How to Write a Good Business Plan

1. Begin with the Executive Summary, this paragraph should summarize your entire business idea and should sell your reader on your unique business idea and clearly express your thoughts and business goals.
2. Next Write the Company Background Section, this paragraph will tell the reader about your company’s history. Write how long you have been in business, how your company came to be, where it is as a business today, and where you want it to be in the future. This will give the reader a good idea of exactly what your company is.
3. Write the Products and/or Services section. This section explains the products and services you offer in depth. This is where you will tell all about what you are selling and how much you are going to charge for your products/services. Include what your supplies and inventory are for products, describe how you will deliver your services to your customers, describe your general marketplace, and describe any research and development plans for your company.
4. Write your Industry and Market Section. This section will describe your industry and allow the reader to view how your business will fit into the grand scheme of things. You need to describe how your industry, is it a 50 billion dollar industry, is it growing rapidly. You also need to tell the reader about your competition, how you stack up to them, how you will offer products or services to your customer differently or better than the competition, and clearly tell the reader how you will effectively compete against the competition.
5. Write the Marketing Plan Section. This is a very important component to very business because without an effective marketing plan your business will not acquire new customers or make sales. In this section you should tell how you will include your product, price, place, and promotion. You will tell your reader what you are selling, how you will advertise it, your location, and how much you will sell your product/services for. This will describe how you will out-do the competition with your superior products or services and your extra features.
6. Describe your operating plans how you will on a daily basis create your products and services. You should tell about your location, your vendors or suppliers, and your personnel. This will show the reader how you are going to get things done and will allow you to effectively run a small business efficiently.
7. Write the Organizational, Management, and Ownership Section. This will describe who owns your business, what type of organization it will be, whether it will be a Corporation, Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, or a Limited Liability Corporation. You will also need to explain who will manage the day to day operations of the business, and try to convince the reader that you or your management team is capable of handling their position.
8. Write your Goals Section. This section will simply tell the reader where you see your company going in the future and what you want to achieve in the immediate future. Make goals that are realistic and tell of some strategies that will help you meet these goals.
9. Finally Write Your Financial Assumptions Section. This will give your reader a conservative idea of your investment proposals and pay-off. It allows you to show and explain the cost of your business to operate and start-up and should explain your projected sales and profits.

Now you have a solid business plan and can begin to work to build or grow your business.