Why planning for business is so important.

In the immense ocean of money and politics that we call “business” having a plan of attack can mean the difference between sinking like a rock and sailing your way into the sunset called success.

Many small businesses overlook the planning aspect of their companies, which explains why most businesses fail in the first three years. Having no plans leaves very little wiggle room when it comes to dealing with problems or even unexpected successes.

I was talking to one of my mentors this week who told me, “Plan ahead, that way whether things go right or wrong you can maneuver to get yourself where you want to go. If you do things blind you’ll be lucky to even get started.”

That made me think about all of the planning I‘ve done for my own businesses, or for other businesses I’ve been involved with over the years, and I realized something– the stronger the plan, the stronger the business.

So I’ve decided to give everyone, and anyone, a chance to utilize my knowledge and experience, to develop a strong plan for free. I think of it as my way of giving back to my fellow entrepreneurs.

Please note that this information won’t all be in one blog. I want to make sure you have ample time for brainstorming, number crunching, inventing procedures and development of marketing ideas. That’s why I’ve decided to give the information as a weekly class of sorts. This week we will cover the four key aspects of planning for a business.

The four things you need to know before starting your business plan.

The business concept

The first step is to develop a clear idea of what your business’s primary form of income will be; what type of service or product you will be providing, and what is your “unique sales proposition” or USP.

The “who does what” of business

Second, figure out who is, or will be, involved in your business administration, labor, sales, management etc. Make sure to take a deep look at your management team and process, establish what the strengths, and weaknesses are, as well as what you expect for the management to accomplish.

Business objectives

Third, be clear about your objectives and why you think you’ll be successful in achieving your goals. Many people have trouble pinpointing all of the objectives a business needs to accomplish to succeed, but if you brainstorm for a good amount of time you’ll be able to come up with your primary objectives. You can worry about the smaller objectives your business may need to tackle as you start writing your business plan.

Business finances

Fourth, make sure you have, at the very least, a basic idea of your finances. Decide whether you will be financing the company or not. If this is the case, know how you will pay the money back and make sure you account for all of the interest you will pay on the loan.

Once you get a vague picture of these points in your mind you will be ready to actually commit to drawing up the first draft of your business plan to paper.

So join me next time when I go over the first section of an effective business plan.

For more information on writing business or marketing plans please contact one of our consultants at (714)733-5662 LA (702)339-3855 LV

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