3. Gather available resources to help you write your plan

– marketing research – business records – review your personal circumstances – analyze personal assets and liabilities – analyze financial assets and liabilities – do you have or can you develop collateral?

4. Set a planning timetable – beginning plans generally take a five year viewpoint – develop a system so that you can review and modify you plan every 3 to 4 months.

5. Consider possible outcomes about your business – research all possible types of sources of information about your type of business – consider external factors that will be beyond your control

6. Schedule time to write your business plan – identify a writing start date – set aside 15 to 60 minutes per day, at same time everyday to develop your plan

== Note == A personal friend of mine, Mike Phillips, started company Rock Solid Health and Fitness. He spent hours everyday writing his business plan and it took him about 2 months to complete. It was easily over 50 pages long. So expect to put in some effort when developing a great business plan. == Note ==

In conclusion, business planning is vital to long term success of your entrepreneurial endeavor. Whether you’re planning a small home business, an internet-based business, or a larger project, business planning will help you develop that project and protect success of that project for long term.

Darrin F. Coe, MA is author of E-book, Micro Loans: Finance Your Dreams. Available at http://dcoe1.tripod.com/microfinance or you can contact him at coe@ris.net or at http://dcoe1.tripod.com