Step 3: Create a Business Plan

in Forum: Business planning

Source of this discusssion: /steps/55/3753/3/1/create-business-plan.htm Page description: In our experience, the process of creating and writing a business plan is as valuable as the end product itself - a document that will provide the priorities, context and sanity you'll need as you start up your business.

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Jan. 21 2008 at 2:05 PM
Posted by: FastVentures “Quote Reply
Very interesting posts here. We are a small boutique consultancy advising entrepreneurs and emerging growth companies on a wide cross section of business planning issues and we have been using Palo Alto’s Business Plan Premier software for years. It provides a comprehensive framework along with various wizards, easy-to-follow guides, and sanity checks that make developing a sound road map for your business easy and fun. A word of caution though. Please don’t cut corners by using one of Palo Alto’s sample business plans in lieu of developing one that is as unique as your business. While these sample plans can be used as a reference, they are not perfect, and their financial projections should not be used to substitute your own financial model – even if your business is similar to the one featured in the sample plan. Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come. http://www.FastVentures.com
Jun. 26 2008 at 2:11 AM
Posted by: MissBillo “Quote Reply
I am starting a business to sell my art, and I must admit this is all a little overwhelming! Even though I have an accounting background, I still have the thinking patterns of an artist. I am struggling with the market analysis research on this. I'll be continuing research on my own of course, but any advice on researching the "Fine Art" industry market would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! - Billo Megan Gilboy Aspiring Artist Dream Big, Work Relentlessly, Live Passionately!
Aug. 15 2008 at 5:02 PM
Posted by: artsa “Quote Reply
Is this truly worth the investment to write a competent business plan? PalAlto -- thanks Jayson Bellamy Edited by: artsa - Aug. 15 2008 at 5:05 PM
Aug. 18 2008 at 11:24 AM
Posted by: MissBillo “Quote Reply
I don't understand? :-( Why wouldn't it be? Thanks - Billo Megan Gilboy Aspiring Artist Dream Big, Work Relentlessly, Live Passionately!
Aug. 26 2008 at 3:48 AM
Posted by: onlineaddict “Quote Reply
A plan is absolutely important. For it helps one to stay focused on the job. When milestones are charted out, one knows what lies ahead. Or one just travels through a maze and goes nowhere. Geexoo - All Geek Feeds @ One Page Wellness Feed - All Health Feeds @ One Page
Sep. 19 2008 at 1:18 PM
Posted by: LolaC “Quote Reply
I definitely agree with Danadtoll. The process of going through a business plan will force you to think about things that you may have either overlooked or avoided. It forces you to define every aspect of your business or idea. I've been reading this blog on creating a good business plan and I found the points very interesting if you wanna take a look: http://bankablebusinessplans.wordpress.com/ best.
Sep. 19 2008 at 1:40 PM
Posted by: tlsbus “Quote Reply
I completely agree that it is the process of developing the plan that is critical to business success. Just sitting down and thinking through all of the questions that go into creating a plan causes you to think through items that you wouldn't necessary think about otherwise. If you are going for a loan or financing, I think it is worth the investment in having a quality plan created by a consultant. However, if you are using the plan as an internal planning tool (which every business should have) a spiral notebook with all of your goals, ideas and milestones will work just fine. Edited by: tlsbus - Sep. 19 2008 at 1:44 PMTerri Sullivan http://www.tlsbusinessconsulting.com Have a vision.... but need a Business Plan?
Oct. 06 2008 at 10:27 AM
Posted by: olfolkie “Quote Reply
Projections are the scariest part of a plan because they are, at some level, just guesses. I put together a tool that solves this problem for me because it lets me say how sure I am about each thing I put in the plan and then considers my uncertainty in the results. Here is how it works. Let's say you are guessing how much you will need to spend on advertising to get each new sale. You estimate $100 per new sale. Then it asks you how sure you are about your estimate and you pick from a list - I'm certain, a little unsure, fairly sure, unsure or just guessing. Then it calculates and saves a number of possible values for advertising. If you said you were fairly sure it might save advertising estimates from $75 to $125. It does the same thing for everything in the plan and then calculates the plan a number of times using combinations of the different possible values. Then it shows you the most probable projection and some graphs that show you the range of possible projections. It also shows which of the things you estimated have the biggest impact so you can work on those to improve your estimates. It is easy to use and all the statistical stuff stays behind the scenes. I know this sound kind of egg-heady but I'm wondering if anyone out there thinks this is a good idea. Jim Foulkrod Homeowners Inventory Registy When you have exhausted every possibility remember this, you haven't. Thomas Edison
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