No secret that having a solid business plan with a concrete business plan template will help set the foundation to build on from your initial idea. Without it, you may struggle to get the funding you need and lack direction during the early stages. With many businesses failing within the first year, to have the best chance of success and to exceed your goals, you’ll need a considered plan in place. Here are 5 steps to help you create a solid financial business plan.
- Set Clear Goals
Your goals need to be clearly laid out and specific to what you want to achieve. This’ll ensure you can stay motivated also, as if your goals are too broad or general you may become disillusioned quickly if you don’t reach them. Setting short term and long term goals for your business is a great place to start and making them realistic will make them feel more achievable. This also needs to be clearly defined between essential needs and wants. If you set too many goals based on wants, you may lose sight of what’s important for your business in the early stages such as staff, resources, equipment etc.
- Sort Your Personal Finances
It can be easy to neglect your personal finances while in the midst of planning your business, hoping that any short term issues can be eventually resolved by future success. However, the risk here is that nothing is guaranteed, so reviewing your personal finances and keeping these separate from the business is key. You have to consider the unexpected, so if an emergency bill arises you’ll want to be prepared for it. If you already have a poor credit history, you can seek out bad credit payday loans to help resolve a short term position, but you will need to ensure you can afford it. Review your outgoings and reduce expenditure, focusing on your essential bills as a priority.
- Research Thoroughly
If this is the first time you have put together a business plan, you won’t want to go into it lightly. The best way to prepare is to thoroughly research existing business plans for the industry you want to get into. You’ll need to include plenty about your current financial situation, and this will need to be reviewed to outline the strengths and weaknesses, creating a profile of you. All of this will help you devise an executive summary that makes up the opening of your business plan and really help sell your idea to potential investors and lenders when looking for funding.
- Create Drafts Before Finalising
Rarely does an entrepreneur create a solid business plan in one sitting, so if your first draft needs refining, this is perfectly normal. It can take a lot of time and effort to turn a business idea into a solid plan, so be prepared to create numerous versions until everything is included. It’s normally best to secure the services of an independent financial advisor to help provide an impartial view of your plan. Having this expert analysis will help discover any essential parts missing and where more work and detail is needed.
- Double Check Everything
As a last point, reviewing your business plan before you send it to prospected lenders when looking for business loans or investors is crucial. This is where you’ll need all your projections and figures to make sense and be grounded, otherwise, those who may be interested in funding your idea may quickly be put off. Seek advice where you need it and refine your vision until it’s as solid as it can be.