ideas in this series of articles. I will save that for later.
The number one rule is that you write it all down just like you did for your business plan. You do not have to write the next best selling novel, just put your strategies on paper in an organized fashion. It helps to let your family and friends read the finished product so they can critique it. Let them ask you questions about the content. If you cannot explain what is written there or elaborate on a concept then you might need to rethink something and go at it a different way. This written plan will be your blueprint from getting your business concept off the ground and rolling along.
Another reason to write your marketing plan down is because it holds you, the business owner, accountable. The plan is a physical entity that shows how you are going to go out and get those customers. Psychologically, writing something down helps make it real in a person’s mind. Lots of people have good ideas, but they don’t put everything together and act on them. That what separates you from the rest of the pack.
I am assuming your donut venture will be classified as a small business and that chances are good that money is not falling off trees into your vat of oil. You will have to be careful with your funds for marketing so as not to exhaust your resources. Having something to refer back to lets you know where to go next in a cost effective way
And the final reason for writing it all down is that you will want to refer back to the plan later on. Maybe you put it away for a while and ran your business without referring to is because you were successful. It will be there to help get you back on course if you need it. It will also make interesting reading when your business is turning a profit years down the road and you begin to feel nostalgic.
Business evolves, it seems, on a day-to-day basis in the 21st century. Owners have to sometimes change their business concepts to meet current need if they want to continue operations. That means that a new marketing plan may be needed. Maybe one is needed every year. Maybe one is needed every six months. Who knows these things, but my point is that you need to stay flexible. The marketing plan is there to give you guidance but can be modified. Never throw out an old marketing plan–use the content to make the next one better.
Safety Plan Template – Solving Certain Issues Concerning Your Business’ Safety
When trying to put up a business, an issue that should never be taken for granted is that which involves the safety of your employees. Sometimes, because most business owners tend to focus more on how to obtain profit the quickest time possible, issues concerning the safety of every employee and the entire business are often ignored.
This should never happen in your case if you decide to put up your own business. You should always include among your primary considerations the protection of your employees whenever certain accidents or emergencies strike during working hours. It is for this reason that prior to the start of your business, a safety plan must be already formulated. To formulate a plan at the fastest possible time, using a safety plan template will work in your favor.
A template is a reliable guide when an effective safety plan is what you have in mind to create. If you are among those responsible entrepreneurs who want to get assured that their employees are constantly protected during working hours, finding a template online and creating a safety plan basing on the template found would be the best move that you are about to take.
A template will help you formulate a plan without totally stressing your mind out on what details you should put in it. Using a template will make your task a lot easier and simpler. It would just be as simple as filling out a form and completing it within minutes. Because of this, making use of templates for your plan is proven to be the best way to make your task completely hassle-free.
Simple Business Plan Template – Get One and Save Time and Money
If you are creating a business plan it certainly does take some significant time to find out all the correct information to include in it. This is where a simple business plan template can save you considerable time and effort. If you are limited on time, the consider using a template to get things done quicker.
What types of things should be in a plan? Well firstly you should include the basics like where the business will be located. Then consider other basic issues like who the employees will be and how many people will be working for the businesses when it starts.
Once you have got through the basics then consider things like target markets. What will the target market be and what product or service will you sell? You need to consider the demographics of the people you will be targeting and you can get a lot of this information from surveys. It is important that you consider this information as it will help you target your marketing more accurately and your conversion rates will be much better.
Other things you need to include in your plan are things like cash flow, where the capital will come from to set up the business, how long you expect it to take before you start making money and how many things or how much service you need to sell to break even.
Having a basic simple business plan will allow you to start you business with a better view of the future and allow you to avoid any mistakes that you may have not possible foreseen.
Write Your Own Business Plan for All Types of Business
You don’t need to feel intimidated, you can write your own business plan. People easily feel intimidated by the task of writing a plan. It seems that the financial section is especially intimidating.
A plan put structure to your research to establish if your business idea can be converted into a viable and profitable business. If you have the funds available you can pay an expert to write the business plan for you, but this might not be the best option, because:
The expert may be an expert at writing business plans but he does not necessarily have the passion for your specific business idea.
If you do the plan yourself you will have a far better idea of all the challenges and opportunities involved in your business. Therefore you will be able to take a better decision on the viability of the business
When writing a plan you need as much research done as possible. Use different resources for your research. For example if you want to open a restaurant you need to speak to as many restaurants in the area that you want to do business in as possible. Do not take what the restaurateurs say for granted. Take time to observe what is happing at the restaurants. Get an idea of customer flow for different times and different days.
Use your business plan template as a framework for your research.
All the sections of the business plan are important. Do not skip any of the sections when doing your research.
You can get help from other people for the sections of the plan that you do not feel comfortable with. E.g. get an accountant to assist with the financial section. Try to learn as much as possible in the process. This knowledge will come in very handy if you decide to go ahead with the business.
A well researched plan is a very handy business management tool. It will increase the chances of business success. A poorly researched or incomplete plan can result in the wrong decisions being made and can lead to business failure.
You can follow these steps to write your own business plan:
Choose a business plan template to use. You can use the template in the e book “Strategic Plan and Business Plan Handbook” or search the internet for your own. There are very good templates available, a lot of them for free.
Use the sections and questions in the template as the basis for your research. Speak to a variety of people. Do not be afraid of conflicting opinions.
Use an expert to assist you on difficult sections e.g. the financial section.
Once you have completed the template you have a business plan. Use the plan to decide if your business idea is viable. A proper plan can have a very positive effect on success.