You did write a business plan when you started your business, right? If not, you missed a great opportunity to start recording the history of your toil and its rewards. But, it’s not too late to create one. You might ask, why write a business plan after the horse has left the starting gate? […]
You did write a business plan when you started your business, right? If not, you missed a great opportunity to start recording the history of your toil and its rewards. But, it’s not too late to create one.
You might ask, why write a business plan after the horse has left the starting gate? Answer: You want it to keep running and you want it to win. By now, you’re not the only one invested in this race and everyone involved deserves to know the parameters, the direction, and the rules. Whether it’s your family, your staff, your vendors, or your customers, you should have a “big picture” to share with them. Your business plan is the best representation you have of your business and its development.
The three primary reasons for creating a business plan are: 1) To establish a blueprint for the business, incorporating vision, and the reality of the here-and-now; 2) To create a management/measuring tool as you grow your business — you can refer to what you had intended and compare with the progress you have made in order to make informed decisions for the future; and, 3) To meet the requirement for obtaining funding at any stage of the business. The order of these three points is critical.
The employees you bring on board, or the vendors with whom you wish to establish a relationship — how better to acquaint them with your history and vision? The business plan will be an intrinsic segment of your employee orientation. The employee who has an understanding of how the business started, who the target customers are, and the ultimate goal sought, has a better chance of providing the company a loyal image.
The business plan is a living document that you update with every change made to the operation. At all times, this document should be in a presentable format so readers know exactly when and where the business started, its progression and failures, where it stands currently in relation to goals, and how it is operating to attain those goals. It should be informative of the changes in direction necessitated by obstacles encountered. How management has dealt with setbacks speaks loudly to character.
A sound business tactic is to have a 10-second commercial ready to deliver when meeting a potential customer. A step up on this tactic is to have a solid business plan ready to speak in a positive voice about your business. Remember the saying: “To fail to plan is to plan to fail.” You have come too far to let that happen.
Nancy Ansteth is a New York state-certified business advisor with the Small Business Development Center at Onondaga Community College. Contact her at anstethn@sunyocc.edu or (315) 498-6072.