Business Planning for New and Old Organizations

Why do I need one?

The fact is that most new businesses fail within a year or two. They fail because they do not take the time or invest the effort to plan. EVERY business needs a business plan. Whether you are starting a new business or improving an existing business, a business planning process will help your business grow bigger, better, and stronger.
    
Why A Business Plan?

The argument is often made that a company does not need a plan because they have a budget or are doing well and it is not needed. This could be true but it does not mean that the business is doing as well as it could or as smoothly as it could. As a manager it is easier to manage if the plan, vision and mission is understood by all employees and decision making is easier if they can be made in the context of the Plan.  In addition to using the Business Plan for managing the business day to day it may be used for the following purposes:

•    Determine optimum strategy and plan to use to grow business
•    Raise money
•    To prepare to start, buy or sell a business
•    To determine the best way to manage the  business
•    To identify and minimize risks that may cause a business to fail
•    To obtain a business loan
•    To project financial operations that will take  maximum advantage of financial resources
•    To establish vision and values that will guide  the business to become effective and ethical

Your Advantage

Your business plan can, in some situations, be your one and only chance to be funded and make a great impression, do you want to trust that to just anyone? It also helps entrepreneurs and business owners’ design, build and grow successful businesses — from start-up to middle market. Whether you are starting a new business, launching a new product or service, entering a new market, or evaluating your firm’s growth strategy, a business plan is helpful.

Plan Includes

The Business Plan can have as much information as is needed to perform the function it is being created. The purposes can be to securing investors, apply for a loan, managing the business, etc. At a minimum the following areas should be addressed in the plan. The amount of detail depends on the purpose, type of business and general planned use of the Plan. Areas typically included are:

•    Executive summary
•    Company Description and Summary
•    Mission/ Vision
•    Financial Projections and Analysis
•    Market Research and Industry Analysis
•    Products And Services
•    Target Market Analysis
•    Management and Personnel Strategy and Description
•    Sales and Marketing Strategy
•    And Much More

Business Planning is more important in business than ever. Not only is competition greater, but choices are greater and having a framework to make decisions is a great way to save time and stay on target. Banks investors and employees may need various portions of the plan for different purposes. Having a plan created for each year means all aspects of the business will be analyzed and planned. Regardless of the size of a business, using a Business Plan can keep the management team on track and targeted toward the chosen target in the desired manner.

Spencer Silk is a principal at Franklin CIO Services, LLC and a member of the Business Improvement Team.  He has been involved in a number of Business Plan creation and budget development projects in a variety of businesses. He can be reached at ssilk@franklincio.com or by visiting www.franklincio.com or www.bizimpteam.com.