1) Rome Wasn't Planned, Funded, and Built in One Day ****************************************************** The process of putting together a coherent business plan will probably take longer that you estimate (an incoherent business plan on
other hand can take as little as 20 minutes). Along way you will probably stop and say, "you know, we haven't really thought our strategies out very well, have we?" or "we don't really know our competition as well as we thought we did," and you will take time to hone your strategies and get up to speed on competition before you finish plan and present it.2) Smaller Bites Are More Digestible *************************************** Start plan with an outline. By breaking large task down into smaller components, task will not seem as daunting. A business plan can be viewed simply as answers to a series of questions.
3) Style Points Count, Too. *************************************** The visual aspects of document should not be overlooked. Color charts, tables of data to break up text, paragraph headings, varying typestyles--all of these contribute to making plan easier to read, and to more clearly explain business opportunity.
4) To Write A Plan, Read A Plan. ************************************** People who write novels are generally those who have read many, many, stories. They learn their craft by studying works of their favorite authors. You need to do same thing. Look at examples of business plans to get in your mind writing style, sequence in which ideas are presented, and parts to a plan. Sample plans are available on Internet at sites devoted to assisting entrepreneurs.
5) Pick A Section, Any Section ************************************* If you have never written a business plan before, you may have difficulty getting project started. It will seem as though you have an awful lot of blank pages staring back at you. To get plan moving, start with section that is easiest for you, or of most interest.
6) Spend Quality Time With Your Plan. ************************************* People often underestimate effort and energy it takes to write a business plan. They try to write it at night or when everything else at work is finished, in other words, when they are mentally and sometimes physically exhausted. A better approach is to write plan when you have energy available to put into it: go in early and think and write for an hour before phones start ringing.
