Good business plans do not need to be long business plans. With rare exceptions, keep your plan to no more than twenty pages, including financials and appendix. If you can say what needs to be said in fewer pages, that’s even better. It’s unlikely anyone will actually read a longer plan, so don’t waste your …
Starting a Business/
Business Planning
Resources for Starting a Business
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It seems that the two phrases “strategic planning” and “business planning” are used interchangeably, much more than ever. I believe it’s better to see the phrases as different than to generalize them as the same. Strategic Planning Should Be Organization-Wide Strategic planning is best viewed as clarifying the overall purpose and priorities of the organization. …
The most important section of your business plan is its executive summary. That’s right. It’s the first thing that people read, and it should crystallize everything that’s compelling and essential about your business and how you will succeed with it. And you need to do that all on one page. Gulp. If you’re looking for …
A vision, during strategic planning, is depiction of the organization and its customers at some point in the future. Like mission statements, there are many different perspectives about what should be in a vision statement. Vision statements can depict the overall result sought by the organization. They also can be used to inspire and motivate …
Business plans tend to be mostly head, and mostly left brain at that. They describe a business idea for making and selling stuff, and good ones present strong reasons and compelling data. That’s important, and trumps so many plans that offer little more than grandiose assertions and generic arguments. But the heart of any business …
It’s common that a client will want to start strategic planning by “updating the mission statement.” After all, that’s what a lot of experts suggest. Mission statements get a lot of attention from writers and consultants. Many of them assert that the statements should be highly inspirational and easy to read. They give examples of …
The benefits of having a business plan include: Helping you to clarify your vision and deciding whether or not to forge ahead with the idea. Determining if your product and/or service has a sufficient market to support it and whether or not it will be profitable. Providing an estimate of your start-up costs and how …
