SolveYourProblem
Article Series:
Start
A Home Business
Writing
Your Business Plan
by Jeff Cohen
So you’ve reached that stage in your home
business where you’re ready to get started in every way except
one: you need money. Whether it comes from a loan or from investors
doesn’t really make too much difference, since there’s one
item that they all need to see before they’ll give you a cent.
That item is your business plan.
What’s a Business Plan?
Think of your business plan as being like a list of answers
to questions that people might have about your home business.
You will not get outside funding without one, because the people
giving you the funding want to know that you’ve thought through
what you’re doing. A business plan says to them ‘I’ve considered
this from every angle, and here’s what I’ve come up with’.
But what should your business plan include?
What is Your
Service? This is the first question every business
plan should answer. Just what is it that you plan to do? Tell
them which industry you’re going to be in, and why you’ve chosen
it.
Who are Your
Customers? Once you know what you do, the next
thing you need to know is who you’re going to be doing it for,
and so that’s the next thing that should be written on the
business plan. You should also include your area here.
What Makes
You Different? You need to say what the ‘key factors’
are that make your business different from other businesses
in your sector. What is it that you’re planning to do to make
the business succeed?
What are Your
Expenses? Your start-up expenses include any
equipment that you need before you can get up-and-running,
while your day-to-day expenses are staff costs and supplies.
An Example
Note that this is a very short and sweet business plan: in
real life, each one of these sections would be closer to a
page in length. That said, it is a bad idea to go into too
much detail in your plan. You’re not trying to tell the reader
everything, just the basics of the business and why they should
give you money to help you build it. Always focus on profit.
The Catering & Cake
Co.
Nature
of Business: The business will be a home-based catering
company, producing luxury food for special occasions such as
birthdays and weddings. We will provide a comprehensive catering
service, with a special line of cakes, which have a higher
profit margin than other foods.
Target
Market: Our catering business will be aimed at middle-market
customers who want luxury catering but still care about the
cost. To begin with, our target area is within a ten-mile radius
of Anytown, to include the affluent area of Othertown.
Key Factors: We will use industrial-quality ingredients but
provide bespoke-quality design and service. This will allow
us to provide food that looks excellent and tastes acceptable,
while keeping costs low.
Expenses: Since I will be using my kitchen for the business
and making the food myself, there are only two real expenses:
the one-time cost of a larger cooker, and then the day-to-day
cost supplies. A suppliers’ letter listing prices is attached
– inquiries with others in the catering industry have shown
this supplier to be the best value for my business.
To finish it all off, you should include a breakdown of projected
profit and loss per month for the first year of the business,
in the form of a graph. You would calculate all this by working
out a reasonable repayment of any one-time expenses and adding
this repayment to the day-to-day expenses, before graphing
day-to-day expenses against projected sales. Your business
plan should show you making enough of a profit each month to
live – if you doesn’t, then it will be considered unfeasible
by anyone you show it to.
Find Real Business Plans
The best way to figure out the dos and don’ts of business
plans is to find actual ones. They’re out there on the Internet.
Once you’ve seen a few real business plans, you can start to
get some idea of how much work is going to be involved to write
one of your own. Remember, until your business exists for real,
the business plan is the only tool you have to show anyone
how great it’s going to be.
# # # # # SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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