Business Plan





Road Map for Small Businesses



Business planning doesn’t sound glamorous, but to us at Comprehensive Consulting Solutions for Small Business, a Business Plan is a necessity. A business plan is the road map for the business and includes specifics about the company, goals, strategies, tactics, and more. It details how the business operates, where it wants to be, and how it will get there. A completed business plans is a working document that should be reviewed and updated on a quarterly basis – or at least annually. It is never a final document – always a work in progress. Uncontrollables do occur in the external and internal environment of small businesses, so adjustments may be needed to a certain strategy, tactics, or target end-user (customer). A business plan outlines the specifics of potential obstacles and how to overcome those. Some can’t be predicted, but the steps of how to handle obstacles, no matter what they are, should be established.


We have listed a few resources for building business plans below, but first let’s break down a couple of the sections within a business plan:


Company Description:

This section includes basics about the company – such as when was it started, where it is located and what areas it serves, why was it started, who started it, how is it setup (LLC, S Corp, etc), what are the ownership percentages, where did capitalization (funding) come from, what the business does, and what is the mission, vision, and values of the small business.





Marketing:

This section includes the marketing plan with specifics of strategy, ownership, and tactics. The point of this section is for the small business to think through how to market the business, bring in new customers, retain customers, related processes and measurement, and who will handle each component of the marketing plan. This sections also helps the entrepreneur identify the target customer and behaviors of how the target engages with the product or service. This is important to determine what marketing strategies and tactics will reach and engage the target customer. A SWOT Analysis is also included in this section - strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, which are important in identifying potential challenges and opportunities and how to capitalize on both.


Example of Specific and Measurable Marketing strategy and tactics:

Direct Mail - Mail 1,000 handwritten direct mail letters weekly to prospects aged 30+ within NWA that have multiple cars. Utilize Salesgenie or Cole's databases to identify the prospects to mail to. On Tuesdays, Sally will run a prospect list of 1,500 in Salesgenie. She scrubs the list against the Do Not Mail database and removes any DNS addresses. Then, Sally will print the list and give to Darlene who will address 200 envelopes a day for the next 5 days. Darlene will affix postage and put them in the mail bin for pickup by the post office. On every new customer, staff will be trained to ask the customer how they heard of us, so that the customer and source are entered in the new business log daily. Brad will measure results weekly using the new business log and meter/stamp usage to determine response rate and return.


Business Plan Resources:

  1. Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center - Business Plans
  2. Business Plan for Dummies - Business Plan for Dummies Cheat Sheet
  3. Entrepreneur.com - Business Plans: A Step by Step Guide
  4. Harvard Business Review (HBR) Video - The Explainer: How to Write a Great Business Plan
  5. QuickBooks - How to Write a Business Plan
  6. SBA - Write Your Business Plan
  7. Score - Business Plan Template for a Start-up
  8. VA.gov - Writing a Business Plan
  9. Zen Business - A Guide to Writing Your First Business Plan


Please note: the resources listed above aren’t endorsements by us – they are provided only as information. We were not paid by or affiliated with any of the companies listed.



Comprehensive Consulting Solutions for Small Businesses can help you build a business plan or update an established one. Call a Small Business Consultant today at 479-935-2488 to see what coaching or consulting solutions are best for your business!