Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Business-Plan-Basics.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Business-Plan-Basics.html A business plan precisely defines your business, identifies your goals, and serves as your firm's resume. The basic components include a current and pro forma balance sheet, an income statement, and a cash flow analysis. It helps you allocate resources properly, handle unforeseen complications, and make good business decisions. As it provides specific and organized information about your company and how you will repay borrowed money, a good business plan is a crucial part of any loan application. Additionally, it informs sales personnel, suppliers, and others about your operations and goals. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Finding-a-Niche.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Finding-a-Niche.html A market in its entirety is too broad in scope for any but the largest companies to tackle successfully. The best strategy for a smaller business is to divide demand into manageable market niches. Small operations can then offer specialized goods and services attractive to a specific group of prospective buyers. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Using-the-Business-Plan.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Using-the-Business-Plan.html A business plan is a tool with three basic purposes: communication, management, and planning. As a communication tool, it is used to attract investment capital, secure loans, convince workers to hire on, and assist in attracting strategic business partners. The development of a comprehensive business plan shows whether or not a business has the potential to make a profit. It requires a realistic look at almost every phase of business and allows you to show that you have worked out all the problems and decided on potential alternatives before actually launching your business. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Writing-The-Plan.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Writing-The-Plan.html What goes in a business plan? The body can be divided into four distinct sections: http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Part-9-The-Appendix.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Part-9-The-Appendix.html The appendix section should be provided to readers on an as-needed basis. In other words, it should not be included with the main body of your business plan. Your plan is your communication tool; as such, it will be seen by a lot of people. Some of the information in the business section you will not want everyone to see, but, specific individuals (such as creditors) may want access to this information in order to make lending decisions. Therefore, it is important to have the appendix within easy reach. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Part-8-Financials.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Part-8-Financials.html The financials should be developed after you've analyzed the market and set clear objectives. That's when you can allocate resources efficiently. The following is a list of the critical financial statements to include in your business plan packet. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Part-7-Funding-Request.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Part-7-Funding-Request.html In this section, you will request the amount of funding you will need to start or expand your business. If necessary, you can include different funding scenarios, such as a best and worst case scenarios, but remember that later, in the financial section, you must be able to back up these requests and scenarios with corresponding financial statements. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Part-6-Service-or-Product-Line.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Part-6-Service-or-Product-Line.html What are you selling? In this section, describe your service or product, emphasizing the benefits to potential and current customers. For example, don't tell your readers which 89 foods you carry in your "Gourmet to Go" shop. Tell them why busy, two-career couples will prefer shopping in a service-oriented store that records clients' food preferences and caters even the smallest parties on short notice. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Part-5-Marketing-and-Sales-Strategies.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Part-5-Marketing-and-Sales-Strategies.html Marketing is the process of creating customers, and customers are the lifeblood of your business. In this section, the first thing you want to do is define your marketing strategy. There is no single way to approach a marketing strategy; your strategy should be part of an ongoing self-evaluation process and unique to your company. However, there are steps you can follow which will help you think through the strategy you would like to use. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Part-4-Organization--Management.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SBA/759/Part-4-Organization--Management.html This section should include: your company's organizational structure, details about the ownership of your company, profiles of your management team, and the qualifications of your board of directors.