National Write a Business Plan Month: Some useful tips on writing a business plan for your enterprise

In Todd County, Minnesota, entrepreneurs and business owners are crucial to our thriving community and economy. The chief mission at Todd County Development Corporation is to focus on entrepreneur assistance and small business development, and by doing so, the Corporation stays invested in the success of economic development in the county.

Do you own a business? Are you just starting out to own one? In either case, you can provide a sense of direction to your enterprise’s daily operations with a business plan. A well-written business plan can help you measure and guide your company goals. With December as National Write Your Business Plan Month there is no better time than now to explore how to create that key pillar of business success.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a 3 to 5 page document that outlines a company’s goals and strategies for achieving those goals. It also outlines the internal and external processes a business needs to meet its financial projections and customer expectations.

Why is it important to create a business plan?

Having a business plan in place is important for many reasons:

• Helps you monitor your finances
• Provides the opportunity for unique partnerships and investments
• Makes you appealing to top-tier talent within your industry
• Gives you a foundation from which you can refer to make further business decisions
• Helps foster business growth within and beyond your industry.

Tips for creating a business plan

Here are some tips for creating a well-written business plan:

Determine your reasoning for creating a business plan before you start writing:
To create a business plan you can use to make your business decisions, you first need to establish your expectations and the  goals you want to achieve by using one. 

Establish a time-frame for completing the goals you outlined in your plan:
By giving yourself a deadline to achieve your goals, you’ll motivate yourself and your employees to complete tasks in a timely manner. For long-term goals that require a shift in industry or brand identity, you might allow one to two years, whereas short-term goals like paying off short-term debts might be achievable within a few months.

Make sure you have reasonable goals:
It’s also important to set reasonable goals that can be achieved within the time-frame you set for your business. For example, with your budget, it might be impossible to create and launch four new products within two years, but, it might be reasonable to create and launch two new products within that same time frame. Revisit your company’s mission statement to remind you of your organization’s purpose and to help you prioritize the most reasonable goals.

A broad outline on how to go about writing a business plan

Business plans serve as an excellent guide to help you make decisions.  Here are some pointers to help you start writing one:

• Start with the executive summary
• Include your company description
• Showcase market analysis
• Outline the organization and management
• Describe your services or products
• Request funding
• End with the appendix.

Todd County Development Corporation (TCDC) is designated as a North Central Regional “Small Business Development Center” (SBDC) Outreach Office, providing “FREE” business technical services to pre-venture and existing businesses.  The TCDC SBDC office is part of the North Central Minnesota Small Business Development Center located in the Business and Industry Center at Central Lakes College, Brainerd.  We provide free professional consultation for your project or idea in confidence, work with you to determine the type or level of technical assistance required, and determine the resources needed to help make your project a success.  Our partner resources can be identified and put to work to help your business project succeed.  We additionally offer as needed, “Going Into Business” classes that will help get you on the right track to success. Visit our website http://www.toddcountydevelopment.org/ for more details. 

(Source: indeed.com and toddcountydevelopment.org)