Roles will change, marketing will change, financial projections will change, and your product and service menu can change. Pretty much everything will absolutely change over time. It is also crucial to understand that nothing in this document is set in stone. Otherwise, chances are you will have missed your window of opportunity by a long way. Just don’t wait until you think your business plan is perfectly polished and cannot possible go any further in depth. Just like your first attempt at coding a website, practicing your pitch, or riding a bike, it’s not going to be perfect.
Startup costs should be thorough, have some additional cushion built in, and focus on development of physical product or intellectual property and growth. In this section you may also be including startup cost and capitalization requirements, or funding and loan requests. Financial projections for 12 months, and annually through year 5.Provide an honest snapshot of where you are and where you reasonably hope to go, providing you secure the funding you need. It basically shows your management and industry experience and who will do what. This section of your business plan will help you to identify your own needs, and demonstrate to investors and other licensing bodies and agencies that you are the team to get this job done. This is your opportunity to organize and demonstrate your understanding of this industry and business.
If you never flesh out a full business plan, make sure you create a fantastic executive summary. This is the most critical part of your business planning. The following is adapted from the SCORE Association’s recommended outline of categories, which covers most of the bases for exactly what to include in your business plan.
A few minutes on Google will provide plenty of free business plan template options. Especially, with the rapid growth of lean startups. There are many variations of business plans today.
Though, do not let it become a distraction and slow you down from creating an actual business either.įor key insights on the why, when and how to create a business plan, and emerging alternatives for startups versus small businesses, see my Forbes article on How To Create A Business Plan.