6.0 Resources

FINISHING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN: WHAT’S NEXT?

6.1    Why your business plan is never really done

While it may be a source of frustration for those of you who would like to close the book on your business plan once you launch your start-up, the fact is that a business plan is never really done.

That’s because most entrepreneurs rightly use their business plan as a roadmap after they secure funding or a loan.  This is mostly true of the financial projections section.  As a result, you’ll want to continue to refine your numbers to more accurately reflect what they really look like as your business grows and changes. This not only will help you keep on top of your numbers, but will also help you develop better strategies, wisely plan for future growth, and prepare for the worst case scenario, should that happen in poor economic conditions.

6.2    Reality Check: is your business idea really plausible?

Once your business plan is at the point where you feel it’s ready for review by investors or lenders, it’s time to take a serious look at what you have created.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do my financial projections look realistic?
• Do my financials demonstrate value for investors or show my lender that I’ll be able to repay my loan?
• Does my market analysis and research sufficiently support my argument that my start-up could be profitable?
• Is my business plan readable and clear?
• Do I clearly demonstrate that I’ve got the management and brainpower to really make this start-up happen?

The difficulty, of course, is it’s often hard to make these assessments yourself, particularly when you’ve spent weeks and sometimes months crafting your business plan.  Give your business plan to friends, family members, or anyone else whose opinion you trust and who has some business acumen.  Solicit their advice and listen to whatever criticism they may have.  The bottom line is that you want to make sure you have a document that demonstrates that your idea is plausible in a clear, direct, and compelling way.

On occasion, your research may suggest that your product, service or business is just not feasible and cannot produce a profit.

Life is full of ups and downs and you must roll with the punches.

The good news is that hopefully you stayed employed while writing your business plan and you prevented yourself from losing thousands of dollars with a business that could not succeed.

Keep brainstorming because entrepreneurs never stop strategizing their next move.

6.3    What’s next?

Once you’ve completed your business plan, the next step is generally to seek an investment or a loan with your business plan.

This topic is covered in Funding Your Business and you’ll also want to check out Business Plan Presentation.