A Simple Business Plan Guide


The development of a business plan is an integral part of your success as an organization. Business plans help owners better visualize their strategy and provide a more organized approach to achieving the goals they have in place.
Without a plan guiding you, you won’t have any real direction. You will find yourself traveling in circles, never achieving anything!
An effective business plan needs to include:
An Executive Summary
The best way to put an executive summary together is to wait until you’ve completed the rest of your plan. Here you would include information like your target markets, forecasts, and key dates.
Your Mission
This should be short and to the point (ideally one sentence in length). What is the ultimate purpose of your business? What about your business motivates you to get out of bed in the morning?
Objectives
What do want your business to accomplish this year? Include numbers, percentages, and dollars so that your success can be comparatively measured. An example of a goal may be aiming for $500,000 in sales or hiring two new people to your organization’s team.
Market Analysis
Put some time into researching your competitors, market, and industry.
A Marketing Plan
If you’re looking to grow or maintain consistent business, a marketing strategy is imperative. How are you planning to advertise (i.e., radio, Facebook) and develop a brand identity (i.e., logo design, business cards, website development)?
Risks, Problems, Assumptions
What are some risks that could threaten the success of your organization? Is there a way to avoid these risks? If they do occur, how could issues be minimized?  Risks could include an inability to patent a product or technology, an inability to fill key positions, the termination of your partnership with a distributor, etc.
An Operations Plan
This part of the business plan varies depending on the type of business you are running. For example, if you are a manufacturing company, it may be helpful for you to include a detailed explanation of the manufacturing, sales, and distribution operations. If you own a retail business, you would want to discuss the details of opening and closing the business, handling bank deposits, keeping inventory, etc. The more detailed you are in this section, the more helpful it will be.
Financial Analysis
How much money do you need to put this plan into action? How much money do you have? What are your revenue projections for your business?  Also, if you are planning to seek out funds from investors, include a detailed description of how they will see a return.
An Appendix
If you have data that you find to be too lengthy or detailed to include within your actual plan, attach it to an appendix at the end of your document.
 
 
 
Sources:
http://classweb.gmu.edu/erodger1/prls533/Welcome/brooks_stevens.PDF
https://www.thesbhub.com.au/solution-guide/34/how-to-write-a-simple-business-plan
http://www.sba.gov/content/how-write-business-plan-1
http://www.inc.com/guides/201104/how-to-write-a-business-plan-outline.html
http://www.smallbusinessbc.ca/sbbcfiles/files/Business%20Planning_How%20to%20Write%20a%20Business%20Plan.pdf
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=75&cad=rja&ved=0CE8QFjAEOEY&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uwyo.edu%2Fsbdc%2Fforms%2Fwyoming_entrepreneur-business_plan_template.doc&ei=_7DtUOvEGoPq0gHfjIGICg&usg=AFQjCNE3onjB–REVUQnVDGG08FMoznPAw