Business Plan

Only a small percentage of small business owners use business planning. And only a small percentage of small businesses survive at the end of each year.

Most people wouldn't think of building a house without a set of building plans. Without a building plan, it is doubtful your foundation would be adequate, you might forget key parts of the plumbing, and your kitchen might end up where your bathroom should be. The same situation will happen if you don't create a business plan. While you might think that you can keep everything in your head, your results are likely to be disappointing.

The business plan process helps you think through all parts of your business, establish a solid foundation, and puts you in a position for business growth. The parts of the business plan that you can't do or are hard for you, are the areas where you need professional help.

There are many business plan tools to help you - ranging from a workbook with simple questions to answer, to workbooks that help you create a detailed plan, to software with "fill in the blanks". These tools are similar to a house building plans - you can purchase ready-to-go plans if you are building a cookie-cutter house. You can also create custom plans, but that will take you more time. You need to decide the tradeoff between time and proper planning for your business.

 You can create a business plan online using this free tool courtesy of the US Minority Business Development Agency. You must set up a free online account to access this tool. Each page has instructions with a sample answer. 

To use this tool, click here to sign up for online account, then click on Business Plan Writer