Posts Tagged ‘scratch’
Post 4 of 5: Wait a minute! My notebook is really a business plan?
The Classic Business Plan
Yep, we tricked you. How not to write a business plan was really about how to write a classic business plan.
The plan can have any of many widely accepted outlines. Each textbook, each coach, each company, each organization is likely to have a favored outline. It may sound like a good idea to go to a book of business plan templates, or download a sample business plan, but the sample plan won’t really reflect you, your business or your market. It’s seems like the easy way out but it’s not. You may have jumped the yes-I-have-a-business-plan hurdle, but you won’t know anything about your business! It is your notebook that holds the value. At its core, each Business Plan discusses where to go and how to get there.
The Iterative Planning Process
Iterative? What does that mean? It means that the Business Plan is never actually “finished.” It is only ever “finished for now.” The five-tab notebook will keep all of your information in one place. When you sit down with the notebook, and review the pages after a time, you’ll see how much you’ve learned and how your ideas have changed, and how you and the business have grown. The plan, the written document that you have shared with someone else, is a snapshot of what you know when you know it. Iterative means that you keep learning more. It feels repetitious, but it’s not.
Key Elements of a Classic Business Case Outline
There is no such thing as the “best” outline. And while the outline details will vary, all business plans eventually will include similar types of information.
- Executive Summary
- Business Overview
- Product or Service
- Market
- Competition
- Customer
- Implementation Plan
- Financial Data
- Supporting Documents
Before you get that cold shower feeling, it’s all in your notebook.
“What?” you say.
Yes, in the WHAT section you described your product or service. It may look like chicken scratch but read and re-read your notes. Then write a few sentences to describe the WHAT.
The Market is in the WHERE section. WHERE are you selling your product or service? At the mall? In the neighborhood? On the web? This will ultimately help you describe your market. If your WHERE is at home, then how are customers finding you? If it’s by word-of-mouth then the WHO section (with the list of everyone you know) will help you describe your market. The market is not just a physical place; it’s the description of the people who will find your product or service of interest. Limit the description to people that you can communicate with now and then (as your marketing budget grows) with the people that you want to communicate with.
And the competition? I’m betting your competitive edge is buried in WHY… Why are they buying from you and not from someone else? WHY do you think you can do a better job than what’s already out there? And exactly WHO are those someone else’s that could also serve your market? Here’s the secret to the Competition section— it’s a chart. Look in your notebook and then make a list of every other business that your WHO could buy from…that’s the Competition. Now that you’ve made the list put two columns next to it. One column for WHERE and one for WHY. Add the where your competitor is and WHY they are not the better choice. You’ve just done the Competition section!
Customer… let’s go into WHO. WHO is buying what you’re selling?
The Implementation Plan is your action plan. Exactly what are you going to do between now and the minute you open your doors – most of the information should be found in HOW. The Implementation Plan is the difference between fantasy and realizing an ambition.
See? Filling out the template suddenly becomes easy!
And for financials? Here’s how to get started: go through your notebook, write down everything that looks like financial information. It helps if the paper has lines on it so you can write down the number and then the word description next to it and it will be easier to read. For the first pass, list money coming in categories on one page (label it “revenues”) and list money going out on another page (label it “expenses”). That’s it. You can relax now. We’ll get back to it later. The financial section will change and change and change. Tell anyone who looks at the plan that the Financial Section is in its 1st Iteration.
For quick reference, we’ve spelled it out on the following table.
How Long Should It Be?
How long is this plan? Not long. Short and sweet. Make it EASY for the reader (and for you) to grasp your idea.
The first time you put together the “plan” it might be a few pages of bullet points and a Competition chart. The next time it will be a little different. If you keep at your trusty notebook, filling out your WHO, WHAT, WHERE, HOW, and WHY then you can just repeat this process each time you need a formal plan.
And you thought we were kidding when we said it would be easy! Cake. Now get back to business.
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