Small Business Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Writing’

Many people dream of owning a business. However, before you can decide to embark on this journey, you have to be ready for the challenges that come with it. There are many aspects to preparations of starting and operating a business. The first thing you have to come up with is a business plan. You can say that this is the map to your destination. Without one, many businesses are at risk of failing because they have no defined sense of direction.

One thing that many people do not realize when writing a business plan is that the simpler it is, the easier it will be to implement. Be realistic and specific about what you want for your business. You may not have the know-how of how to write one so it is advisable to use a business sample or template. They make your work easier and also give you guidelines on how to create a business plan step by step. The business template will outline the basic so all you will be required to do is input information. This will make the entire process faster and within no time you will have a solid and impressive plan.

When writing a plan, you have to be sure that you can implement everything you have put down on paper. It should be a realistic reflection of what you want to achieve in a specific time period. Put down the facts and objectives that show that you will be able to take the necessary steps to accomplish your goals. Without a clear and precise budget a business plan would be incomplete. This is because you have to show where you will get your funding, especially if you will need to borrow. If you have no plans to borrow then the budget part of it will help in managing and balancing of your finances.

Since you intend to get the very best out of your business, and provide a needed service or product to the consumers, then a business plan will help you achieve this and much more.

Writing a business plan can be pretty tedious. There’s the cover, the table of contents, some 20-25 pages of content and the back cover. The innards are typically long paragraphs punctuated with bold font sprinkled hither and yon.

And it’s all a big bore.

There’s a reason for this. The “how to write business plans” books are classics. That means they are old. They were all written pre-internet. And that’s an important consideration in capturing and holding an audience.
The writing style of the internet has changed the way people think. And the way they read.

For instance, glance through this web site, or most any other successful web site, and you will see some real differences in style and layout, such as:

1. Short Paragraphs. Computer monitors don’t have the tight resolution of a printed page, so our eyes get tired. To help us focus, good writers use shorter paragraphs.

2. Bulleted Lists. But sometimes there is still a great deal to be communicated, so bulleted lists have become quite popular (or indented lists).

3. Block Indents. Block indents give visual variety, so your eyes don’t get so tired and I can hold your attention a bit longer.

4. Left Align. In the old days, nearly all paragraphs were indented five spaces. No more.

5. Judicious Use of Color. A bit of color is nice. Splashes of color all over is yucky.

6. Style that Reflects the Topic. Your business plan layout, like your web site, is going to pick up on the style of your business. A presentation for stylish clothes for teenage girls will look a lot different than one for biotech research. Other than that, your business plan layout is pretty much up to you. Make sure that all the pertinent parts are there, but put them in any order that makes sense for your business.

7. The Tiny Font Stuff. And when you’ve got a glump of stuff that really needs to be included, but it is in tiny print and long paragraphs, put it as an attachment, either in hard copy form or on a disk, or both. That way, the information is still there for those who want it, but you wont’ lose your reader before you get started.

8. How to Use Your Logo. Incorporating your logo is important too. I very small logo in a corner of the page, or on the first page of each section is fine. A big, intrusive logo splashed over every page is not fine.

As straightforward as this advice seems, I am continually astounded by how poorly written most business plan area. Many follow the rather dorky outline of business plan software. Most haven’t a clue how to include a chart or an image.

My “Bad Example”: I have one business plan that I got a couple of years ago that I hold onto as a “bad example”. The business was actually pretty good. It was for an online business incorporating a particular ethnic style of art. The owner was from that ethnic group, so it was a nice fit. But the business plan was 100+ pages of tight, tight paragraphs. And not a single solitary image of the art. Not one. I just couldn’t believe it.

Just as an entrepreneur can’t plunk down three pages and shout, “Here I am! Drop your money in the bucket!”, neither can he expect a serious lender or investor to overlook a lousy business plan. This business plan represents you and your company.

Make it professional.

Make it real.

Make it reflect your energy and your style.

The money will follow.

Starting a business is not an easy task. An entrepreneur has to consume 24/7 of their life with no end in sight in taking the business on to heights. It is always good to plan before starting any business and know what you are getting into before anything serious occurs. No matter, how big or small your company is a good and professionally written business plan always helps you a great deal.

Be clear about what you are selling:

Spend enough time in researching and defining who you are, what your company does; what you are selling and what the benefits of your product are.

Create a proper legal structure for your business:

Before starting any business it’s good to consult a good business legal representative. They will guide you in a better way than anyone. For small businesses creating a proper legal structure will save business owners headaches later.

Vision, mission and objective statements:

Mission, vision and objective statements are the main part of your small business plan. They may all look the same, but are entirely different.

Mission statement: Represents the values of the company.

Vision statement: Represents where owner want to lead his/her company, destination of the business.

Objective: Represents the definitive goals of the company.

Be honest with your Strengths and Weaknesses:

It’s always good to show SWOT analysis in your small business plan. This will help you to evaluate your compatibility with the venture that you are getting into. Be very careful in analyzing your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Conduct a thorough research on your vertical market:

Conduct comprehensive study about your vertical market. Internet is the best research tool from where you can collect authentic and realistic data on your vertical market.

Needs of your customers:

Understanding and addressing your customer’s needs is very important if you have to take your business towards success. Customers need and expectation from your product and the benefits of your product the most important parts of a small business plan.

Conduct a thorough research on your competitors:

Conduct a thorough research on your competitors. Focus on every small and small points, the products and services they are offering, their strengths and weaknesses, etc. competitive analysis will help you to make your product better than your competitors.

Be realistic with the revenue projections:

Revenue projection helps investors know that how you are going to reach the big numbers. Investor invests in a company in order to get profit. You have to show them that you have the potential to provide them large amount of profits. Be realistic with the revenue projections.

A small business plan is usually written for small companies in order to impress lender or venture capitalist for attaining loan. A professional and well-written business plan is significantly important tool for a young and established business. It must contain all important points that an investor needs to know about your company. If you want to impress investor and lender, than it is necessary, that the small business plan should be professionally written.

A business plan template is a product which can give your writing a significant jump start, shaving hours and maybe days off of your business plan development time. Rather than working on a plan from scratch, pulling together directions and guidance from multiple websites or sources, using a business plan template offers you direct and practical guidance on how to create a full business plan all in one package.

Guidance

The template should include directions to show how to customize it to reflect your specific business. This may come within the template itself or in a separate set of instructions. Regardless, the effect is like having a business plan consultant with you, nudging you in the right direction throughout your writing process.

Format

A business plan template comes pre-formatted, with appropriate fonts, colors, and sections. The cover sheet, table of contents, headings, and page layouts will be preset. All of this work allows you to sidestep concerns about your format and presentation style, and move on to focus on the ideas behind the plan’s major sections.

Graphics and Charts

A template may present many potential spots for graphics and charts to replace text. This will make your plan much more attractive and save you the time of developing these graphics yourself.

Financials

A financial model in Excel or a similar program will give you a significant short cut when it comes to the financial section. After entering your financial assumptions (such as average price, units you expect to sell, revenue growth rates, startup costs, and operating costs), the model should automatically generate valid pro forma financial statements in the format required by funders (generally, greater detail for the first one to three years, with annual numbers for the first five years of operation. Not only do you not need to be an accounting whiz to use such a template, but you can quickly and easily try out different financial assumptions and see how they change your statements and return over the years.

When writing a business plan free for real estate investing it is important to conduct research and understand the fundamentals of the plan. Business plans are used for many reasons, but the primary goal is to develop strategies to expand development and increase revenue.

Many tools exist for writing a business plan free. One of the most popular and easily accessible is Microsoft Word. This user-friendly software includes preformatted templates to help users develop a roadmap for success.

The Internet offers a variety of business plan templates; many of which focus on the various aspects of real estate. These niche business planning software packages allow investors to choose from a variety of real estate opportunities. Some focus on rehabbing properties, while others help develop rental or property management businesses.

Developing a business plan grants real estate investors the ability to establish business objectives. Strategic planning lets investors determine what actions are required to achieve their investing goals. Investors uncertain of which niche to persue can utilize strategy planning software to determine which avenue is most profitable.

Most real estate business planning software includes a series of questions about various types of investment properties. Answering these questions can help investors decide if they are suited for retail or commercial ventures, or residential real estate.

Writing a business plan helps investors stay focused on the task at hand and prioritizes business requirements. Developing a plan requires time and commitment. Rome wasn’t built in a day and a solid business plan can take several weeks to complete. This is particularly true if the plan will be used to obtain startup capital or expansion financing.

Most real estate business plans consist of 20 to 30 typed pages. The report should include financial projections, pie charts and graphs. The typical business plan includes the following information:

Executive Summary: This section is an overview of all information presented in the business plan. It should be concise, while summarizing the plan. The summary is the first thing lenders, investors, and business partners will review. Include attention-grabbing information to entice readers to review the entire plan.

Mission Statement: A business mission statement explains the focus of the business, what it stands for, and what sets the business apart from other real estate investing organizations.

Products and Services: This is the area where real estate investors explain the products and services their company offers. If investors purchase foreclosure or bank owned homes, explain how this service benefits distressed homeowners and lenders, while restoring property values to the community. Explain the process of buying distressed properties and the benefits offered to tenants or home buyers.

Market Analysis – Present both present and future housing market trends and describe how the business plans to capitalize on those trends. Include graphs and charts to emphasize market analysis.

Strategy and Implementation – Explain strategies involved for purchasing homes below market value and reselling for profit. Detail how these strategies will be implemented and the projected outcome of such investments.

Management Team – Every business requires management; even if the business is established as a sole proprietor. Include a resume of each management team member. Include their qualifications, experience, and duties they will perform.

Financial Projections – Real estate is an unpredictable market and forecasting financial projections can be challenging. Use information provided throughout the business plan to project future profits. If the business plan will be used to obtain financing, include a minimum of three years’ sales projections.

Writing a business plan can be a daunting task. Experts recommend breaking tasks down and working on one section at a time. Real estate business plans should be used to provide insight for developing and expanding your business. They should be reviewed and adapted on a regular basis.

Starting out is almost always the toughest part of going into business. Not only does it entail the gruesome process of product development, business planning, market analysis, hiring and so on and so forth but it also it is also the phase that requires a lot of money. Why? Because prior to starting, you would need to invest in equipment, lease a place, have some renovations done and secure business licenses. Of course, all those would not be a problem if you have a lot of financial resources to start with right? But what if you don’t? Should that be enough to discourage you from even starting? Well, it shouldn’t because if you need help with some starting cash, you can always get some by writing sound business proposals.

What have business proposals anything to do with your financial problems?

A lot actually, this is because through them, you may be able to convince some banks to loan you the amount that you need to get started. You just have to work on convincing them that your business is indeed bankable and it can help you pay the money you owe them including interests of course. Now that you know the importance of proposals, then the next thing that you should be figuring out is – how can you make a good one?

If you do not know how to start, here are some tips that may help.

1. Sell your concept. In most cases, a good concept is enough to get people to try your products, get interested in your company and have a bank invest in you. As such it is always best to start your proposal with a presentation of your genius and unique concept.
Note however that this presentation does not have to be a litany of what you intend to do. A solid 2 to 3 sentences will be fine.

2. Give your possible investors some facts. Do not just baffle them with impressive sentences that have no factual basis. So before you even think of writing your business proposal, make sure that you do some research.

3. Keep the formality in your tone of writing. A proposal is a formal document, so it is meant to be written following a formal style and format. If you can, try to avoid using slang or street language to get your point across. If you are not really adept in formal grammar rules and writing styles, then it would help for you to ask the assistance of someone who does.

4. Add graphs and other visual aids to your proposal. All these would help make your write – up easier to understand and more interesting to the reader.

5. Before submitting, make sure that you ask the help of someone to proofread your work. This is important because presenting an error – free write – up will help you come across as someone who is professional and meticulous in your work.

6. Finally, print your business proposals in a good quality paper as doing so would give your proposal something extra that all investors may be looking for.