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Article 3 of 3 – Implementing Your Small Business Plan Your Plan Becomes a Reality

This is the 3rd article of our Business Planning series. I am assuming you have completed your plan and we are now ready to actually start using it. The most important thing about planning for any type of business, is having the ability to implement that plan into real goals that are achievable; daily, weekly and monthly. A big fat 60 page plan that is filed and forgotten is ridiculously useless. I never plan ahead further than a year. Business changes constantly as will the direction of where you are aiming to take your business. To allow yourself to be flexible as an entrepreneur, don’t plan too far ahead. Too much planning ahead can also lead to you becoming overwhelmed at the thought of trying to achieve so much. Keep it short and precise and achievable and there will be more chance that you will actually achieve it.

Ok, so now you have that plan we need to look at how to implement it.

There are 3 major areas of your plan that you are going to live by:

1. Budget and Projections

2. Management Process

3. Growth and Marketing If you implement nothing else but your goals for these areas, you will do just fine.

1. Budgeting and Projecting From your business plan you will have a profit and loss projection and budget for the year. Please print off and stick your projections and budget somewhere visible i.e. Right in front of where you work, on the fridge etc. Inside whatever accounting software you are going to use (we recommend Quickbooks), ensure that you have a budget that is easily accessible or possibly set up your system to allow you to view your live figures versus your budget in a live format. To begin with, do your accounts weekly so that each week you are sticking to your budget. The same goes with your projections. If you are not meeting your projected profit targets, take action immediately and create marketing ventures that will help you ensure that you reach your targets. Our ECourse offers you a smorgasbord of marketing and advertising options to choose from that you can implement each month; most of which are free.

2. Management Processes Within your plan you will have identified how you would like the business to run each day and what management processes and systems you are going to use to ensure your business runs smoothly. Just because you have outlined those processes in your plan doesn’t mean that you are automatically going to practice them diligently does it?

How do we make sure we are systemised? We simply take action. If you have staff; delegate these tasks immediately. If not, set a reminder once per month to ensure that your processes are working the best way that they possibly can.

Identify each month what takes the most of your time, what gives you the most grief and what can be done quicker and easier so that you can focus on driving your business. If emailing gives you grief, vow to set certain times per day or week to email or set up autoresponders. If you despise accounting and bookwork, hire someone else to do it. Chances are they will do a better job and in about half the time it takes you.

Whatever systems you use will need to be updated every now and then, the hard part is being diligent about allowing the time (an hour here and then) to actually take action towards refining them. Once you are in the habit of doing this it will become easy. Make the effort to write out a repetitive list of what will require the most work and ensure your staff are pro-active towards streamlining your business. The more you align your processes to allow yourself more time, the more time and freedom you will have.

Spare time and freedom = less stress = happy business manager.

For loads of great tips on how to streamline your systems check our ECourses by visitng the website.

3. Growth and Marketing This was the most important part of your plan and is the most important part of your business. So how are you going to implement all those brilliant marketing ideas? Firstly, start off with completing every single free marketing strategy that you can to drive people to your door. Passing out cards, networking, free directory listings, newsletters and many more of these types of activities will help you build your business as well as your business identity and credibility. Make it a habit to continue with free marketing principles each day.For a full list of Free Marketing Techniques visit our website. Once you are in the habit of allowing a certain time or day per week to work on your free marketing, if your budget allows you can start to add in paid marketing techniques. Add in one at a time so that you can see the results and split test every piece of marketing material that you can.

Every month you are going to construct a new one page marketing plan (there is one available as apart of our ECourse.)You will refer to your business plan for ideas and add in new techniques each month. You will be surprised how many of those brilliant ideas you might have forgotten about! Work with your budget to ensure that you are not overstepping your cash boundaries and slowly add in more and more techniques as the cashflow allows.

Remove what doesn’t work and replace it with something else. I personally have this simple plan stuck on my cork board and I make notes on how many leads and sales I can see each month. I find it easier to visually see where I am heading. A fancy marketing plan inside your laptop that never gets a look in is pointless. Use a whiteboard or a simple one page plan to delegate these activities to yourself or your staff each week.

Each week, allow one day to work solely on marketing. Even if on that day you can only delegate an hour of your time… 4 hours a month is better than nothing. As your business begins to grow and change so will your ideas about where you intend to take your business so again do not plan too far ahead. Work within realistic time frames and within your budget. Stick to your weekly routine and allow brain time for marketing and growth. Make it a habit to grow your business.

With your plan now in action you are going to see some amazing and positive changes take hold. You are now in the habit of budgeting, systemising and planning to grow your business. With all of these things in place there is no way that you can fail. Organisation need not be tedious. Allow yourself specific times each week to accomplish each task and give yourself short time frames. Once it’s done, forget about it and get on with enjoying your life.

By: Heidi R Shannon

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The format of a Business Plan is something that has been
developed and refined over the years and is something that should
not be changed. Like a good recipe, a business plan needs to
include certain ingredients to make it work.

When you create a business plan, don’t attempt to recreate its
format. Those reviewing this type of document have expectations
you must meet. If they do not see those crucial decision-making
components, they’ll see no reason to proceed with their review of
your business plan, no matter how great your business idea.

Executive Summary Section

Every business plan must begin with an Executive Summary section.
A well-written Executive Summary is critical to the success of
the rest of the document. Here is where you need to capture the
attention of your audience so that they will be compelled to read
on. Remember, it’s a summary, so each and every word must be
carefully selected and presented.

Use the Executive Summary section of your business plan to
accurately describe the nature of your business venture including
the need that you plan to fill. Show the reasons why people need
your product or service. Show this by including a brief analysis
of the characteristics of your potential market.

Describe the organization of your business including your
management team. Also, briefly describe your sales and marketing
plan or approach. Finally include the numbers that those
reviewing your business plan want to see – the amount of capital
you seek, the carefully calculated sales projections and your
plan to repay the loan.

If you’ve captured your audience so far they’ll read on.
Otherwise, they’ll close the document and add your business plan
to the heap of other rejected ideas.

Devote the balance of your business plan to providing details of
the items outlined in the Executive Summary.

The Business Section

Be sure to include the legal name, physical address and detailed
description of the nature of your business. It’s important to
keep the description easy to read using common terminology. Never
assume that those reading your business plan have the same level
of technical knowledge that you do. Describe how you plan to
better serve your market than your competition is currently
doing.

Market Analysis Section

An analysis of the market shows that you have done your homework.
This section is basically a summary of your Marketing Plan. It
needs to show the demand for your product or service, the
proposed market, trends within the industry, a description of
your pricing plan and packaging and a description of your company
policies.

Financing Section

The Financing section must show that you are as committed to your
business venture as you expect those reading your business plan
to be. Show the amount of personal funds you are contributing and
their source. Also include the amount of capital you need and
your plan to repay this debt. Include all pertinent financial
worksheets in this section: annual income projections, a
break-even worksheet, projected cash flow statements and a
balance sheet.

Management Section

Outline your organizational structure and management team here.
Include the legal structure of your business whether it is a
partnership, corporation or limited liability corporation.
Include resumes and biographies of key players on your management
team. Show staffing projection data for the next few years.

By now you’re probably thinking that you don’t need Business Plan
just yet. Well you do, and there is business plan building
software that can help you through this immense project. These
software packages are easy to use and affordable. Use one today
and produce a professional-quality Business Plan – including all
critical components – tomorrow!

By: Cavyl Stewart

About the Author:

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There are four critical areas causing business plans to change. All are changing trends in the business environment. The four areas we will examine are: 1) government trends, 2) economic trends. 3) technological trends and 4) cultural trends. Each one causes a specific impact on our decisions and requires us to make adjustments. Some changes are dramatic and require dramatic reactions to minimize their effect on our business.

First are government trends. There are several different sources caused by changes in regulations, tax policies and new legal precedence. Most of these are not a direct result of what we are doing in our business, but are the result of political and social shifts. On the legal side, changes result from court cases. It is absolutely necessary to address these changes because of both the financial and legal jeopardy. The result will be changes to not only our business plans but also our business conduct.

Second are economic trends. These changes occur because the local, national and international environment changes. Typical of these trends are changes in inflation rates, interest rates and the comparative value of currency (foreign exchange rates). Notice that all of these changes are directly and indirectly effects of government actions. These trends require us to adapt our business plan to the new conditions.

Next are technological trends. The amount of effect that these trends have on our business depends on how directly the changes impact our present operations. For instance, if we are making vacuum tubes when integrated circuits arrive, we will have to make some major changes. Note that the changes in our business plan may mean acquiring or learning new technologies, retraining our people, or seeking new customers and products. Inventors, with changes in product lifecycles or adopting new ideas, normally trigger these trends. We can prepare for these changes by keeping up-to-date with trends, new advances and what our competitors are doing. It may mean new sources of raw materials, different marketing techniques, or perhaps the loss or emergence of a new market.

Finally, cultural trends have a direct impact on our business plan and the business environment. The demographics of our customers may change, new social concerns can arise and new lifestyles evolve. If our customers move from the cities to the country, our business will be affected not only in what we sell, but also, in how we deliver it. Too, as social consciences change, acceptable business practices will change. These could include environmental and social programs. For example, government might require a business to provide a certain level of retirement benefit. These trends often burden businesses with new and unplanned costs but must be assimilated into the business plan to remain a viable enterprise.

Notice, these trend types have definite impacts on our business plan. They are all threats to present business operations and also present new opportunities. If we make changes in our business operations to become environment friendly, employee friendly, or technologically modern our business accrues new public interest leading to new sales. Too, we receive free publicity that positively impacts our business credibility and stature. Regardless of the fringe benefits to our business, we must continually be aware and open to new directions so that our business plan and operation doesn’t stagnate or become less functional in the changing environment.

By: Michael Russell

About the Author:

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A detailed description of a new or existing business, including the company’s product or service, marketing plan, financial statements and projections and management principles, require a plan to be implemented. A document that spells out a company’s expected course of action for a specified period usually includes a detailed listing and analysis of risks and uncertainties. For the small business, it should examine the proposed products, the market, the industry, the management policies, the marketing policies, production needs and financial needs. Frequently, it is used as a prospectus for potential investors and lenders.

Think of it as a production line. What’s go in the start are raw materials and unfinished assemblies. Here, the raw materials include:

-Talent and initiative from employees

-Capital -Market position

-The company’s creditworthiness

-The firm’s earning capacity

-Assessment of changes in the marketplace.

It should have four major aspects:

- Its contribution to purpose and objectives

- Its primacy among the manager’s tasks

- Its pervasiveness

- The efficiency of resulting plans.

The Contribution of Planning to Purpose and Objectives: Every plan and all its supporting plans should contribute to the accomplishment of the purpose and objectives of the enterprise.

The Primacy of Planning Manager must plan in such a way that it leads to proper organizing, staffing, leading and controlling which support the accomplishment of enterprise objectives. Planning and controlling are inseparable. Any attempt to control without a plan is meaningless, since there is no way for people to tell whether they are going where they want to go. Plans thus furnish the standards of control.

The Pervasiveness of Planning: Planning is a function of all managers, which vary with each manager’s authority and with the nature of the policies and plans assigned by superiors. If managers are not allowed to a certain degree of discretion and planning responsibility, they are not truly managers.

The Efficiency of Plans: The effectiveness of plan refers to its contribution to the purpose and objectives. Plan is efficient if it achieves its purpose at a reasonable cost, when cost is measured not only in terms of time or money or production but also in the degree of individual and group satisfaction.

Procedures: Procedures are plans that establish a required method of handling future activities. They are chronological sequences of required actions. They are guides to action rather than to thinking and they detail the exact manner in which certain activities must be accomplished.

Rules: Rules are unlike procedures in that they guide action without specifying a time sequence. In fact, a procedure might be looked upon as a sequence of rules. Rule may be a part of procedure.

Programs: Programs are a complex of goals, policies, procedures, rules, task assignments, steps to be taken, resources to be employed and other elements necessary to carry out a given course of action; further supported by budgets.

Budgets: Budget is a statement of expected results expressed in numerical terms. Financial operating budget is often called a “profit plan”. This budget can be expressed in financial terms, in terms of labor- hours, units of product or machine hours or in any other numerically measurable term.

Steps in Planning: Being aware of opportunities, a manager should take a preliminary look at possible future opportunities and see them clearly and completely know where they stand in light of their strengths and weaknesses, understand what problems they wish to solve, and why and know what they expect to gain. Planning requires a realistic diagnosis of the opportunity situation.

Establishing objectives: This is to be done for the long term as well as for the short term. Objectives specify the expected results and indicate the end points of what is to be done, where the primary emphasis is to be placed and what is to be accomplished by the network of strategies, policies, procedures, rules, budgets and programs. Objectives form a hierarchy.

Developing premises: There are assumptions about the environment in which the plan is to be carried out. It is important for all managers involved in planning to agree on the premises. Forecasting is important in premising: what kind of markets will there be? What volume of sales? What prices? What products? What technical developments? What costs? What wage rates? What tax rates and policies? What new plans? How will expansion be financed? What are the long-term trends? Because the future is so complex, it would not be profitable or realistic to make assumption about every detail of the future environment of a plan.

Determining alternative courses: The more common problem is not finding alternatives but reducing the number of alternatives so that the most promising may be analyzed. The planner must usually make a preliminary examination to discover the most fruitful possibilities.

Evaluating alternative courses: From the various alternatives available proper evaluation should be done which may involve ash flow.

Selecting a course: The best alternative should be selected.

Numbering plans by budgeting Final step is giving them meaning by converting them into budgets. The overall budgets of an enterprise represent the sum total of income and expenses, with resultant profit or surplus and the budgets of major balance sheet items such as cash and capital expenditures.

By: Michael Russell

About the Author:

Kansieo.com

Your business plan is your company’s calling card. It allows you to see your business through your investor’s eyes. As the name suggests it is a plan of your business; your communication tool; selling your marketing, sales and operations.

Every time you meet with a property manager about leasing space for your business or you have a meeting with a potential lender/investor it is your business plan that will do most of the talking.

Use your business plan to present your business concept in away others can understand. You should focus on exactly what you want to achieve, where you want your business to go and how you plan to get it there. Projected sales and monthly expenses will also be included in your plan. All of this information will influence your choices, including the type of location you will be looking for. Your business plan will monitor whether you are achieving these objectives and maximise your changes of success by allowing you to keep adding to it.

A business plan is the key to long term success for new and old businesses. Your business must have a foundation to start from and you have to give your business time as success will take longer then merely weeks.

If you’re a new retail business you should think about things such as will you have a walk in store? A catalogue? Will your store have an internet site? Will it enable Internet ordering? What will your delivery methods be? You should also think about who your competition is and how you are better than your competition.

Your business plan will:

o Help clarify/focus and research your businesses development and prospects.

o Provides a considered and logical framework within which a business can develop and pursue business strategies not just for the near future but throughout your business

o Serves as a basis for discussion with third parties such as shareholders, agencies, banks, investors etc.

o Offers a benchmark against which actual performance can be measured and reviewed.

Your business plan is a framework which your business must operate within. It will ultimately determine whether your business succeeds or fails. For management or entrepreneurs seeking external support, the plan is the most important sales document that they are ever likely to produce. It acts as the key to raising finance. Preparation of a comprehensive plan will not guarantee success in raising funds or mobilizing support, but having no plan at all will more than likely result in failure.

Some of the things that are worth thinking about before you start writing your business plan are:

o Clearly defining your target audience

o Determine your businesses requirements in relation to the contents and levels of detail

o Map out your plan’s structure

o Decide on the likely length of your plan

o Identify all the main issues to be addressed within your plan

For many people the mere process of planning, thinking, discussing, researching and analysing can often be just, if not, more helpful than the actual outcome, which is your plan.

No businesses are the same, just as no plans are the same. Your business plan might seem like a daunting task but the results it will produce will be worth it and if you are having trouble writing the plan yourself there are many websites that offer help and, along with your help, will actually write the business plan for you.

By: Helen Cox

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Caffeinated Content

How ever you count them up, the basic parts of a business plan are pretty similar from plan to plan.