can some body give me advice in how to do a business plan?

Answer 1

I can tell you that a Pre Paid Legal Business Plan would be a great asset to your company. It provides a service called GoSmallBiz.com that gives you access to tax and accounting help, technology consulting and a business plan. You would be able to get advice and documents that support a business plan of your choice. There are experts in all areas if business: tax, marketing, accounting, technology, finance and HR. They provide a 4-page website builder to create, they host it and maintain it for you. As you start your business and it grows, this would be a valuable asset for you to have.

For more information, check out my Blog and email with questions.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* Writing a Convincing Business Plan by Arthur R. DeThomas Ph.D., Lin Grensing-Pophal
* The Definitive Business Plan: The Fast Track to Intelligent Business Planning for Executives and Entrepreneurs (2nd Edition) by Richard Stutely
* The Complete Book of Business Plans: Simple Steps to Writing a Powerful Business Plan (Small Business Sourcebooks) by Joseph A. Covello
* The One Page Business Plan with CD-ROM by James T., Jr. Horan

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 3

You will find that most High Street banks are able to assist you, by providing you with a Guide to setting up a small business and preparing a business plan. This Guide is usually provided on 3.5 inch floppy disc or on CD-rom - free of charge. It is worth looking at - just ask at your bank.

Answer 4

There's numerous things you'll want to consider and a lot depends on what type of business you're involved in, i.e. is it a service or a mercantile business.

Some things you'll want to consider doing:
A mission statement (why you're in business and what you hope to accomplish)
Sales projections
Fixed Costs
Variable Costs
Payroll

I do my projections out 3 years every January. Be truthful and a bit conservative. In my experience, it's better to underproject your income and come in higher than to overproject and come in under.

Also, as factors change, update your plan throughout the year.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

Here are some resources that can help you write your business plan:

- SBA Business Plan Basics http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
- PowerHomeBiz.com Creating a Business Plan section http://www.powerhomebiz.com/startup/businessplan.htm
- Entrepreneur.com Writing a Business Plan section http://www.entrepreneur.com/bizplan/0,7253,,00.html

You may also want to review some sample business plans to see how it actually looks like:

- Bplans.com http://www.bplans.com/sp/businessplans.cfm
- MOOT Corp Business Plan competition winners
http://www.businessplans.org/businessplans.html
- VFinance - View hundreds of real business plans in pdf format. http://www.vfinance.com/home.asp?bps=1&ToolPage=bps_main.asp
- Business Owners Toolkit Sample business plans and information on how to create a plan. http://www.toolkit.cch.com/tools/buspln_m.asp
- PlanWare Planning software and information. http://www.planware.org/
- Virtual Business Plan Walk through the design of a business plan. http://www.bizplanit.com/vplan.html
-SBA Business Planning Guide http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
- Small Business Advancement Center http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/business_plan/businessPlan.pdf
- Sample Business Plan General planning guide created by the Canadian Business Service Center. http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=CBSC_FE/display&c=GuideFactSheet&cid
- Business Plans Index - A subject guide to sample business plans and profiles for specific business types from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. http://216.183.184.20/subject/business/bplansindex.html

Some recommended books are :

- Business Plans Kit for Dummies
- The Complete Book of Business Plans : Simple Steps to Writing a Powerful Business Plan
- Writing Business Plans That Get Results : A Step-By-Step Guide
- Business Plans For Dummies®
- Your First Business Plan : A Simple Question and Answer Format Designed to Help You Write Your Own Plan

If you are writing a business plan to get investors, according to the book “The ABC's of Writing Winning Business Plans: How to Prepare a Business Plan That Others Will Want to Read -- and Invest In” http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446694150/powerhomebizguid by Garrett Sutton, below are some tips to make a winning business plan that can get funding:

- Money follows management. Investors look first at the people involved in the company. If you are just starting out and don’t have relevant experience, investors expect to see that you have an experienced team of advisors and employees helping you in the business.

- Make sure you “sell” the one reason your business will become profitable.

- State clearly the strategies you will employ to get the word out about your business. Your business plan must show how you will leverage the Internet, public relations, viral marketing, and other strategies to attract customers.

- Present realistic estimates of the time, energy and costs of building a successful business. Do not underestimate or overestimate revenues. While investors know your numbers are simply guesses, they want to see that your numbers are within the “range of reality.” Be careful of your financial statements: this is one area where you can easily lose credibility if presented poorly.

- Benchmark similar companies to show that you’ve done your homework and researched the market.

- Your Executive Summary is your calling card. If it is not a winner, investors may not even read your entire plan. Emphasize your own as well as your team’s track record in the Executive Summary.

- Before sending your business plan to lenders and investors, send it out first to a few in order to get feedback. You’d want to correct your plan if someone tells you that you’re way off mark, rather than have a potential investor tell it to you and lose the chance to get the funding you need.

Answer 6

A business plan in 3 steps to make you millions is simple.

i) always cheat your customers
ii) always cheat the Inland Revenue
iii) make sure your private jet is always fired up, fuelled and gets you to Brazil before either of the above can catch you

This plan has been tried and tested in the City of London for decades. 100% pass rate.

heavenlyhaggis

Answer 7

There are several books on the subject, simply go to your local book store and ask them for recommendations.

I prefer to go online and work on samples. Here's a site that offers free sample business plans:
http://www.bulletproofbizplans.com/bpsample/Sample_Plan/sample_plan.html
I also recommend About.com for more information on the details of writing each section.

Another good site for paid plans is:
http://www.bplans.com/

They also offer free advice for writing a plan.

Answer 8

Do you have Microsoft Word? It has several business and marketing plans as templates for your use that are as good as anything I have seen in other programs.

Answer 9

Hi my freind!I will tell u if yourself want being a business.you can sell sewing machine and parts.ONLY u going to CHINA.because allthings is very cheap in China.now a lots of business coming to China.if you have any interesting,pls contact me .my E-mail:[e-mail]

Answer 10

i invested in business plan pro think it was about £90 and was really good