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.

By using a free business plan template you can prepare the plan yourself and save your new company a lot of money. Although you can certainly hire a professional to prepare a business plan for your new business, consider this less expensive alternative.

One of the most intimidating aspects of starting any new business is developing a business plan.

A business plan is necessary for many reasons including management and finding the funding you need to get your venture off the ground.

There are many different free sample business plan templates online. It’s important to search for one that is reflective of the business you are starting. Obviously if you are launching a new craft business, a business plan template for a daycare business just wouldn’t work. You need a template that will work for you particular business focus.

If you are using a computer that runs on the Microsoft interface you’ll want a business plan template download that works in either MS Word or Excel. Excel can be somewhat tricky for someone unfamiliar with the program. However, it’s often the suggested program for spreadsheets so it’s very likely that you’ll have to adopt it at some point.

Once you’ve downloaded the template you’ll need to take a few moments to acquaint yourself with it. Although every program is different, you would do well to have all the business’s information close at hand so you aren’t wasting time searching for the relevant facts and figures.

There are several different parts to a standard plan that you’ll need to prepare. All of this can be done with the aid of a sample template. The parts are typically a strategy and marketing plan, profit and loss account, a balance sheet, a cash flow statement, cash balance graph, and operating ratios. An executive summary is probably the most important part. This may seem impossible to someone who has never prepared a business plan in the past, but the software walks you through each and every document.

Most programs will allow you to make adjustments as necessary. It’s a very good idea to start using the template soon after you decide to start the business as it allows you the chance to not only have ample time to prepare it, but also to get a feel for the program itself. Obviously as your business ideas change, that it will be reflected in the program.

Once you have completed the business plan it’s now ready to present to potential investors. It’s a good idea to have a trusted friend or relative who is savvy in business have a look over it first. This way they’ll be able to point out any inconsistencies or problems they see. Remember that any business plan can be adjusted and should be adjusted as the business grows and changes.

The two most important reasons for writing a business plan will help you succeed. The first is so you can convince a lender or a potential investor your business is worthy of investing in or lending money to. The second is to develop a good marketing plan.

To get started, you’ll want to conduct preliminary research. You’ll discover: your competition, and how they’re promoting and and marketing their products, services and business. You’ll quickly find how much easier writing a business plan becomes when you’ve done this type of research. That said, here’s a very quick way to start.

Use a Free Business Plan Template

You can download a free business plan template.(Be sure to go to the resource box and click the link to get yours.)

Review it and begin by doing some simple research.

Complete these basics and include them in your finished plan.

1. Describe your Business – What you do, what products you sell

2. How will you sell your Business,Products or Services- What’s your marketing approach?

3. Competition- Who is your competition? How does your approach or business vary from theirs?

4. You Operating Procedures – Describe your approach to business

5. Insurance- Make sure you are covered for liability

6. Financial Information should include: A 3-Year Proforma (Projections of earnings and expenses), A Balance sheet, A List of Your Equipment, A Break-even Analysis

7. Your Resume

Remember why you’re writing a business plan…Keep this close in mind as you compile your information and research data.

Are you writing a business plan to present to a banker?…Or will you use it to raise startup money from an investor. If so, you’ll want to create a compelling reason for someone to invest in you, your ideas and your business.

Bear in mind, they will also be looking for how much of your own time and money you have invested prior to seeking them out.

A banker will be looking at how this business is going to generate enough cash flow to pay back the money you are seeking. You are writing a business plan to sell him on you and your ability to

sell your products or services and make a profit. An investor is looking at how much money he’ll be able to make in return for his investment.

As you work with your financials, make sure you project sales and profits, so you can show your potential investment partners (the banker, private investors,etc.) your cash flow.

(Remember this: Cash flow and profits are two different things.) Cash flow pays your expenses…profits are what’s left over after you’ve paid your bills. Your banker will be looking at cash flow, investors will be looking for profits.

Be Thorough…Be Convincing…

But be sure you put some of your own money into the picture. You should consider at least 10%, but an investment of 25% is better. Remember, you are asking someone else

to take a risk on you. Ask yourself, why should they take such a risk, when you haven’t…Think about it. They will.

Writing a business plan should be one of the first tasks you take on when starting your business. If you look at it as a way to discover more about your chosen business, you’ll see it as fun and exciting.

You may find some surprises along the way, including opportunities you never considered before, ways to market, or even new products. Using a business plan template can ease your task.

Writing Business Plan Basics…Want to learn more? Find free resources tools and business planning templates when you click on the links in the resource box.

Once you have completed your research and made your business decisions, it’s time to write out your business pan.

First, go to http://www.microsoft.com and download one of their free business plan templates. After opening it, delete any section you will not be using.

By keeping only the parts you will need, you cut down on the amount of work deeded.

How through you are at writing your business plan depends on who’s going to see it? Will you be looking for a venture capital firm to invest in your business?

If so, then your plan will have to go deeper into details. If not then you can get by with a much simplified approach.

Use a professional writer to develop your business plan if you intend to seek financial assistance.

What goes into the plan? All of the information we’ve been collecting since we started our research.

Here’re the sections I suggest you have in your business plan:

1. Title Page

Just provide your basic contact details and the name of your business.

2. Table of Contents

List just the first page of every section.

3. Executive Summary

This section is where you give a high level overview of your business concept and strategy.

4. Vision Statement

Your vision statement should give details on the following:

a. Competition

b. Description of Products and Services

c. Pricing

5. Operational Plan

Your operational plan describes how you plan to run your business. Include information on all of the following:

a. Management

b. Employees

c. Policies and Procedures

6. Marketing Plan

In the marketing plan section you will outline your overall market strategy and how it will help your business.

Outline, at least, the following:

a. Financial expenditures for marketing

b. Marketing Vehicles to be used

7. Startup and Capitalization Expenses

Detail all startup and operating cost for the first year of business.

8. Financial Plan

Describes the financial health of your new company and how you plan to maintain and grow your revenues.

You will have to complete your marketing plan to finish the business plan, because the marketing plan is a critical step.

Implementing an effective marketing plan is critical to the success of your business. Make sure you do not skip this step!

A business plan is nothing more than a method to ensure you cover as many areas as possible. Not every plan needs to be fifty pages long.

If a simple plan serves your needs then use a simple plan. Starting a business isn’t rocket science; instead it’s mostly common sense.

If you are starting your own restaurant then there’s no doubt that you need some help. There is a lot to know and unless you have at least five years experience with owning your own restaurant then you don’t know nearly enough. So you have to tap into a wealth of information somewhere.

To learn how to own and operate your own restaurant you may want a free business plan. If this is the case, then you should probably think twice.

While a free restaurant business plan will show you how a sample business is run, it will not help you very much (if at all) with the specific information you’ll need to run your very own restaurant. In other words, while it will help you a little but and may not be a bad starting point, it should never be mistaken for giving you all the help you’ll need.

What you really need when you open your own restaurant is a mentor. You need someone who has experience owning his/her own successful restaurant(s) for several years. You need someone who can help you make decisions and will show you what’s right and wrong as you begin in the restaurant business. If you want to be successful with your new restaurant, having a mentor isn’t an option, it’s a necessity.

But not just anyone should be accepted as a mentor. First of all the person has to have experience owning and operating one or more successful restaurants for many years. Next, the person has to be willing to share his/her information with you. Beyond that the person also must be willing to take a look at your plans and help you develop your very own business plan – not a generic one but one that’s very specific with what you want to do with your restaurant. From there, your mentor should also be willing and able to help you move from the planning stage all the way to the actual operation of your business.

Of course you have to make sure a potential mentor really wants to help you, because it is extra work for the person. Also, the mentor needs to be willing to help you for at least two years. (Remember it usually takes two to three years to make a restaurant profitable.) While you’ll need a mentor less and less as time passes, the commitment will still be needed just in case.

If you are starting up your own business then maybe you want a free restaurant business plan to begin with. While free restaurant business plans aren’t bad, they also aren’t very useful. So if you want a free restaurant business plan to really help you, you should think twice. What you really need is a mentor. A mentor will help you get your business started and then he/she will also help you operate your restaurant as it gets off the ground. So make sure you don’t just settle for a free business report to help you get started with your very own restaurant.