{"id":13793,"date":"2016-10-18T16:00:58","date_gmt":"2016-10-18T05:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creately.com\/blog\/?p=13793"},"modified":"2025-07-03T00:20:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T13:20:54","slug":"a-perfectly-written-business-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creately.com\/blog\/marketing-sales\/a-perfectly-written-business-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Steps to a Perfectly Written Business Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Steps<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got a business you need a business plan. It\u2019s so obvious, the statement should be inane. After all, without a business plan, people won\u2019t know where you\u2019re heading or what they can do to get there.<\/p>\n

It will be harder to make informed decisions about what fits in with the core of your company concept and what you shouldn\u2019t touch with a 10-foot pole. And there is a much greater likelihood that your company will drift away from what it\u2019s good at and lose its competitive edge.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s a sure route to failure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the same time, numerous companies don\u2019t have a business plan \u2013 largely because they struggle to write one up. Instead, at best they\u2019ll have a couple of dozen drafts floating around which kind of get at what they\u2019re trying to do, but don\u2019t really manage to capture it, while at worst it\u2019s right at the bottom of somebody\u2019s \u2018to do\u2019 list, right next to getting the company registered at the chamber of commerce.<\/p>\n

If either of those situations describes you, then I\u2019m here to help. Today, let\u2019s talk about how you can write the perfect business plan.<\/p>\n

Do your research<\/h3>\n

You need to know as much as possible about your product, the product of your competitors, the market and your audience. Don\u2019t skip this part. It is absolutely essential that you know what\u2019s going on. This is the foundation of your business plan. And without a foundation you\u2019re building castles in the air.<\/p>\n

A poorly researched business plan can be more harmful than not having a business plan at all, as it doesn\u2019t serve to identify your key strengths and the dangers on the road ahead. And that can blind you to both.<\/p>\n

What is your plan for?<\/h3>\n

Over at Entrepreneur they\u2019ve a good definition<\/a> of the business plan. It, \u201cdescribes the nature of the business, the sales and marketing strategy and the financial background, and contains a projected profit and loss statement.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, that doesn\u2019t have to be how your plan works. There are many variations around this theme. For example, it can serve as a roadmap to steer your business in the right direction. Alternatively, it can serve as a tool to pull in investors.<\/p>\n

Before you sit down to write your plan, write down your goals that you\u2019re trying to achieve with your goals. Possibly put them on a sticky note that accompanies the plans as you write them.<\/p>\n

Write up a company profile<\/h3>\n

In this document you summarize the history of your organization, the products and services that you offer, the market segment that makes up your target audience, what resources you\u2019ve got available and what it is about your business that makes it unique.<\/p>\n

The great thing about your company profile is that it\u2019s not just for your business plan, it can also serve to inform people about what you\u2019re up to. You can include it in a newsletter, turn it into a blog post, or even put it on your about page. So there you go, you\u2019re killing two birds with one stone (poor birds).<\/p>\n

Document everything<\/h3>\n

This is particularly important if your goal is to attract investors. After all, investors are in the business of making money and that means that they\u2019re not just going to throw money at you because they like the cut of your jib.<\/p>\n

Instead, they\u2019re going to want to know everything. And they\u2019re not going to be at all impressed if you don\u2019t already have it ready for them or if you don\u2019t know the answer to their questions.<\/p>\n

So, make sure you know your cash flow, your expenses and your industry projections. Write down all the property, products and patents that you own and everything else that can be considered an asset.<\/p>\n

The marketing plan<\/h3>\n

Sure, some businesses get lucky with fans going mad about their product and letting the whole world know. You can\u2019t (and your investor won\u2019t) assume that\u2019s you. So create a marketing plan. The goal here is to explain how you\u2019re going to do such things as<\/p>\n