BUSINESS PLANS : Develop a business plan and make more money

It's time for you to design a business plan, whether you're just starting a business or are already running one.

Developing a business plan helps your company survive and thrive. It can be fairly painless, even fun, and it's going to make you more money.

EXCLUSIVE: Read Rhonda Abrams' entire series on starting a startup

Of course, if you're just starting a business, going through the business plan process is absolutely critical. From time to time, you may hear people say it's not necessary to have a business plan, but what they really mean is that it's not necessary to have a "written" business plan. Often, that's true. Unless you're raising money from outsiders (or entering a business plan or start-up competition), you don't need to craft a polished, written business plan.

But you do need to go through the "process" of planning. Study after study has shown that those companies that develop a business plan have significantly higher success rates.

Why? Because the business planning process provides you with an organized structure to think through the critical aspects of your business. You're forced to think about aspects such as:

• What business you're truly in, helping you decide what projects and good ideas to pursue and which to put aside — at least for the time being.

• Who are your best, most profitable customers? For small businesses, developing a clear niche market significantly enhances your chances of financial success.

• What makes you unique? What gives you a true, sustainable competitive advantage?

• How much money will you need? When? For what? How much money will you realistically make? When will the cash flow into and out of your business?

If you're trying to raise money for your new company, you're definitely going to need a business plan. The first thing potential funders are going to say is "Send me your business plan."

Even if you've already running a business and you're not looking for outside financing, developing a business plan — or an annual business plan — provides tremendous benefits.

A number of years ago I was hired by a large software corporation to conduct business plan seminars in various cities around the world. It was a great gig — international travel to some of the most beautiful cities on the globe: Barcelona, Sydney, London. They hired me because I'm the author of the nation's best-selling business plan book, "Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies." I'd also developed business plans for over 15 years for companies of all sizes.

But I got far more out of these business plan workshops than just some fabulous trips. As I helped these other entrepreneurs craft an annual business plan for their companies, I turned to one of my employees who was with me and asked, "Why aren't we doing this every year ourselves?"

Sure, I had developed a business plan when I first launched my business, just as I had with other businesses I'd started. But our original business plan had been developed a number of years before. As usually happens, I got involved in the day-to-day operations of a growing company and didn't go back to looking at any of the fundamentals.

So when we arrived back home, we put an annual business plan process in place. As a result, we eliminated some activities. We identified the need and opportunity for some digital business plan financial templates, which led us to put company resources on creating those, and they still make me money to this day. We identified a threat to the company — too much of our income coming from one distribution channel — and diversified. A few years later, that decision saved the company.

In the very first year after we developed our annual business plan, my company had its most significant growth. And that's what a business plan can do for you — put more money in your bank account and help you sleep at night.

source: http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/abrams/2009-10-23-make-your-business-plan_N.htm

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