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Writing Your Small-Business Plan
The first thing you need for a new business is a roadmap. A plan gets down to the nits and grits of launching and running your business. It forces you to define your goals and how you will achieve them.
A good business plan includes a current and projected balance sheet, estimated expenses and estimated income.
If you fudge the numbers, you're cheating yourself and cutting the chances of success.
The business plan can be used to help you allocate time and money efficiently and, if done properly, will underscore unforeseen problems or weak spots.
Without a plan, you can forget about walking into your local bank for a loan. It's the key to securing financing, because it will show prospective lenders how you will handle costs, including personnel, supplies, rent, utilities and other overhead.
Five ways to impress your lending officer.
1. Anticipate Questions
When a lending officer asks you how much you need, your answer should not be: "How much can you give me?" Be able to break down in grainy detail what the funds are for--say, working capital to cover a 30 day gap in collecting receivables.
2. Prime The Pump
Banks specialize. Tap a plugged-in financial adviser with lots of local contacts to determine which banks are more amenable to certain kinds of loans. It will save valuable time.
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The Gateway $100,000 Edge Online Seminar Series Archives
If you missed these seminars, you can still watch them! Simply click on the following links:
- Michael Gerber, a business visionary & best-selling author, talks about the small business revolution
- Take a virtual flight toward success with Terry Jones, the marketing genius behind Travelocity
- Let Debbi Fields teach you the secret ingredient behind Mrs. Fields Cookie’s success
- Watch syndicated business columnist Jane Applegate discuss how to Clear the Way to Unlimited Success
- Find out how Paul Orfalea took a closet-sized printer and turned it into Kinko’s
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