Business plans for small business people is an interesting phenomenon. Most business owners know they should have one but various research indicates only about 56% of small business enterprises has a current one. This article discusses 3 compelling reasons why you should have one if business success is your prime motivation, which is must be for all of us with our own business.

Read on to uncover the myths of business planning and the easy solutions to create one.

MYTH NUMBER 1: Business Plans for Small Business People Seem Difficult to Construct

After personally completing over 146 business plans for many companies big and small, I have seen the difference it can make in a switched on organization. The most effective plans are those that only take about a day to fully construct. Any more than this the plan is likely to be too long, too complex and harder to implement.

So would you take one day a year or even each quarter to construct a relevant specific plan that will provide motivation to you and your team, strategic direction on what you need to implement, and to give you a much higher percentage chance of attaining business success?

Now there are some great resources and tools on the market that makes creating a new plan such an easy way to go. These are neither expensive nor time consuming so really there is no excuse for not doing one.

MYTH NUMBER 2: Business Plans Implementation is often neglected

Business plans for small business are easy to implement if you look at the following structure. The best way to implement your new plan is to complete a yearly one of only 5-12 pages depending on the complexity of your small business.

Then create a quarterly 90 day plan which is only 2 pages long every quarter. This makes planning a breeze.

The longer yearly plan sets the goals and gives more detail but the shorter plan is just as powerful as it is the action plan needed for implementation.

The best results in implementing strategy is when you look at your 90 day plan of action each week and put time aside of about 3 hours a week to plan and take action.

This means you have a yearly focus broken down to quarters but implementation is done weekly. A sure fire rapid way to achieve maximum business success.

MYTH NUMBER 3: To Start Planning Seems Difficult

Planning is essential for success. Even the statistics shows over 70% of businesses that succeed over a 5 year period have a written plan. Conversely the 80% plus statistic of business failure shows a very low percentage of people in this category have a written plan.

Bottom line: You are absolutely more likely to succeed if you have a current written plan or you are more likely to fail if you have not.

To start planning just look for a business planning template online and get started. These days a better option is to purchase for a very small fee planning software that even has what others in your industry have completed before you. This makes it extremely easy to plan successfully as you use the example for a guideline and change it to suit your individual circumstances.

Business plans for small business are easy to implement if you use the right tools, cheap to construct and a vital skill for you to reach the heights of success you deserve. If the fruits of your labour are currently now what you desire, then I commend you for completing a powerful business plan of action so you can rightly reap the rewards of all of your hard work.

Are you thinking about approaching a Bank for finance to support your business? If you haven’t already gone to see the Manager then you may not know that the first thing he will want to see is your Business Plan.

Perhaps you are not convinced that all the time and effort needed in preparing a plan is essential If so then here are the main benefits for both you and your business.

1. No matter how good a communicator you are, you will never be able to convey your vision for the business as successfully as a perfectly put together Business Plan. It provides a clear understanding as to what you want to achieve. It allows you to express your ideas in a clearer manner.

2. Too many times business owners try to sell their idea verbally and at the end of the interview with the Bank the Manager is none the wiser than he was at the start. I think you can guess the outcome of many of those requests!

3. A Business Plan will help convince both you and the Bank of the project’s feasibility and viability. There’s nothing like having all the facts in front of you to clarify the key issues

4. There’s no getting away from the fact that a business owner who plans ahead comes across as being more ambitious and more focused. A well prepared Business Plan demonstrates you have vision and that you know what you want

5. With numerous ideas floating around in your mind, the pitfalls or stumbling blocks to success are never that visible. A mind buzzing and full of ideas will rarely achieve clarity. A Business Plan forces you to put your ideas down in writing and in an orderly manner. The result of this could be you going in a completely different direction than you initially thought of, or even abandoning your idea altogether. Not a pleasant thought, but which would you prefer? The loss of your hard capital or the opportunity to re-think your idea?

6. It is an ideal tool to monitor progress against the objectives you have set yourself (we will cover objective setting later). By checking progress against your Plan, you will be able to spot if you are moving away from your original vision and so you will know what has to be put right

7. Imagine if you didn’t have this check in place; an unnoticed change in direction or a slippage in achieving your objectives, if left uncorrected for too long, could be fatal to your business. On the other hand, it may transpire that a shift from your original vision could be a better alternative, but at least recognising this change allows you to adjust your course in a planned, structured and controlled manner

8. Every action you take has a consequence, and a Plan helps make these consequences much clearer. Being aware of the possible effect of your chosen direction allows you to plan ahead, leaving you better able to cope with whatever the world of self employment can throw at you. This is one thing that “mental planning” would not achieve

9. Putting your thoughts on paper may make you realise that you need to do more research on the demand for your product or service. It could also highlight that more investigation on your competitor’s products or services is needed. Additional research could help avoid a potentially costly mistake or even uncover a hidden advantage, which you had not seen before!

10. A Plan will guide you as to how much money is needed to make an idea work. In your mind you may have a rough figure of what you’ll have to commit, but until you do a Cash Flow Forecast you may not realise that an overdraft limit will be required, in addition to a loan for your equipment. If the mention of preparing a Cash Flow Forecast brings you out in a sweat, don’t worry as later in the book I’ll be showing you exactly how to do one

11. A Business Plan will help you get funding. One of the main reasons Banks turn down requests for loans is a lack of information to assist in making an informed decision. If the Manager doesn’t have enough knowledge about your idea or business then he won’t feel comfortable enough to support you. He has to understand your business before he can say yes. Some time in the future he may have to justify to his superiors why he lent you the money, so he needs as much information as possible to back up his decision. A Business Plan will make him feel much more at ease and so more able to say yes

12. By the time you have finished writing your Business Plan you will have a total understanding of your business; its strengths and weaknesses, the environment it operates in, what could potentially go wrong, and what you can do to ensure your success. Doing your planning on the back of an envelope is not going to achieve this

You should realise by now that it’s essential to have a Business Plan; it could be the difference between success and that dreaded “f” word – failure! It’s all about understanding the importance of planning ahead.

Spend time putting your thoughts on paper in a structured and logical manner. It will pay you dividends, both in getting the Bank to take you seriously and securing the future of your business.

Robert Warlow
Small Business Success

1. You need to have the opportunity to be able to formalize your plans. By going through the motions of creating a plan, you get to write your thoughts on paper allowing you to organize thoughts more effectively.
2. A Business Plan will put you in a better position and give you a better chance for success.
3. Do you plan to approach a financial institution or a venture-capital firm for funding. If so you will definitely need a business plan.
4. By creating a business plan, the process will help you to create Long Term Goals, Mid-Range Goals and Short-Term goals.
5. Helps you to determine resources needed to assist in the operation of your business.
6. Helps to identify obstacles and challenges you may face each day thus allowing you to make clearer business decisions with more confidence.
7. Will help you to learn things about your business you didn’t realize before, this will help with sounder decision making in the days, months, and years ahead.
8. How do you know if your idea is viable? Preparation of an Internet business plan is a great way to get the facts to provide proof your business idea will be worth investing more time and money into.
9. Improve your strategy – Test different assumptions related to your market through your own Internet business plan strategy. Through the use of spreadsheets you should be analyzing financial scenarios and refining your strategy as needed. Review various costs, prices and market conditions related to your market and experiment with different scenarios – “Be Open to changing your approach and plans accordingly.”
10. Creating your customized Internet Business Plan gives you credibility by showing people you are taking your on-line business venture seriously. Taking the time to research your business project and the market demonstrates your commitment to success.
11. Keep your company focused on results – As your company grows it is important to compare business progress to your projected goals as well as objectives. It is important to your success you evaluate your company’s progress and ward off possible problems which could arise. A business plan will help to keep your company focused on results and on track to succeed in your chosen market.