One morning you might wake up and like a ton of bricks a great idea for creating and starting your online business comes to mind, and you hadn’t a doubt in your mind that you could turn it into a huge success. Start with the end in mind. Are you planning to start a new business? If you find a viable business you like, document your intentions, intended deal structure and what exact information you need to start your purchase due diligence.

Many small businesses start with a business plan based on guesses. The idea for you business plan comes to mind, its time to start the new business and you are all ready to go but the only problem is that you need money, so it is time to find the investors, angel investors and you will need to show them your business plan.

If you plan to jump into the fray, however, the first step is to create a solid business plan. The business plan you create will be one of the most important documents in your new businesses. It doesn’t matter if your business is just getting started or it is an existing business, creating a business plan helps you understand your business.

If so, have you started writing your business plan yet. In all honestly, when writing anything, even a business plan, it is the wording that makes all the difference in the world. Writing a plan for your project requires you to have an idea and vision of the whole project, the component parts of the project and the operating system behind your project.

The world is full of business-minded individuals, whether their goals are to lead a multi-million dollar company into the future, or simply start their own small business to provide services that are in demand and services they enjoy performing. You will need a brief outline of your business, your mission statement, goals, balance sheet, income statement, projected cash flow and plan for unforeseen hindrances.

Therefore, it is very important for the potential business owner to spend as much time and effort preparing and creating a business plan as they do finding the perfect location and the best restaurant ovens. Show why potential customers will award business to you, rather than your competition. One page of your business plan can have the following information: it can contain the potential partners, employees, board of directors, and you can show where the business will be in future years.

Angel investors want you to succeed and often they also like to give their input and if you end up taking their money for your startup, the need to realize that their input needs to be taken seriously. One of the great myths is that you only need a Business Plan if you are going to borrow money from a bank. A business plan of a start up business making no money — for example — is going to be bigger than the ones that are running and making money already. The angel and VC investors, are risking their capital money when they invest in your business, they hope in the long run they will receive returns that is worth many times what they put in.

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.

Businesses have the same problem with planning as individuals do with their New Year’s Resolutions…all the excitement and commitment fades away once the rest of life starts to get in the way. In business, it is easy to get lost in the daily grind and neglect the objectives that will set the venture up for greater success. For those planning to start a business in 2010, the weeks that have already passed without any forward motion can be frustrating at best, demoralizing at worst. The best way to handle these situations is to wipe the slate clean, regroup, and set a new plan. By organizing your time and tasks, you can accomplish the big ideas you have for your business.

If you are looking in the rearview mirror, it is very difficult to see where you are going. Don’t spend time obsessing about what should have been done. Instead, gather your thoughts and prioritize the things that need to happen from here. Select only two or three critical goals to focus on, and set a realistic plan for accomplishing those most important goals. Clarify the smaller steps, or objectives, it will take to reach each goal and set reasonable deadlines for completion.

Whether you are already in business for yourself or planning to launch a new business this year, it is important to take control of your schedule now. Whatever has been keeping you from getting things done is likely a result of poor planning. In addition to the well-defined and organized to-do list, you need to set aside specific times to reach your goals. That is, block out certain hours each week to focus solely on the goals and objectives that matter most.

Take a close look at your current schedule. If you just don’t know where the time goes, try jotting down what you actually do for a couple of days…you will very likely be surprised at what you discover. In most cases, there are plenty of hours wasted doing things that would never make the top ten in terms of your own priorities, and inefficiencies in your days that could easily open a few hours per week for more important efforts. Managing your time effectively is key for any business owner, and the sooner you master that skill, the easier your worklife will be.

As you open up time to focus on the selected goals, you will likely see an immediate increase in productivity and interest. Often, the work itself will open other ideas and opportunities to pursue. It is important to be flexible in entrepreneurship, but it is also essential to see things through. When new ideas or projects come to mind, evaluate where they fit in to the goals you are already working on. If the new idea is exciting, but not more important, make a note for the next round and finish up the current objectives. Sometimes, these new ideas can serve as great motivation for accomplishing less thrilling, but still critical, tasks.

If the new idea is more important (more profitable, more time-sensitive), either work it in to your current schedule or put another project on the back burner. Keep detailed, organized information on where you are on each project as you go — you never know when you will need to come back to it later. Most importantly, limit your focus to just the few items you consider the most critical. Too many irons in the fire can quickly become overwhelming to the point that nothing gets done.

The reality of making big plans is that it is difficult to sustain momentum over extended time periods. However, if you break the big plans into smaller goals and objectives, take control over your own schedule, and focus on the highest priorities first, you will have a far better chance of succeeding.

Using a business plan template is a great way to get yourself started on a business plan. The first thing to do is make sure you have a template that is specific for your business. You don’t need an exact match but you do want a broad category match.

For example, a restaurant plan is fine for a coffee shop- there really isn’t anything specific or different about a coffee shop that would make a coffee shop business plan different than the one you would use for a restaurant. Once you have the template then you simply start filling in the sections one at a time until you are done.

If you aren’t a great writer or you are unsure of your plans then start with the easiest sections to do first such as the management section which simply details your own experience and that of any partners or cofounders you may have.

Next you can work on sections like the business information section which just talks about what kind of business structure you will use and where the business will be located. The heart of the plan covers three main areas that need to be addressed sooner or later in order to build a legitimate and solid plan for a new business:

o What unique edge or competitive advantage the business will have that will draw customers and make the business viable
o Who the customers are and what they are going to be shopping for in considering this business
o How you will reach those customers in order to get them to buy from you instead of wherever they are going now

Many new business plan writers think the perfect business plans format is one that covers as many pages as possible and feels thick and heavy in the hands of the investor or banker they are handing it over to for review and possible funding. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that bankers and investors are busy people and as exciting as your business it to you they don’t actually have a lot of time or interest in wading through your opus of a plan.

What this means is that the perfect format for a business plan is one that conveys the critical information they will need to make an investment decision in the shortest and most efficient form possible. If this results in a plan that is only ten pages long instead of twenty five then that is fine.

The key thing to remember is that if you generate interest you can always provide more information later but you are not going to get anywhere by trying to drown people in information right off that bat.

Therefore, the best business plan format is one that highlights only the critical information that you need to put in a plan: who the product or service is for, how it provides a better solution than whatever is currently available, how big that market is and how you will reach that market. The plan must also address the capabilities of the team planning to pull this ambitious plan off with the money they are hoping to raise. If the business plan format you are using can do all that then you have found a winner – if not, keep looking.