How To Write A Business Plan
Read our 20 free tips on how to write a business plan below. Using BusinessPlanWiz's business plan builder makes business planning easy, and if you bear these in mind they will help you to write a business plan that will become a useful document for you now and in the future.
For more information you can also see our business planning FAQs.
- Do your research. It's far easier if you have as much information to hand as you can before you begin to write your business plan.
- Be realistic. It's no good putting in numbers for your cash flow, for instance, that you can't prove or justify; you could end up looking foolish!
- Seek advice before you start. It could be from your business advisor, your accountant, your solicitor or someone who knows your business sector well.
- Consider the advice. You don't have to act on the advice. But it is always worth taking it into consideration; you always get a different business perspective from someone else.
- Take your time. Think carefully about everything that you put into your Business Plan. The act of taking time out from your business and thinking about it in depth will prove useful in the long run.
- Think and write your Business Plan clearly. Re-write your Business Plan if necessary and ask someone else to read it through when you've finished.
- Keep your Business Plan simple. Too much extra language will bore the final reader and may hide what you are actually trying to say.
- Have a vision. If you haven't started your business yet, try to have a clear idea of how it will operate before you write your Business Plan.
- Use a Business Plan template. Work your way through a template. BusinessPlanWiz can be used for free before buying your finished Business Plan.
- Be flexible. A Business Plan is not a rigid document. Use it as a guide, keep going back to it and change it as and when necessary.
- Plan well ahead. Try and plan a few years ahead. It will give you more of an idea of where you are aiming to take your business.
- Use it! Use your Business Plan. It's doing no good writing a business plan then hiding it in a drawer!
- Do your sums. Using a spreadsheet for them is the best idea, but if you're not skilled with setting up formulae, use a template. There's a cashflow template included in the paid-for version when you sign up and buy your plan.
- Figure it out. Ask for, or find help with, the figures. The Internet is a rich source of information: Governments and support organisations often include the type of figures that you will need on their websites; as are local libraries.
- Know your competitors. Very few ideas are unique, so find out who they are: watch them; mimic what is good about them; improve the things that are bad and try to find out how much of the market they have so that you know what you are aiming for.
- Note it! Keep a notepad/pda with you. You╒ll often think of ideas for your business when you are least expecting to. Getting them written down is far better than the frustration of not being able to remember them later.
- Share your vision. Share your vision with others. Having decided where you are going with your business, make sure that everyone in your company knows what they are working towards.
- Include an Executive Summary. It's not as scary as it sounds. Write a Business Plan first, then pull through the most vital parts of your Business Plan (for instance, you are trying to raise money and buy new premises) and put them on a page that sits between the front page and the index. That way anyone can pick up your Business Plan and immediately find out what it is for, without having to read the entire plan.
- Don't skip... Sales and Marketing! How else will the world know what you have to offer? Try www.MarketingPlanWiz.co.uk.
- Dream! Don' be afraid to dream - you're human after all! But, put your dreams in a separate document that's just for you!
Your Wiz Business Plan is all about how you are going to achieve your dreams!
For more tips and useful information, have a look at our business plan blog.