A good Business Plan can be your
"Roadmap to Success"

A Matter of Survival

Whether you are just starting out or have a well established business but don’t have a website, you need to seriously consider one and make it an integral part of your business plan. Having a Website for your business today is often not an option - its a matter of survival. There are 220 million internet users in the United States alone, and over 1.5 billion worldwide and growing. The consensus of experts today is that it is imperative for most businesses to have a website presence, whether the business is local or international in scope. A website presence can be as simple as an informational site or a full fledged ecommerce site, and should be an integral part of your business plan.

It Doesn't Have to be Complex

As stated above, a good plan does not have to be complex, although many of us tense up at the though of having to write one. Writing a business plan for a storefront, bricks and mortar business or an online business requires a similar process. How complex it is naturally depends on the size and nature of the business. Many small or even mid-sized businesses for that matter are not that complicated, so a simpler plan would be appropriate. One should think of a plan simply as a roadmap to success, something to keep you focused and on track to meeting your goals. If you believe that it is important to know where you are going, then it is important to have some form of plan. Here is a business plan template to get you started.

Decision Making Tool

Business plans are a decision-making tool for any size business, whether a single proprietor, mom and pop, small, mid-size or large company. It is important to note, there is no preset content for a good plan. Instead the content and format is determined by the goals you establish and your audience. If the plan is just for you or internal use within your company then it can be less formal than if the audience was a financial institution like a bank where you were looking for funding. Whoever your audience is though, it should contain whatever information is needed to guide you and your organization in achieving the goals established in the plan.

Who Should Prepare A Business Plan

If you are just starting out it is naturally important to prepare a plan. It can also be important for existing business owners to go through the process of preparing a plan if they don’t have one, or revisiting their plan if they already have one. Those wanting to start a business and needing some new business ideas can check out this list of ideas. This list of categories and subject areas are not an all-inclusive, but can help you narrow down area(s) of interest that you can brainstorm. If you already have a business, you already know what you are going to sell but you may want to consider what additional products or services you can offer to increase customer satisfaction and profitability.

NEBS, a provider of business and computer forms, offers a free plan template that allows you to prepare a plan online.

If You Already Have a Business

If you have an established business, you already know what you are selling and what the general theme/concept of your business is. However, you may still want to revisit your current plan or develop a new one if you plan on putting your business online. Assuming your want to be online to leverage your existing business, the next step will be to determine how to present it to assure that it is profitable. To do this you can…

• focus on how you fulfill your customers’ needs

• highlight a specific segment, product or service within your market

• offer a particular or unique approach to your product or service

• consider what additional products or services you can offer to increase customer satisfaction and profitability.

How you choose to present your business online is up to you.

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