A business plan is a management tool. Do you need a business plan? Yes if you:

You Need To Decide Whether To Start A Business

This plan will help you improve your chances for success and avoid making serious mistakes. You may be the only one who reads this plan, although you should have input from a number of other people with business experience. You need to ask yourself the following questions and incorporate the answers in your business plan:

o What does it take to succeed in this type of company?

o Do you have the skills and background necessary?

o Can you afford to take the risk? What effect would the business’ failure have on you?

o What is the growth potential for the business? Can it meet your financial expectations and requirements?

o Is there a large enough market for your products/services?

o Will you enjoy owning and managing the business?

A business plan is an important ingredient to the success of a start-up business.

You Want to Jump Start Your Business

Whether you’re an entrepreneur doing business on the Internet, a stay-at-home Mom with an arts and crafts company, or a writer trying to break into publishing, a business plan acts as a guide to success. Developing your business plan helps determine your objectives and focuses you on the strategies and action plans necessary to accomplish those objectives.

If you’re looking to boost your business it’s time to answer a few questions in your business plan.

o What are your skill levels and talents?

o What are goals for each month’s sales?

o What are your resources, time available, advertising and promotional budget, website?

o Do you have the necessary equipment? If you don’t, how will you obtain the equipment?

o What barriers do you face?

You Want To Better Organize Your Company or Improve Its Operations.

This is a time and task oriented plan for use internally. It suggests actions that need to be taken and assigns responsibility. Questions that need to be answered:

o How does our company compare to leaders in its industry?

o What are our management weaknesses? How can we make improvements?

o How can we increase sales, serve the customer better, improve manufacturing efficiency, increase the gross margin?

o Do we have the necessary resources to make the above improvements? If not how will we obtain the resources? Do we need a bank loan or line of credit?