If you are counting on outside investors to capitalize your startup idea, the details matter. Whether you are seeking an SBA loan, talking to venture capitalists, borrowing from friends or family, or entering yourself into Shark Tank, you absolutely have to know what you are talking about before you go for the capital.

Plan the Business

Simply filling in the spaces of a business plan template doesn’t cut it. It is critical to actually plan the business. That means applying the fundamentals of business to every aspect of your business idea. You must do the homework to ensure the idea is viable, the market has room for another competitor, and that your business model will actually turn a profit. No guessing is allowed, and any assumptions must be fully explained and justifiable. The details matter — they are what separates a good idea that is tossed around for years and a growing, profitable venture.

Know the Numbers

If you are going to talk to a potential investor, you had better know the numbers inside and out. Back-of-the-napkin estimates of sales and expenses are not enough. You need to know the standard ratios for your industry and how your projections compare. You need to know the break-even point under a variety of conditions and how the variable expenses will be affected under those conditions. You must have a reasonable target for how much it costs to gain a new customer…and your explanation must make sense. Throwing around ballpark figures is usually unacceptable. You must be able to discuss and explain the details of your financial projections.

Know the Competition

You also need to do your homework on the competition and market. Know the details of who they are, what they do, and how you are going to compete. If you can’t come up with a single direct or indirect competitor, you either have not done your homework or there is no market for your product. If you are entering a crowded industry, look for unexploited niches to fill and work through the details of how and why that will work. Study the target market to find out what they do, where they go, and what else they spend their money on.

Plan the Marketing

You will need a well-developed marketing plan for how you are going to get your customers to buy. Simply placing ads in the most convenient places doesn’t usually work. Rather, consumers are so inundated with advertising that you will need to find marketing opportunities that are targeted to exactly the right people. You will need details on the reach, expected response, and cost per sale of your planned marketing activities. You should have a plan for the initial wave of marketing and how it will be evaluated as well as some back up ideas in case the results are less than stellar.

The Details are Essential

If you are planning to approach outsiders for help in funding your startup, know the details before you ask. In fact, even those using their own resources to fund a startup would benefit from digging into the details before they launch…the failure rate would drop precipitously. But going in front of potential investors raises the stakes. Smart investors will expect you to know your idea top to bottom, inside and out. Get into the details — you will have a better chance of securing financing and a better chance to succeed.

The very first step of your business career should be to start creating a highly focused Business Plan. Without a business plan you are setting out on the route to failure – guaranteed!

Look at it this way, when your build a house you must lay the foundations for the house to stand. The same rules apply for any business; whether it’s a home based business, high street business, or even an internet business; you simply MUST HAVE a business plan.

The problem is for the majority of aspiring entrepreneur’s, they do not know what to include in their business plane, or if they do, they put the business plan at the bottom of their drawer, never to be seen again!

So, the first step in writing a business plan that is guaranteed to bring you success is to get down the basics. The basics should include details of you as the primary business owner, and also any other ‘key players’ in the business. Within these details you should include contact details for every relevant person, just in case you need to contact them in an emergency. Once you have gained all of the relevant details should now start to focus on the following areas:

Your business idea Within this section you should write down your business ideas. Don’t worry, a business plan is a working document, and therefore you can change the business plan as your ideas and creativity progress.

The aim of the business Within this section of the plan try to detail what the main aim/objectives of the business are. You should try to include short, medium and long term aims of the business. Where do you want to be in 3 months time? Where do you want to be in 12 months/36 months and 60 months time etc?

Your product and services Within this section you should concentrate on providing details that are relevant to your product or service. Always, and I mean always, aim for quality in everything that you do. Who’s going to make your product? Who’s going to deliver the service and are they capable of delivering the same high standards that you expect? Remember, without other’s help, you will not succeed in business.

Trade accounts Within this section you should include define details that relate to your trade accounts. Are you going to meet with them face-to-face, or are you going to communicate b telephone and e mail? It is very important that you meet up with your trade accounts from time to time in order to build up a relationship/

Business funding Within this section of the business plan, try to define details that relate to the funding of your business. Are you going to fund the expansion yourself, or are you going to seek capital from a third party such as a bank or venture capitalists? Whichever you choose, make sure you can afford the repayments!

Other areas of your plan should include Business premises, staff details, further costs and expenses, inventory and action for progress.

Beginning your own small business can be quite a daunting task. I applaud anyone that is willing to think outside the box, put in the endless hours of hard work and fully believes in new ideas and methodologies that can eventually lead to a successful and thriving small business.

One of the most crucial steps in becoming “the boss” and creating your own business is the business plan. This critical piece can make or break your professional future. It’s the tool that will enable you to clearly see your path and help you navigate any obstacles. Please, please do not take this lightly. Your business plan should become the bible to your business.

Clarity: Your main business idea should be clearly defined and you should be able to succinctly articulate all aspects of your services or products and how you plan to support each component. Passion: Don’t get overwhelmed with the details and mechanical structure of business planning. A wonderful technique is to simply begin with a rough outline and then go back and fill in the sub-components with a bit more detail. Your passion for your new business will take over and items will begin to flow from your mind to your pen (or keyboard.) Preparation: As indicated within my first paragraph, owning your own business can entail endless hours of hard work in the beginning. As your success grows, you can outsource several aspects or simply hire on some help. But, if you truly have the passion for what you are building and prepare accordingly, it may no longer become merely “work” to you. Create in your mind the commitment and disciplines that are needed to truly succeed. Investigation: Before purchasing a new vehicle, you may take it to a mechanic and ensure it is a sound investment and will perform as needed. You want to ensure you have dependable and safe transportation, right? Well, the same theory is needed when beginning a new business. Do your homework and investigate the market and the need for what you will be providing. Be able to show market analysis numbers and details on expenses and how profit will be created. Learn how to be different than your competitors and articulate this within your business plan. Resources: If you are reading this, then you are making wise use of a free resource. This is one very small example of what is available on a long list of resources for small business owners. Seek the knowledge of others that have been there and overcome many of the obstacles that you may see. You will likely learn a few helpful processes that can speed up a few aspects of your business. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! There are multitudes of government agencies, business professionals, trade associations and non-profit groups that are willing to help you succeed. So many new business owners wish to jump directly into what they know or do best and skip the vital step of business planning. The business plan is your roadmap to success. It is your “way ahead” and when completed will not only fuel your passion, but alleviate much unneeded anxiety. Take the time to prepare a solid business plan and don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed. You’ll be glad you did.

Business plan outlines are all different. The one common thread is that all business plan outlines help the writer answer the five W questions: who, what, when, where, why.

If any of you ever worked in journalism or as reporters, what you want to do when you investigate anything is answer the 5 W’s. A business plan outline is a concrete method for investigating a business idea so answering the 5 W’s makes sense.

Business Plan Outline of the 5 W’s

Who are you? Your business plan outline should detail your certifications, industry experience, and credentials. List the business credential that you’ve already received or those that you’re planning on getting in the early stages. This part of the business plan outline also lists the staff you project needing and what their qualifications will be.

What do you plan on sell? In your business plan outline you need to include a discussion of what it is you are selling. Are you selling products, services or both? Once you know what you are selling you then need to discuss the revenue and profit associated with your products and/or services.

This part of the business plan outline also includes your preliminary sales and marketing plan. What will you be doing to gain your clients and how much time and money will you spend doing so?

When did you launch or when do you plan on launching? This information is critical to outside investors and it will also help to keep you on track.

Where are you located? Here you will indicate the types of facilities needed to run your business. Will you work out of your home or rent office space?

Why is your approach unique? This is a critical question that your business plan outline must address. You need to explain your number one differentiator. Somewhere in your business plan outline you must make space for detailing the proposition that sets you apart from everyone else in the market.

The Bottom Line On Business Plan Outlines

Business plan outlines help you structure your answers to the most important business planning questions. These questions can be summarized as the 5 W’s. By answering these questions, your business plan outline will lead you to discover and detail the exact “how” of your overall business operations.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, Small Biz Tech Talk. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Every business in its conception has the same chance at success. The determining factor however depends highly on the business owner and their ability to plan strategically from day one how they’re going to transform their business from an idea, into a highly successful business within its industry.

Many people have the idea that starting a business is a simple matter of having a product, putting up a sign, and away they go…as if the business is going to run by magic just from their grand idea. That’s wishful thinking and it’s really too bad that it’s not like that, but the truth is that if you want a business that’s successful and not another failure like the majority of them, then you’re going to have to do some detailed planning before you even dare to venture out.

Most businesses that fail do so because of the lack of a good, detailed business plan. Your business plan is essentially your blueprint to get your from point A to point B, as well as to take care of all the turns and obstacles in between. In essence it’s like the difference in the individual who has well defined written plans for life as opposed to those who languidly float along through life. Which individual do you think is going to have the most success? Well, studies have actually shown that the person with the written plans has a much, much higher chance of success. Same goes for a business!

Now the part that actually gets most people is not that they’re all lazy and just don’t want to take the effort to design a plan, but the fact that they simply don’t even know where to begin with the creation of their business plan. They have no idea what needs to be included and what doesn’t, or even how to format it so that it’s not just a mess of papers in a binder that they’ll never look at again.

In fact, the best business plan should be one with all of the essential elements as well as one that’s fluid and not static, because if there’s one thing that’s for sure in life it’s change, and that change usually comes from twists and turns and obstacles in the road of life itself, and your plan has to have a way to take in account for those changes.

There are a number of things that you can do to actually learn how to create an effective business plan that’s going to get results. You could go to the library and do tons of research, or you could even spend the same countless frustrating hours at home online, and be shuffled from website to website trying to figure out which information is right. However one of the smartest things that a person can do is to take the quick and easy way out and invest in business plan software that is known to get results.

Of these, probably the best, most used, and most trusted business plan software available is Business Plan Pro from a company out of Palo Alto California called – appropriately enough – Palo Alto Software.

Business Plan Pro is a software designed to help you in as easily and smooth a process as possible to create an effective and efficient business plan that gets results, either with making your business a tremendous success (who doesn’t want that?) as well as setting you up with the best possibility of getting funding for your business if needed. No lender, capital venture firm, or even Angel Investor is going to even consider giving your business funds if you don’t have a well thought-out business plan. It’s that simple.

The software basically gives you exactly everything that you need in a simple step-by-step format to create your business plan, whereas it takes you by the hand, asks you simple questions about your business, and as you answer them it guides you to the next step in the process. It doesn’t get much easier than this.

You’ll have access to over 500 different business plan templates so that you can duplicate the most effective ones for your industry.

As well, and this is a huge part of planning a business since your customers are the life force of your business, you’ll be able to access market data for your business as well as cross check for nine thousand other industries. This is powerful stuff alone.

You’ll be able to print out your completed business plan so that you can refer to it over and over, as well as have it on your desktop to quickly make changes when necessary as previously mentioned.

Having business plan software is easily one of the most important steps that a business owner could possibly take for the probability of success of his or her business, and with Business Plan Pro you’re getting the best of the best. In fact, Amazon.com frequently lists it on their top ten bestsellers list…and it’s the same software that 50% of top Fortune 500 companies use for their businesses. If it’s ideal for these businesses, why wouldn’t it be for yours?