Category — Business Plan

 

About the importance of the business planning

Recently, I have been called to advise new clients, already in the stage in which they are selling and making profit. Nowadays, the well is dry; why is that?

They never stopped to plan their way and decide what is the strategy they will take, and where they want to see themselves in the next few years. They succeeded so far, since they are excellent people, possessing a superb technological ability, and therefore developed their products and succeeded in reaching the condition in which they are today.

Suddenly, they are afraid they will not live up to their schedules, they do not have the required capital for growing; they do not have the capacity to decide whether to expand or not; whether to accept a larger company’s offer in their field interested in buy them out; the company also lacks the suitable person to provide the appropriate guidance for this kind of circumstances.

I sat down with them and saw the existing business plan they had is totally unfitting their situation and does not represent what is what they require for any business possibility they choose; as a matter of fact, their current business plan does not stand the definition of a business plan, as any decision-maker in any organization knows and would like to look into.

If this is the situation, therefore what is the means guiding you to avoid this sort of situations?  Read more... (884 words, 1 image, estimated 3:32 mins reading time)

Dear Entrepreneurs,

Are you thinking of opening up a new business?

Are you tired of working for a large corporation?

Are you tired of the corporate culture?

These are some of the main reasons that lead individuals to start working hard for their dreams and ambitions. These are also some of the reasons why individuals don’t want to enter the workplace at all.

It is great to be an entrepreneur and start your own business. The sense of freedom and enjoyment that you will receive from operating your own business is phenomenal.

 

Canadian Government

The Canadian government has titled 2011 “The Year of Entrepreneurs”. This is a great sign for new business owners as the government understands the importance and significance of entrepreneurs in helping the economy grow and create jobs.

The government has great incentive programs for new business owners to receive funding, advice, and business resources. These institutions include; Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF), and Canadian Federation of Independent Business along with many more.

This is the perfect time for you to start your own business. The government is encouraging small businesses and helping with the start-up costs.

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If you are ready to get started, YOU NEED A BUSINESS PLAN

 

Business Plan  Read more... (537 words, 1 image, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)

Planning is an integral part of any business activity. This is even more important in wholesale business as it deals in large quantities. Planning is an ongoing process but it becomes extremely important when you are about to start any wholesale business. A proper business plan for wholesale business can be defined as a written document that states the future direction of the wholesale business. It includes all the tactics and strategies required to pull off the business. This plan is always written by the wholesalers themselves but they can also take help from various accountants and lawyers. This business plan is divided by the wholesalers in different components so that the rules and regulations are abided by in a proper way. Let’s discuss its components in detail.

Production Plan:

This plan states the products the wholesaler will deal in and how products will be acquired. If the wholesaler is not a manufacturer himself, this plan states the sources where the products are to be bought from. These sources can be simple manufacturers or can be dropshippers. It also states the reasons leasing to the selection the products. If you are a manufacturer yourself then this plan should contain detailed account of raw material suppliers and production process. It also states the kind MPR software systems and what level of technology will be used to produce the products.

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Operations Plan:  Read more... (479 words, 1 image, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan can be defined as,

“A document or forecast plan describes the purpose and objectives of a business/company, its strategies, description of products and services, target market and financial forecast”.

Importance of a Business Plan in Strategizing Efforts

Many of you will raise the question ‘Why should I write a business plan’? The answer to this is simple. Just as a builder cannot start constructing a building without a blue print similarly, an eager businessman should not rush into new venture without having a written document in hand.

Advice for Drafting Business Plans

Make sure your business plan is realistic and provides a roadmap for future. It should by dynamic so that you can modify your strategies according to change in business environment.

Remember a business plan is like curriculum vitae of your business and serves to attract investors as well as keep customers and suppliers informed about performance of your company.

Writing a Business Plan

Now that you have decided to start up your own business, it is essential that you pen down a plan which you are going to follow through the course of your business.

Format of a Business Plan

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A business plan typically consists of the following standard elements.

Executive Summary

Two to three pages highlighting the main features of entire business plan make up the section of executive summary. It is advised that you write this last. Learn how to write an executive summary for an effective business plan.  Read more... (532 words, 1 image, estimated 2:08 mins reading time)

Introduction

A sample business plan is the first stop for any entrepreneur who wants to draft a business plan for attracting investors. Is a sample business plan a good way to start off. I would say it is just right to get started and understand what a business plan is all about. It also helps in understanding the structure of the business plan. However a sample business plan is the starting point of creating a personalized business plan.

The Challenge

It is a general trend that entrepreneurs start writing the plan but along the way get stuck, primarily in projecting income and expenditure, competition research and brining a professional touch to the business plan. There are several online resources that allow download of sample business plans. These templates have a well defined structure of different sections of a business plan and also provide hints to make the financial projections. In my experience, I have seen that the confusion starts when making projections. People are not sure where to start, how to derive approximate numbers and how to make a logical projection. At this stage the plan goes awry until a professional business plan writer is engaged. 

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Solution  Read more... (378 words, 1 image, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)