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SESSION TWOBusiness Plan |
Session 2 of 14 | ||||
Since the My Own Business, Inc. course is broken down into sixteen of the most important topics to consider in starting or operating a business, your business plan can easily be organized into this same format. Included in this session, and in each of the following sessions, there is one-page business plan template, which you can fill in and print. (Session 2 contains templates for both Sessions 1 and 2.) When you put these all together, you will have completed your personalized, overall plan.
Each of the sixteen Business Plan Sections can be downloaded from our Web site and provide you with a single, attractively presented document. To begin, let's take a preview look at each of the 16 Business Plan Sections: Click to view each of the 16 business plan sections Keep in mind that creating a business plan is an essential step for any prudent entrepreneur to take, regardless of the size of the business. This step is too often skipped, but we have made it easy for you by providing this ready format to build your plan as you progress through this course. Business plans can vary enormously. Libraries and bookstores have books devoted to business plan formats. This course is a starting point. You can then go on to design one that would be ideal for your particular enterprise.
Be aware now that most start-up entrepreneurs are reluctant to write down their business plan. It is, therefore, strongly recommended that you complete each segment of the plan as you progress through this course. We make it easy for you by providing sample plans for both product and service businesses and also an attractive blank form that you can download onto MS Word and customize yourself. Your business plan will become your roadmap to chart the course of your business. But at the outset you cannot predict all of changing conditions that will surface. So after you have opened for business, it is important that you periodically review and update you plan.
What to Avoid in Your Business Plan Place some reasonable limits on long-term, future projections. (Long-term means over one year.) Better to stick with short-term objectives and modify the plan as your business progresses. Too often, long-range planning becomes meaningless because the reality of your business can be different from your initial concept. Avoid optimism. In fact, to offset optimism, be extremely conservative in predicting capital requirements, timelines, sales and profits. Few business plans correctly anticipate how much money and time will be required. Do not ignore spelling out what your strategies will be in the event of business adversities. Use simple language in explaining the issues. Make it easy to read and understand. Don't depend entirely on the uniqueness of your business or even a patented invention. Success comes to those who start businesses with great economics and not necessarily great inventions.
The Business Plan format is a systematic assessment of all the factors critical to your business purpose and goals. Here are some suggested topics you can tailor into your plan:
However, you cannot be someone who you are not. If you lack the ability to perform a key function, include this in your business plan. For example, if you lack the ability to train staff, include an explanation how you will compensate for this deficiency. You could add a partner to your plan (discussed in Section 4) or plan to hire key people who will provide skills you don't have. Include biographies of all your intended management.
Start-up entrepreneurs often have difficulty writing out business plans. This discipline is going to help you in many ways so don't skip this planning tool! To make it easier, here are six steps that will produce a worthwhile plan:
 Formulate (and Reformulate) Your Business Plan Donald N. Sull, associate professor of management practice at the London Business School, in an article in the MIT Sloan Management Review, offers some practical suggestions on managing inevitable risks while pursuing opportunities. Here is a capsulation of his suggestions on how to formulate (and reformulate) your business plan:
Top Ten Do's and Don'ts Print this Top Ten List TOP TEN DO'S
My name is Antoinette Douglas, and the name of my business is Mother Love Family Day Care. I have had my business for two and a half years, and it took me a year to make a profit. My business is organized as a sole proprietorship. I'm working about 12 hours per day. I will be expanding my childcare and will be open for 24 hours. I started with a small family day care, which included 8 children. I have now expanded to a large family day care and have 14 children. One of the major problems that I have had was money. I do work with gang members and welfare recipients, and I have private parents. In working with gangs, sometimes it will take me three months to receive my first check, whereas with a private parent, I will receive money weekly or biweekly. Another major problem was how parents discipline their children differently. I had to learn a new way. I have had to go to school and reeducate myself. I have taken up child development classes at Compton College and graduated. Before I even conducted this business, I enrolled in the My Own Business entrepreneur class. It was very helpful. I have learned how to set my priorities and goals. I started off with myself as the only employee and I now have four employees. My family being very supportive of this business really helped me. I also transport children to and from school. That's where my son comes in; he's my driver. In conclusion, Mother Love Family Day Care has become very rewarding to me because I am now doing what I like to do. I love children. Find out what it is that you really want to do, go to college, and get an education in that field. If you know anyone in the field, allow him or her to mentor you. Find out as much as you can about the business before starting. The most important thing I would like to put emphasis on is getting your education.
Ezequiel Padilla - Jugos Tropacales Mexican Food
My name is Ezequiel Padilla. I'm the owner of Jugos Tropicales Fast Food Mexican Restaurant in Compton, California. I started my business ten years ago. I had many years of experience and had my savings. I thought I knew everything. But I didn't have the most important thing: a business plan. So, there I was working on a daily basis with nowhere to go until I learned from the My Own Business seminar all the basic tools I needed to reach success. I would like to give you some important tips before you start:
Overlooking these details might cost you a lot of money, and you might go out of business. We don't want that. One last thing, when your business is doing well, consider buying the property if it is possible. Real estate is always a good investment. If you follow these simple steps, I'm sure you will be a successful businessperson like me. Good luck in your business venture.
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My name is Mari Lohr. I'm a mother of two and a graphic artist. Being in business for yourself is not for everyone. At least for me, as a mother of two and as a woman, it was hard for me to balance the love of my work, my artistic talent, the entrepreneurship, and being a mother. I had to make a choice. I had to do a balancing act, and I had to drop one factor. That was not to be an entrepreneur.
My name is R.D. McDonnell, principal of McDonnell Group, a design, construction, management and consulting firm. Our primary clientele includes lenders, equity investors, real estate developers and design professionals. The firm is currently in its sixth year of operation and maintains a staff of six professional and administrative staff. When starting up my firm in the middle of the recession, most of my peers said I was crazy. However, I had been planning to make the move for nearly two years and felt that the timing was right, and the economy would soon turn for the better. A lot of issues had to be considered--making sure that I had sufficient startup capital, not only to start the firm and cover expenses in the first months of operation, but also to cover personal expenses. Also, having the full and unconditional support of my family. And, most importantly, having a business plan. You'll identify issues that you might not otherwise consider when you put them down on paper. And as your business begins to operate in early years, what you have written down will serve as an operations manual. One of the greatest difficulties that I experienced was the lack of ability to look ahead. And when my business experienced a downturn in the market, the failure to cut costs, such as overhead and unneeded staff in a timely manner caused financial difficulty. For the most part, we've experienced constant growth. One of the biggest mistakes that I made was the failure to be prepared for growth. Yet when I found myself in that position, I found it very difficult to say no to clients. However, what I've learned is that if you don't say no, you place yourself in the position of not fulfilling your client obligations rather than gaining the respect of the client by saying you can't do the job. I update my business plan on a regular basis. This forces me to analyze the current status of the business, monitor the goals and objectives, and allows me to make adjustments as required to respond to the ever-changing marketplace.
Now is the time for you to review the sample plans we have provided. This will help you in formatting your own plan. For some tips on appropriate information to fill in, refer to the sample business plans:
You can now begin to assemble your business plan. If you have not yet selected a business, you can pick one out to practice on. Remember, we have provided attractive, individual business templates for each session that you can download as Microsoft Word documents or as printer friendly Web pages. So start now!
Instructions on filling in the business plan template:
The template for all sessions 1-16 can also be downloaded into your computer as a single document:
Include sufficient research findings and background materials. Make it interesting up by the use of background data, your biography, charts, demographics and research data. When your business plan is completed, print off and assemble the 16 sections. Many other business plan formats are available in libraries, bookstores and online.
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Graphic Artist
Architect
Jugos Tropicales Mexican Food 
Mother Love Family Day Care
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Evaluating the Potential of Business | The Business Plan | Communication Tools | Business Organization | Licenses, Permits, Names | Business Insurance The text of these materials, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an informational retrieval system or otherwise, except for students own personal use.
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