What's the best way for someone to learn how to write a business plan? There are several templates available online at www.nationalscore.org, www.dssda.com, and www.sba.com. The Small Business Administration (www.sba.com) also has educational opportunities on their website.
There are several templates available online at www.nationalscore.org, www.dssda.com, and www.sba.com. The Small Business Administration (www.sba.com) also has educational opportunities on their website. They have online training for various parts of the business plan and they have links to all their resources. Local Score chapters (there are 389 of them across the country) can offer help and guidance. We have workshops on business planning or Score counselors can help you get started. Another resource is your public library, which will usually have several books on writing a business plan.
The reference sections at libraries have a variety of books that people can use - from very simplistic to very involved and detailed and there are books on specific types of businesses. There is also a "Business Plans for Dummies" book that many people might find helpful. There is no one best book; it's really what people are comfortable with and what information they need.
There are also business plan software programs available. These programs are wizard driven. They ask you a few questions and you answer the questions and then they will write the plan for you. The problem with that is that it doesn't really reflect who you are and it can end up being much too long.
The most common errors we see in business plans are they are too long. There is just too much written, they're too hard to get through it, they are not authentic, and they don't reflect what that business owner really wants to say and wants to do. A business plan should be very concise and focused. The substance needs to be in the numbers. The numbers are very, very important. Things like what your business hours are going to be, where your business is located, who is going to do the specific work of the business, how many sales people and cashiers you will have. How you are going to bill your customers and get paid? Your cash flow statement is of utmost importance. Where is the cash going to come from, what you are going to spend it on, and is there going to be enough left for you to make a reasonable living with your business?
You have to be realistic. People a lot of dreams and when we sit down with them to do their business plan, we do a break-even analysis with them where they look at the sales they are going to have realistically. If they are going to have to sell more than all the retail sales in the county in order to make a profit, then there is something wrong with their business plan. One of the things we do very well at the Score is that we challenge the business owner and challenge the assumptions and give it a reality check because what we have is experience at Score. We have 51 or 52 members in this chapter right now probably with an average of 20 years business experience each. That experience and guidance that we can give is very useful. The most important thing about a business plan is that it be realistic.
