Do you have an unfinished business plan in front of you? Welcome to the club? All jesting aside, it's probably the most common experience in the history of the start-up to have a half-finished business plan in the works, long ago tossed aside, updated once per quarter but never quite there, etc.… you are not alone. Business plans are tough work, and as the SBA will tell you, even the simplest of business models generally demand weeks' worth of full-time attention to deliver a strong business plan you can present for funding or use as a roadmap for growth. Consider how many big questions you have to answer:
• What are the primary competitive comparables in the market?
• How has the industry performed over the past 5 years?
• What are the trends and projections for your market space?
• What are the demographic commonalities of your target market?
• How exactly will you allocate the start-up funding your company receives?
• When can break-even be expected and what happens to your model if sales waver?
It can seem maddening, but if you take it one step at a time and make every effort to remain calm, the research will come to you. The wealth of publicly available data may not be immediately apparent, but the more you search, the more you will find. Also basic subscriptions to databases with business intelligence resources can help you discover what other players have made in recent years – maybe even who your competitors are working with. Your plan will of course need a full revenue forecast (people often leave their plan unfinished when they get to this!) including a revenue forecast, break-even analysis, profit and loss, cash flow, balance sheet, and sensitivity analysis. Want to get your plan done without wasting any more time? Come to the professionals. MasterPlans has helped more than 8,000 clients who had better uses of their time get their original drafts complete and polished. Call today to learn more: 877-453-2011.
