What to Prepare When Writing Your Biz Plan
We know that writing a biz plan for your organization is an elaborate task. However, if you follow our checklist below, you may be able to break down the writing into small and attainable pieces which will help you to put your business plan together. Our suggestions include:
Organization’s ownership – be clear on the type of organization you’re managing – an LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp or not-for-profit. Make sure you have the correct names of the other partners/Board of Directors/managing Directors. You can also prepare and review your organization’s paperwork filed with the state. Verify the type of the organization and the year of formation.
Organization’s mission – include some information on the purpose and nature of the business; of the exempt purpose, if this is a not-for-profit organization.
Location of Facility - try to answer the following questions: where is your facility located? Is there anything special about the location (close to highway; schools; churches; grocery’s store; etc.)? How many square feet is the location? Provide a detailed description.
Products and Services – each organization provides services and sells products; however what makes the organization unique is the way it does it. A good description of the activities and a friendly way of explaining it will definitely make a positive impression on the reader.
Target Market Segments – in this section you need to provide some information on the target group that your organization is going to serve; make sure that you also have some idea on how the market is growing – is it fast, slow or no growth.
Market Segmentation Strategy – what would you do for your target market? Why did you choose these markets?
Competition – you need to be aware of your competitors; not only how close they are to your location, but also what services they provide and why clients will choose your organization and not a competitor.
Pricing – how do you plan on pricing your product/service; or if this is a not-for-profit organization, do you plan on charging any fees? It is important to establish a successful method for pricing and to periodically compare your prices to the competitors’ pricing.
Promotion/Advertising – Think of at least 3 ways of promoting your business – online, on organization’s website, newspaper’s ad, radio ad, etc.
Sales Strategy – our company strategy is to always pick up the phones by the 3rd ring; Four Seasons’ employees always reply to the hotel guests’ “Thank you” and “My Pleasure”. What is your organization’s sales strategy?
Management team – you need to collect your management team short bios and to highlight those skills that are relevant to the business.
Personnel/Staff – you have to decide how many employees, volunteers, contractors you would need to run the business smoothly. If you are looking for employees with some special qualities, you should list them here.
Start Up Costs – they become a part of the financials of the organization; that’s why their precise breakdown is essential. You need to know the amount of funding needed to start the business and how you’re going to fund the initial start-up cost (retirement savings, bank loan; initial grants; funds from founders; and other possible ways of funding);
Financials – project revenues and expenses; on a monthly and annual basis. Based on the projections, you’ll be able to forecast the break-even point (when all the expenses will be covered and the organization will become profitable).
Our suggestions include the basic items each business plan should consist of. However, it is up to you to decide what else to include and how to distinguish your business from the others.
