Marketing Ideas

One of the biggest myths of entrepreneurship is that there is a one-size-fits-all structure for writing a business plan. Business plan books and software may provide you with a formalized structure, but it’s up to you to make heads-or-tails of which of those aspects apply to your business. Do you need to fill out all of the details? What if you don’t know the answers or if many sections don’t seem to apply to your business?

Business Planning Fundamentals

If you aren’t looking for investors or funding, consider writing up an informal business plan and modifying it as you go. When you first start out, you will need to do some planning to evaluate whether you have a solid business ideal that will become profitable in the near future. Some of the questions to ask include:

Is there a market for your products and services?
Which types of customers and clients are most likely to buy what your company offers?
How will you differentiate your company from your competitors? Why should prospects do business with you over all other options out there?
How much revenue can you bring in next month, in six months, in a year?
What are your startup costs? What are your initial monthly expenses?
Do you have or can you get the appropriate resources (money, technology, equipment, expertise) to start your business?
Will you need to hire partners, employees, vendors, or contractors to help you? What will their job functions be?
Who will be responsible for day-to-day business tasks?