Family businesses account for 80 to 90% of all business enterprises in North America 1. They also provide 60% of U.S. employment, 78% of all new jobs, and 65% of all wages paid 2. But, essentially all of these businesses will lose their primary owner by death or retirement by the middle of the century. For the business owner, retirement is a light at the end of the tunnel. For others it is a sense of freedom and reward or an oncoming locomotive at full speed. A business is only as valuable as the return a person is able to derive from ownership.

Seven out of ten businesses fail each year due to improper succession planning. Comprehensive succession planning may be the most critical issue facing the American economy over the next few decades. The creators / controllers of this wealth must decide how to best pass their ownership interests to subsequent generations while still trying to perpetuate these entities. Equity may easily constitute more than 90% of a family’s financial security, retirement nest egg, and potential legacy. According to statistics only about 30% of all businesses will pass to a second generation, less than 10% will pass to a third, and about 4% will go to a fourth 3. The three leading causes of failure to transition to the next generation are:

1) Inadequate estate planning
2) Insufficient capitalization
3) Failure to prepare the next generation

All of this leads to an increasing demand for better planning. It also leads to a need for integrated training systems, more carefully administered business issues, and the responsibility to think, act, and operate in a more formal business-like fashion.

The Succession Solution

A comprehensive succession plan will address the needs of the family, the desire of the owner, and the demands of the business. There must be a healthy progression in the life of a viable family enterprise and the current owner must connect the past and present to the future through a process of planned transition.

A proper transition is built on the framework of the following five steps:

1) A dynamic business plan
2) An ownership transfer / leadership development system
3) Wealth creation / capital management
4) A fully funded retirement option design
5) An estate plan

To avoid becoming one of the seven out of ten businesses who fail each year due to improper succession planning it is essential that a business understands and implements these five steps. “There is no escaping the passage of progress,” says Jeff Moore, local business planning expert. “Threats from outside, the lack of qualified skilled employees, and constant legislative administrative pressures did not all happen overnight.”

Whether you want to get your company up and running as best as possible or develop a new plan for your existing business, business plan consultants can really help you to set out your aims and objectives. This is an extremely important document for any business, so taking on expert advice can really help get your business off to the very best start possible.

There are a number of areas in which a consultant can help a business with their plans, including new businesses as well as those who want to develop what they currently do. They can take into consideration all of your ideas and ambitions, and put it together into a plan that really works and will ensure your business is on the road to success. They will do all the work for you, such as the market research as well as working out the strengths and weaknesses of your business.

Getting a consultant to help you with your plan can really ensure your business has a road-map to success. This can ensure that your finances are never at risk, as well as helping you to secure funding if you require it. It is notoriously hard for new businesses to get the funds they need, which is why a solid business plan is absolutely essential for your new venture.

Business plan consultants will have years of experience which is absolutely invaluable for your business. When you hire them, their cost will be more than outweighed by the benefits your business will reap for years to come. It can save both time and money!

A business plan is a document that will help you to create a successful UK home business and outline your objectives, providing you with an idea of how it will work financially.

Why you should have a plan

It is incredibly common these days for someone who is thinking of starting a new business to create a detailed plan. Often these will be needed by the bank before you can obtain a business loan if you require one. However, even if you do not require a loan or financial backing you could greatly benefit from having a plan in place.

By having a plan set out you can establish if your expectations are reasonable. It will also enable you to work out the amount of money you need to earn and how much work you will need to make the business financially viable. You can set a business plan for whatever time frame you feel necessary. If you set yourself a specific goal then you are more likely to stick to this and achieve it by having a plan in place. Often those who do not have a plan find that it is easy to lose their way.

Items to include

A good plan should include well thought out ways of meeting the goals that you have set for your business. This should mean that you have also carefully thought out the best way to achieve your goals. A business plan is after all no good if it simply consists of a list of objectives that you have no way of meeting. To have a successful business you need to plan ahead and make sure that your UK home business is viable which is why having a business plan is important. The plan will also contain well thought ideas on the best ways for you to find customers and the budget you have for marketing.

If you have no experience of creating one then you will find that there is a lot of expert help available on the internet. This will give you an idea of the things you need to include and areas that you need to focus on along with the best way to write one. Even better, if you know someone that has made a UK home business plan before then ask for their help.

We now come to probably the most feared, most avoided but the most important task in beginning a business. Many believe that a business plan is only for those seeking outside financial help like from a bank or investors. Others believe that this is just unnecessary paperwork and that the best business plan is in their heads. Some who believe in it do so only half-heartedly and come up with a one or two page plan of how they see their business progressing. All these approaches are misguided and without proper direction, the business is more likely to sink than grow.

The most important point to remember about a business plan is that it is first and foremost for you! It is to layout a concrete plan to successfully start, manage and then grow your company. It will force you to think and invest in strategy planning, market research, financial planning, operational details and marketing plans.

However, we will concede that it is not easy to immediately start out working on a business plan and every business plan will need working and reworking. We will try to provide you first with some general guidelines on what a good business plan should include and once we have you thinking in that direction, we will start helping you fill out all the details in the business plan.

Let us first outline what a well written business plan will contain:

- An attractive statement of purpose – when people ask you what your business does, this is the first statement you will be using.

- Complete description of who you believe your customers will be, any special niche you are aiming for as well as a general strategy for winning over that niche.

- Complete description of your product or service. Mention what are the highlights and what could be its challenges, production or selling wise.

- A well compiled list of people who will be working with your or advising you in various aspects. Mention clearly what their skills and areas of expertise are.

- Details of financial plans that will show how you plan to finance the first few years and expected revenues and expenses

- Major risks that you may face before your business settles down and major advantages that may help it grow well.

As you can see, your business plan is more like a map to guide you through, at any point in time. If you have given sufficient thought to planning and written down the steps in sufficient detail in your business plan, no matter how many ups or downs there are, you should be able to stay on course. In fact, one expert likes to compare a business plan to the centerboard of a sailboat. Irrespective of how the wind is blowing, your business plan will always help you stay on course, headed in the right direction.

If you would like to look at some samples before you begin on one, you can speak to banks or business websites, which can help you by showing samples of a few business plans. You could also look up one of the thousands of books in your local library, which should contain a sample. However, treat the sample as just that. It is meant to give you an idea of what are the essentials that should go in a business plan. Do not worry if your plan is too long or short, simple or complicated. What should matter to you is that it is written in a manner that you can follow easily, contains information that is helpful to your business, identified possible challenges that could arise and outlined plans for overcoming them.

The start-up phase of a new business can be confusing and overwhelming without definitive guidance to tackle the start-up maze. A business plan is the necessary road map to incredible entrepreneurial success. Do you need a business plan to start a foreclosure cleanup business? No, not unless you’re planning to borrow money to start. Should you write a business plan? Yes. Absolutely!

Road Map to Success

A business plan is simply a road map that will assist you in planning your foreclosure cleanup business. You’ll discover things about yourself, your business, and your partner (if you have one) before you even start. You’ll change some things before you start as a result of doing a business plan, too. It’s best to work out the kinks on paper, instead of when you’re head-first into your new business.

Business Plan Sections

A business plan is comprised of the following sections, at minimum:

1) Description of Your Business

2) Marketing Section

3) Finances Section

4) Management Section

Using the SBA to Guide You

The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) is one of those independent agencies of the federal government that is an invaluable resource for small business owners (for start-ups and established businesses alike).

Back in 1953, the SBA was created to aid, counsel, assist and also protect the interests of small businesses. The SBA helps and encourages Americans to start and build businesses. Visit sba.gov for some very detailed information on writing a solid business plan for your foreclosure cleaning business.

Counselors of America’s Small Business Owners

For more assistance with writing your foreclosure cleaning business’ road map, reach out to the Counselors of America’s Small Business Owners (“SCORE”). SCORE, also known as the “Service Corp of Retired Executives,” is a partner of the SBA and will guide you step-by-step in writing an effective business plan for your REO trashout business. They even have business plan templates on their website in both PDF and Word formats.

This is a phenomenal nonprofit group that helps create over 20,000 businesses per year. With an increasing network of over 12,000 volunteers, these executives and volunteers have been in your shoes and can assist you from the startup phase, through growth, financing, licensing, branding, marketing and even selling if ever you decide to sell your business one day.

You can call the Counselors of America’s Small Business Owners for one-on-one counseling, or you can opt to attend workshops. You may even choose to partner with a mentor who has been in your industry. Through this mentoring relationship, you can fondly pick your mentor’s brain over and over again and gain valuable insight on how to go about planning a successful enterprise.

The SCORE organization is one of those beautiful things we pay for with our government tax dollars, so use them. Visit the organization online at score.org.

Value of Business Planning

SCORE sums up the value of a business plan beautifully: “The real value of creating a business plan is not in having the finished product in hand; rather, the value lies in the process of researching and thinking about your business in a systematic way. The act of planning helps you to think things through thoroughly, study and research if you are not sure of the facts, and look at your ideas critically. It takes time now, but avoids costly, perhaps disastrous, mistakes later.”

Beginning of Independent Wealth

Remember, though it can be arduous, this necessary road map you will create during the planning phase can be the beginning of independent wealth for you as a new business owner for the rest of your life. Good luck as you roll of your sleeves and get started planning your foreclosure cleanup business.