Tips on preparing a business plan

In one of my subsequent articles, I will talk about what

constitutes a business plan, but what I wish to cover in this article is -- how

you actually go about creating a business plan in the first place. It is

extremely necessary to understand this process, so that your business plan does

not gather dust in one corner of the office, but becomes a living, breathing

document -- a business plan that actually works.

 

First of all, it is absolutely

important to consider the preparation of the business plan as an interesting,

fun and intellectually stimulating activity. Throw out the notion, that it is a

burdensome, challenging and tough activity. Just change of this perception will

help you prepare a business plan which is from your heart, not just your mind.

 

Next, it is important to

understand, and I reiterate it here — the business is there to serve you not the

other way around. So be clear about what your personal objectives are, look at

what your business objectives are and make a plan which will achieve that. I

know, you will not have a crystal clear idea about your objectives. They will be

slightly hazy. But that is alright. As you start thinking from this perspective

and look at the business plan, as the method to achieve it , a map which will

take you there  , a lot of mist will start getting cleared.

 

It is necessary to choose a time

frame for your business plan. No point choosing a very long time frame. The

business environment is continuously changing and changing fast. In most cases,

3 years is a good enough -- neither too short nor too long. In any case you

should choose a time frame which you feel comfortable with. It should not become

a constraint. The fact of the matter is, to make your plan a living, breathing

document, you will need to revisit it at regular intervals and make changes

accordingly. That is the beauty of it .It is tight and it is loose. It is tight

in terms of where you want to go, objectives you wish to achieve. It has a

course of direction which is defined. But you keep making certain corrections on

the way.

 

Get the key people of your

organization involved in making the plan. The more the better. The final

document will then not be something which has been thrust upon them, but

something which has been contributed to by all of them. It therefore gets that

emotional commitment, which is so necessary for any business organization to

succeed.

 

Also preparing a business plan

cannot be done in a short time frame — an activity which needs to be done and

done away with.  Depending on the organization , its structure , its complexity

, decide on a reasonable time frame , allocate certain responsibilities , make

an outline of what all it will contain ( which I will cover in a subsequent

article) and get started.

 

Start collecting the various

materials and putting them together. Depending upon how long you have been in

business and what kind of systems you have been following, quite a bit of

starting material may already be available with you. Your organization chart ,

job responsibilities , target markets , your position in the market compared to

the competition, your marketing plan, your financial plan , your service plan

etc, etc. Put it all together. This will give you an idea of all the places

where gaps exist .And undoubtedly there will be quite a few. And that is the fun

of business planning. When you start thinking about it , you suddenly realize ,

so many important and specific areas , which require attention and can be

leveraged to produce fantastic results.

 

Be really excited about this

activity and get all the people who you have identified to do the specific areas

of the plan be excited about it. Get suggestions. Get commitments .Get

accountability. Set up time frames. Explain the impact having the plan will have

on the business.

 

Now, people need to start

thinking, analyzing, writing, reviewing, meeting, bouncing off ideas. As that

happens, it is also important to keep that the various parts of the plan be

consistent with each other. For example, if you are going to look at a specific

geographical market as an important target market, your organization structure

should also reflect it. This is so basic, but sometimes gets missed out with

disastrous results.

                                                          

What ever you do, don't go

overboard. You are preparing a guiding document. It will change on its way. In

fact, it is important, to create a system for making changes in the business

plan. Decide to review it every quarter or every six months and see whether the

assumptions you made while making the plan still hold true.  If not, what is its

impact and what are the changes which need to be made. Also review, whether your

business has moved in the direction as desired in this period, reflected by the

key indicators .If there are deviations — could be positive or negative -- find

the reasons for it and reflect that as well in the changes to be made in the

business plan.

 

So there you have — a living and

breathing document, which is fun to produce and takes you to the destination you

want to go to.

 

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Arun Pujari is India's first ,

Action International Business coach — the  World's No 1 Business coaching team.

He helps small to medium sized businesses grow their business , increase their

profits and make them more effective and efficient through a variety of programs

— one to one coaching , training programs , workshops etc .  He can be contacted

at arunpujari@action-international.com