Business Plan For Action
When it comes to buying a business, a good business plan is crucial. It’s an invaluable guide to listing your objectives and aims in detail. It’s a good source for information and analysis of your aims, targets, customers and prospects. All in all, it’s a great resource to refer back to time and time again. By setting up the business plan, you will have a better chance of success because you have listed everything down in your head on paper.
The vendor of the available business will need to see this in order to ascertain whether you are right to buy. It will demonstrate whether you have the correct business acumen required and whether you are serious about the business. It will also be useful when it comes to the financial side of things, but more on this in a minute.
By making a business plan, you can pick out any potential flaws that might hinder you. It’s a good chance to find any problems or issues that may arise, and then deal with them accordingly before you get caught up in the business. Also, outside parties can cast a fresh eye over the plan, and may pick out something that you may not have spotted.
It’s also important to show the business plan to the vendor or bank manager. If your business needs financing at the beginning, then you need to turn to one of these sources for financial assistance. With that in mind, you need to produce a detailed business plan that shows that your business is credible and also has potential for making money. Not only does the plan prove that you are serious about the business, it also shows that you have a sound business mind and a good grasp of what needs to be done in order to achieve good profits.
So what should you include in your business plan? Well, at the start, it should list the concept of the business. What is the business all about? What are its aims? What sort of returns do you aim to get?
With regard to the aims, you should set these out in bullet point form and alongside these, list sound, realistic ways of achieving them. It’s also worth noting any potential problems that may come your way, and producing effective solutions to combat these. Not only will you be prepared for these problems, the vendor or bank manager will see that you can deal with any pitfalls.
On the subject of finance, you need to produce realistic financial details. How much money will the business require? What are the expenses required? How much tax will you need to pay? What are the profit margins? Do you stand a good chance of achieving these sums, and how? Finance plans should include income statements, cash-flow statements, balance sheets and profit analysis. This should form a big part of your business plan, in order to convince the vendor or bank manager of your credibility.
You should also be aware of what NOT to put in your business plan. The issue of future forecasts is a contentious one. While it’s all very well attempting to make future forecasts, it’s difficult to predict too far ahead. What you need is to look to the short-term future and then produce your plan accordingly. As the business plan then continues, you can modify the content as and when it’s necessary. Long-term planning, however, will only prove to be a pointless exercise.
Another point of contention is how optimistic you should make your business plan. The problem with making over-optimistic predictions and plans is that these plans could well go wrong. Unforeseen circumstances can always put a spanner in the works. Therefore, it’s wise to err on the side of caution when it comes to devising your business plan. Indeed, it’s wise to predict conservatively and prudently when it comes to assessing the possibilities of future targets, sales and profits. A worst-case scenario will always prove to be less of a shock than one that raises expectations too high.
Another point to bear in mind is that you need to keep the business plan relatively simple. Don’t use fancy business jargon or clichés, since this will only cloud the important issues. In particular, if you are presenting the plan to a vendor or bank manager, you will need to keep the plan on point and free of over-fussy language and business speak. Present the facts in a concise, straightforward manner, and this will result in a plan that’s both accessible and plausible.
On average, a good business plan will be about 15 to 20 pages. Keep it concise but detailed. A good business plan will pay dividends both in the short and long terms. An investor and/or bank manager will see this and if the plan holds up well, then this will bring you the business that you seek. And from a personal point of view, a great business plan is something that you can return to time and again as a good reference point – something that you can draw upon in the future.
Related posts
Are You Disciplined Enough?
So you think it might be time to start your own business, eh? Thinking about entering into the world of the Entrepreneur? Are you disciplined enough?
There is much required of you when making the leap of Faith to do so. More than just money to invest, time to invest, books to read, CDs to listen to, meetings and seminars to attend. Oh yes, much more than that will be required of you if you are going to succeed in your own business.
Ever since we were young we have been trained up to obey orders in our life. As a young child it was your parents who instructed you on what was right and wrong. Then we enter our school years and our teachers began to instruct us. Finally we enter our adulthood and for 95% of us our boss continues the pattern.
What time you wake up in the morning, where you live, what you drive, when you take your vacations and so on are generally determined by your job. I chuckle when I think back to high school and see the similarities of working a job vs. attending school. The evidence that we are trained up and programmed to perform certain responsibilities each day are too similar.
Mon-Fri you attend school from 7amET – 3pmET, amazing, 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week. The typical expression for a full time job is working Mon-Fri from 9amET – 5pmET, 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week. In school you were told when you were to switch classes. At work you are told when you can take a cigarette break. At school you had a set time for lunch. At work, you do too!! At school you needed permission from your teacher, or the principal, to take time off from school for whatever reason. At work you have to request time off from your boss. We can go on, but I think you get the point.
As an Entrepreneur there is no one that is going to stand over you and tell you when and where you need to be everyday. What projects need to be completed? How many hours per day you are going to work? How much money you will earn every week for doing so? Oh no, it is nothing like that at all. As a matter of fact, if you are not self disciplined enough to work, even when you don’t want to, there is no way you will ever make it as an Entrepreneur.
So I ask the question again, “Are you disciplined enough?”
Are you willing to get out of bed everyday and work 8-10 hours, or more if required, without having to report to anyone? Are you willing to work hard without much compensation at the start of your business venture? Are you willing to invest time and money into getting your company up and running? Can you handle the criticism and negative feedback of your peers and family while you start to pursue your dream of becoming financially free? Will you commit to your business plan, making necessary changes as you go, and persevere long enough for your business to establish itself successfully in the marketplace? Will you consistently do what it takes, long enough, without needing to be told what to do next?
When you are your own boss, you must hold yourself accountable. If you don’t get up in the morning and go to work, work won’t get done. It may seem like an easy thing to do, however, it is an even easier thing not to do!
I have been an Entrepreneur since 1999, and let me tell you, it has not been easy. There have been plenty of times when I chose to play with my kids instead of make phone calls that needed to be made for our business. Slept in late and missed important phone calls and/or appointments. Procrastinated getting work done and wasted entire days doing nothing. The list goes on, however, there is one thing that I did do right…
I kept moving forward. Over the years my wife and I both have learned how to utilize our time efficiently. How to be great stewards with money, not to focus on how much you make but how much you keep. Proven the theory that written goals are much more effective than not writing them down. Waking up in the morning when you don’t want to is necessary, and also staying up late, in order to build a successful business. That delaying your gratification for just a little while can lead to much better decisions long term. We realized that we are not perfect, only Jesus can make claim to that, yet were determined, committed, and willing to persevere long enough, until we were able to get it right!
How long will it take? Only God knows, each of us are different. For us it has taken nearly 12 years, however, the results were worth the investment!
So, how about it? Are you disciplined enough? We believe in you! Make the decision to get started, and do it today…
Related posts
Fun Activities For Team Building
When do we need team building? The easy answer is, if a person is not meeting his physical, emotional, financial and spiritual requirements, his performance and attitude will suffer and in turn the business suffers. That is the reason why most of the corporate gives importance to the recreational need of his employees and plans team building games/courses for them.
High Ropes Course
A High Ropes Course is a difficult team building and personal development activity. This course can be indoor or outdoor activity. This course consists of both vertical and horizontal obstacles. The obstacles are constructed from wood, ropes and cables set up above the ground and strung between trees, wood poles or steel framework.
Types of High Ropes Courses
Maze High Rope Course- This type is also called as Static course, which allows the complete group or a set of participants to experience the ropes course together. All elements are linked together.
Dynamic High Rope Course- In dynamic course only one participant goes up the ropes and completed the activity. Meanwhile, the group can focus on that one person.
Also, you can select from wide options of high ropes course elements like, Balance board, Burma Bridge, Cargo net, Deep buckets, The earthquake, Island kops, Leap of faith, The hourglass and many more. The high rope courses are basically preferred for a team building activity because they meat developmental, recreational and educational goals. Some of the commonly believed results of this activity are:
Increase self confidence of the individual
Builds the cooperation between the team members
Test the decision making capacity of an individual
Builds trust among each other
Invents leaderships quality
Enhances team work
Capability to decide and set goals for the task
Clay Pigeon Shooting Games
Clay pigeon shooting is also known as Inanimate Bird Shooting. Its is nothing but skill to shoot on clay made pigeons or other clay made flying targets, with a shotgun (usually) or any other type of arm. Lots of concentration and a sharp eye sight are required for this sporting activity. Each person in the team is given a chance to make a shot and the entire team can guide him through.
In the shooting game a team of 6 people or less is made and an instructor is allocated to each team to guide them through the complete process, teach them the technique. Attention, willpower and passion are a key to the success for this game. These requirements make clay pigeon shooting an ideal activity for a team building event. It is also an ideal choice for both men and women.