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Top reasons businesses fail:

•  Lack of planning

• Lack of money or poor money management

• Customer's needs are unsatisfactory

• Not understanding the competition

• Rapid expansion

• Lack of pivotal shifts when needed

• Lack of research or industry trends

• Noneffective marketing plans

• Not having corresponding people in the correct positions

Thomas Edison said," Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning." If you are a frequent listener to our podcast, you will often hear our host and guests mention the importance of creating a business plan. When you have a well thought out business plan, you can have an advantage over your competition and give your team direction and a shared vision. A business plan supports the business owner and becomes a valuable guide to running day to day business operations, setting goals and objectives, hitting sales goals, and keeping costly mistakes at a minimum.
The number 10 reasons for business failure are all addressed in a business plan, so our question is, "if you could stack the odds of success in your favor by being prepared, why would you wait?"
Business Planning is a daunting task for most business owners. They can become quickly overwhelmed by not knowing where to start. SBC can help you from start to finish to flush out the details and bring the pen to paper to generate the elements out of your head and into a formal plan that you will use to guide your business. You will need a digital or written plan to present to funders, possible partners, community, employees, and community leaders as you gain support and capital for your business. A professional business plan helps you prepare for the challenges and success ahead. The best place to start are the areas of the plan that come easy to you naturally and then venture out to the areas that require research of the market and competition. Start to gather information on regulations, licensing, zoning, and projected costs. The more details you have written down and researched, the easier it will become when you are ready to sit down and start formulating your business plan. Always remember your vision, mission, goals, and where you see yourself and your company within the next one to three years. Then branch out to where you see yourself and your business within the next five to ten years. Don't panic, you do not need to know all the answers. Make note, if your business takes off quickly, you want to have as much in place in systems and operations as you need to scale fast.

 

Parts of a Business Plan

Executive Summary

Company Description

Market Research

Organization & Management

Products and Services

Identify your Target Customer

Marketing Plan

Operations Plan

Financial Plan
 

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