Do You Have a Business Plan?

by Kori Rodley Irons | More from this Blogger

09 Jan 2007 10:04 AM

I've found that home-based businesses often "evolve"--an individual starts doing something on the side and over time builds a freelance or sales or other service business. There might not be a lot of planning or forethought that goes into how or even why to build a home-based business. In my own case, I had two job layoffs in one year working with nonprofit organizations and decided if I was going to have any "job security" I was going to need to be able to work and generate income regardless of whether I had a "job" or not. That was how I started freelancing and consulting. But, business plans and goals are not just for more traditional, multimillion dollar businesses--we small home businesses can benefit from having a business plan too.

There are dozens of books available, and even online resources in how to write a business plan. Just about any book on small business or starting a business will have at least one chapter devoted to how to create and write a plan. The overall purpose of having a business plan is to organize your goals and intentions for your business--projecting what you are working to accomplish, estimating expense and income budgets, providing guiding principals, and generally putting things down into a document to show that you are a serious business owner with a plan for how to grow your business.

A business plan can be an entirely internal document and no one need ever see it. However, if your business expands and you go in search of funding--loans, line of credit, or investors--they will want to see the business plan to investigate whether you have a good handle on what you're doing and where you're trying to take your business. They will want to know that your business is a sound investment.

One of the great things about the process of building a business plan is that you will really take yourself and your business seriously as you write it. Getting a five or ten-year-plan down on paper gives you the opportunity to really focus on what success means to you, where you'd like to take your business, how much money you'd like to make, etc. It also gives you a place to work the logistics of exactly HOW you're going to achieve your goals. Without getting them down into a document or business plan, they may just be loose ideas. With a business plan, you can harness the power of those ideas and get your business from the "whatever happens" stage, to the "I've got a plan" place.

If you are having trouble creating a business plan, check with your local chamber of commerce, or small business administration. Some communities have mentors and small business resources that will actually guide you through the process of creating and writing a business plan.

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Jeff Bogle (1022) 09 Jan 2007 11:29 AM

Oh boy, I do not have a business plan. I started my writing "career" and my online tee shirt/gift shop on a lark, more of less, and it has grown into a bit of a money making - one that should at least have a business plan (it has a business bank account). The local small business assoc/chamber of commerce is a great suggestion. I attended a small business intro at my local library and plan on attending their plan writing course this year. A great and useful post. Having a plan may not increae a small business' chance of survival but it may shed light on the impossibility of the idea to start with! Great stuff!