I am starting a non-profit business, is there a free questionaire to guide in writing a business plan?

Question

It is a faith-based, community revitalization plan, similar to habitat for humanity.

Answer 1

Associations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

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

* Starting and Running a Non-Profit Made Easy by Entrepreneur Press, David H. Bangs
* Starting and Running a Nonprofit Organization by Joan M. Hummel
* The Nonprofit Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Start and Run Your Nonprofit Organization by Gary M. Grobman
* Starting & Building A Nonprofit: A Practical Guide by Peri Pakroo

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 2

As someone who has worked with many entrepreneurs over the years, I can say that there are many different ideas on what makes a complete business plan. What we recommend for a standard outline can be found in the article, How to Write a Business Plan, on our Bplans.com Website (see: http://www.bplans.com/dp ). Bplans.com is a free resource for business owners with information and resources to help you start or grow your business.

Here's what we suggest for a standard business plan outline:
- Executive Summary: Write this last. It's just a page or two of highlights.
- Company Description: Legal establishment, history, start-up plans, etc.
- Product or Service: Describe what you're selling. Focus on customer benefits.
- Market Analysis: You need to know your market, customer needs, where they are, how to reach them, etc.
- Strategy and Implementation: Be specific. Include management responsibilities with dates and budget.
- Management Team: Include backgrounds of key members of the team, personnel strategy, and details.
- Financial Plan: Include profit and loss, cash flow, balance sheet, break-even analysis, assumptions, business ratios, etc.

This covers the basic main components that we recommend and additional information can be added to that. We also have a variety of free sample business plans listed on the site so you can get a good idea of what a finished document could look like (see:http://www.bplans.com/dp/article.cfm/41 ).

The Small Business Administration along with the SBDC and SCORE organizations can also provide you with a lot of help in building a plan, starting your business, etc. You can find their Web site at http://sba.gov with tips on writing a plan at:
http://sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/plan/writeabusinessplan/SERV_WRRITINGBUSPLAN.html

Here's the page to find your local SBDC office:
http://www.sba.gov/sd/index.html

Hope this helps,
Sean