Business plan development is considered a necessary evil by many entrepreneurs – it is the process of creating a document which will help them pitch to investors and lenders. However, funding aside, you will improve your chances of business success if you take business plan development seriously.

Planning Does Help

It is a simple “out” for entrepreneurs to throw their hands up, saying “If so much of business is about flying by the seat of my pants, reacting to opportunities and threats and they arise, and changing plans continuously, there is no reason to plan for my own purposes. Certainly, a plan will be required by funders, but that plan does not have to have any similarity to the tactics which are used in the end.”

However, planning does help, even if the plan needs adjustment down the road. A plan can zero in on alternative strategies which might work and throw out those which do not fit the company’s intended brand, customer markets, or competitive situation. Without a written plan, the company is in danger of trying out strategies which seem to make sense on the surface, but really lack a good fit with the company in the long-run.

Keeping the Team Consistent

Another major reason to plan is to keep all team members on the same track. Without a written guide setting out the mission and strategy to achieve that mission, different managers may develop their own ideas about the priorities of the company and end up working at cross purposes. To serve this purpose, the business plan must be shared between the managers at least. The managers must all work to pass on guidance to their staff based on the plan.

Setting a Reflective Tone

It is extremely easy for entrepreneurs and small business owners to be caught up in the action of running their businesses on a day-to-day basis and consider reflection on where the company has come from and is going to be a luxury. Being serious about business plan development from the outset sets reflection as a priority for the company, and a business launched on this foundation stands a better chance of continuing to use planning as a tool going forward. When taken in balance with action and awareness of the present situation, reflection and planning can serve the business well.”

For a business to be successful, the one thing it needs initially above anything else is a solid business plan. It is impossible to get any investor funding or a bank loan without a business plan. Even if you pay for the business yourself, a business plan will help you plan things out and know the direction you want to move in. Without a business plan, the success of your business and your consignment store is uncertain.

What Goes Into a Business Plan

There are several elements that make a business plan successful. Taking the time to put these elements in will not only give you a clear direction to move in with the business, but it will make your consignment shop more successful in the long run.

1. The first part of your business plan is what is called a Profile of Principles. This is where the work experience and background of you, the owner, is outlined. You want to show in your business plan why you are experienced and ready for running a consignment store and that is why you put this at the beginning.

2. Next, you will put in a Statement of Purpose. This is where you state what the consignment store will offer and what type of business you will be running. This only needs to be a few sentences long.

3. After the Statement of Purpose, you need to put in a Market Analysis. This is the point where you address the economy in your area and in the country, and assess the market viability of the consignment store. Some things to include is a location study, an analysis of traffic patterns, what market you are targeting and what your competition is like.

4. How are you going to promote the consignment store? This question is addressed in the Promotional Strategies section. You want to explain everything you will do to bring in business to the consignment store, including all advertising and marketing strategies.

5. The next section is your Operational Plan. In this section, you outline some facts about the store, how it is going to operate, what equipment you need and when it is open.

6. In the Timetables and Schedules section, you need to set a list of goals for your consignment store. These include how long it will take to remodel it before opening, when you will open and how soon after before you start turning a profit.

7. The next section, which is the Potential Pitfalls section, is vitally important. It is here that you address some of the problems that exist with your business. Many new business owners choose not to include this because they worry about driving an investor away. This is not the point of that section. The point of it is to show the pitfalls that exist and to show how you will address them. An investor or bank would rather have an owner who knows the pitfalls and combats them, than one who ignores them.

8. The next three sections deal with the finances. Since your business has not started yet, you will have to estimate how well the business is going to do. Talking to your accountant will help ensure you get accurate results for these financial statements. These statements are:

a. Monthly Estimated Fixed Expenses: How much you will be spending on payroll, utilities, advertising and rent every month.

b. Initial Capital Investment: This is how much money needs to be put up-front to pay start up costs including new signs, advertising and renovations.

c. First Year Projections: This is where you will address what you hope to make in the first year, and how you will make that profit.

A business plan does not have to be perfect, but it does have to show that you have done your research and that you know what you are getting into with a consignment store.

You don’t need to write a formal 50-page business plan to get the benefits of business planning. In fact, it’s often better to craft a workable plan that you will review regularly to make sure your business is headed in the right direction. Here are a few things to consider if you’ve been procrastinating or don’t know where to start.

Just start. Writing a business plan doesn’t mean you have to cover every section included in business planning books or software. It’s actually better to start with your own concepts for what your company should look like and what needs to be done – and create a plan that you can start using today. Don’t worry about formal structure. Your business plan doesn’t have to follow a formal business plan template exactly, so don’t worry if your plan doesn’t include every section. Think about what needs to happen in your business in the next few weeks and months. Then, write it down as best you can in bulleted format, as a mind-map, with pictures, or whatever makes sense to you. Start with an outline and work from there. Start with the most immediate tasks. What will affect your business today, tomorrow, next week? Create a plan for the next month – what do you need to do right now to grow your business, get through a current crisis, or attract more clients? Focus on the short-term and let your business plan evolve as your business evolves. Create priorities. Don’t think about your business plan as just an abstract concept. Rather, it’s your business, and you should use your plan to help you achieve your goals, work productively, and better allocate resources. What are your priorities? What is the highest and best use of your time? What are your income-producing tasks? Those are where you should spend the bulk of your time. Set metrics and benchmarks. Even if you hate numbers, having metrics and benchmarks to measure your business success is crucial to achieving your goals. At minimum, you should know how much revenue you must make each month to cover expenses. Keep your plan simple. If you don’t write up a formal market analysis, industry analysis, financial projections and other information usually included in a traditional business plan, they won’t clutter your working document. If later, you do develop them, add them as supporting information in your appendix. Be flexible. You will never have complete, perfect information to create the ideal business plan for your company. Rather, you must work with what you have. Yes, you will have to make assumptions and some things will be uncertain. Make sure you document these, so that you can edit your plan accordingly as you learn new information. Take responsibility. You are writing a plan for your business, so you need to know the details inside and out. While it is okay to speak with consultants and business planners for guidance, you – not them – should write your business plan so that you understand all the details and how everything fits together. You control the fate of your business, not outside professionals, so set goals you are comfortable with and action steps you can achieve.

Think of the components of your business plan as pieces of a puzzle. Just as you usually don’t have to put the entire puzzle together before you recognize the image, you can start building your business with just a few pieces. As you see how the pieces fit together, you can expand and complete more of the puzzle – but the key is to start somewhere.

Many people open their own business without proper planning and then wonder why it ends in failure. The most important thing you can do to prevent from joining them is the one thing that many new businesses fail to do; write a business plan. This is not the formal document you read about in books that you write and then throw in a drawer and never look at again. It is a plan that will allow you to determine the potential of any business you are considering and show you exactly what you need to do to achieve success.

Make sure your plan is a living document that is constantly updated and based in reality. Many people make the mistake of being too optimistic when it comes to projected sales and almost blind when determining expenses. The best way to keep your numbers closer to what you will actually see is to get advice from professionals. Have your lawyer and your accountant review your plan and give you feedback. The money you will spend for this advice will almost certainly be the best you ever spend. They can tell you if any of your thinking is out of line and they will probably offer suggestions you had not thought of.

Finally, you will want to consult with other business owners. Try to find owners from a wide variety of businesses, not just the kind of business you are considering. Ask them what kind of challenges they had to face when they started and how they survived them. Ask them what they would have done different.

You can put yourself in a safe and secure financial position by owning your own business, but to do so you need to make sure you go about it in the right way. If you write and update a business plan based in reality and seek out and follow the advice of professionals and other owners, you stand a very good chance of finding the business success that will give you the financial independence and security you seek.

Knowing that your business plan will be an important piece to your business success you want to be sure that it is written in the best possible manner and if you are not sure where to start then it may be worth your while to consider using business plan writing software. While you can look through the endless number of software programs at your local office supply store or sift through the many reviews online, this process will still leave you with some question marks.

There are indeed many choices for you, but there are four business plan software programs in particular that seem to come up in all the top ten lists and have many wonderful online reviews from customers who have used the programs with much success. These business plan software programs include:

Tags: Business Plan Software, Business Software, Business Success, Business Writing, Choices, Endless Number, Local Office, Office Supply Store, Question Marks, Software Programs, Top Ten Lists, Writing Software