A business plan is a written description of your business’s future, a document that tells what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. A business plan is a guide—a roadmap for your business that outlines goals and details how you plan to achieve those goals. Business plans are inherently strategic. You start here, today, with certain resources and abilities. And you want to get there, a point in the future, usually three to five years out; at which time your business will have a different set of resources and abilities as well as greater profitability and increased assets. Your plan shows how you will get from here to there.
For most real businesses, it can be as simple as the plan that has a dimensions to focus strategy, tactics, milestones to track tasks and responsibilities and the basic financial projections you need to plan: cash flow, budget, expenses. Our business plan for you will include an executive summary, a company overview, information about products and/or services, a marketing plan, human resource details and financial plans. A business plan is not meant to be a static document. As the business grows and evolves, so too should its business plan.
Businesses have long-term and short-term goals, sales targets, and expense budgets—a business plan encompasses all of those things and is as useful to a startup trying to raise funds as it is to a 10-year-old business that’s looking to grow. However, if you are embarking on a more significant endeavor that is likely to consume a significant amount of time, money and resources, then you need a business plan. If you are serious about business, taking planning seriously is critical to your success.