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Business Books
Strategic Planning Books
Steven D. Peterson
Peter E. Jaret
Barbara Findlay Schenck
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Published:
May 23, 2016

Business Plans Kit For Dummies

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Overview

The fast and easy way to construct a winning business plan

If you're looking to establish, expand, or re-energize a business, the best place to start is with a sound business plan—and this new edition of Business Plans Kit For Dummies is here to help you get you started. From getting your hands on start-up money from investors to successfully growing or reimaging your venture, it offers everything you need to craft a well-defined business plan that will set you on a course to get your business moving in the right direction.

Are you unsure how to draft objectives for managers or deal with displacement? Are you new to hiring employees and need help grasping the ins and outs of creating a new business? No worries! Business Plans Kit For Dummies is brimming with all the tools and expert

guidance you need to bring a successful business plan to life and keep your company afloat in any economic environment. Including the latest tips and resources, and packed with lots of helpful examples and sample forms, it offers everything you need to craft a winning business plan and increase the likelihood your business will not only survive, but thrive!

  • Create a sound business plan and clear mission statement
  • Establish and assess your goals and objectives
  • Get start-up money in any economy
  • Increase your business' chances of financial success

If you're a small business owner, investor, or entrepreneur looking for expert guidance on developing and implementing a strategic plan to help your business succeed, Business Plans Kit For Dummies has you covered!

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About The Author

Steven D. Peterson, PhD, is the senior partner and founder of the management tool development company, Strategic Play.

Peter Jaret is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, Reader’s Digest, and AARP Bulletin.

Barbara Findlay Schenck is a nationally recognized marketing specialist and the author of several For Dummies books.

Sample Chapters

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business plans kit for dummies

CHEAT SHEET

The best way — make that the only way — to achieve business success is to have a solid business plan. A business plan is critical to finding a successful course through turbulent times. If you have a really great idea for making money (or doing good with a nonprofit), an effective business plan will help you make the most of it.
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No matter whether yours is a new or existing business, effective business planning is essential. Not only do you need to put time into the planning process, but you need to involve the right people as well. Effective business planning combines common sense and a few basic strategies: Set aside enough time for business planning.
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You will need to account for the digital future in your business plan. The digital revolution has transformed so many industries and so many markets that the world most people live in today looks very different from what it did just a generation ago. The music business, journalism, retail sales, personal transportation, healthcare, movie-going, and even dating have been turned upside down by the rise of the Internet and mobile devices.
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Your marketing strategy needs to be a part of your business plan. The idea of marketing — the process through which you get and keep customers — is as old as commerce itself, but how you market to today’s screen-connected customers requires radical changes to long-standing tactics and approaches. As you prepare the marketing plan for your business, take today’s realities into account: No matter the size, industry, or location of your business, it needs an online home base.
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If you plan to make your virtual business a reality, you will need to evaluate your idea before you launch into your business plan. Take time up-front to think through whether your business idea can succeed using a virtual organization. Ponder these essential questions: Is the product or service you provide a good fit for a virtual business?
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In 2016, under rules approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), private start-ups and small businesses can offer a share of their financial returns or profits to US citizens (called non-accredited investors in government jargon) who invest through crowdfunding campaigns.In other words, instead of receiving rewards of logo-emblazoned items or early-release products, equity crowdfunding participants will receive shares of private businesses.
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After you get the wording of your in-person introduction down pat, shrink your that part of your business plan’s message for presentation online, which is where many people are apt to first encounter your business description. Cover the following points: Convey what your business does, its target market, and what makes it distinct and credible.
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Even a virtual business needs a solid business plan. The most obvious benefit of a virtual business is tallied up in dollars and cents — the money saved by not having to maintain a snazzy suite of offices, a high-rent storefront, or other facilities. When a well-known business magazine headquartered in New York contemplated going virtual, it projected savings from rent alone at about half a million dollars a year — enough to give every employee a $16,000 bonus.
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The best way — make that the only way — to achieve business success is to have a solid business plan. A business plan is critical to finding a successful course through turbulent times. If you have a really great idea for making money (or doing good with a nonprofit), an effective business plan will help you make the most of it.
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You need a consistent set of policies in your virtual business’s plan. The virtue of a virtual company is that employees have tremendous freedom in their working lives. Managed well, a virtual company can be more flexible and efficient than a traditional nine-to-five, office-based enterprise. But with employees working as free agents distributed around the country — and sometimes around the world — virtual companies must establish specific standards and policies for operations and procedures, so that employees know how the business runs and what is expected of them.
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Each time you review and revise your business plan, actively solicit suggestions and ideas throughout your company and target audience. Useful ideas can come from anyone anywhere. Start within your business, asking employees the following ten questions: Is the company communicating its vision, mission, and strategic plan to employees?
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You need to include your remote team as part of your business plan. At the heart of the virtual business model is a radical new relationship with employees. Instead of punching a clock or showing up at the office, employees work remotely, often when they want to, and their only contact with management may be via phone, email, videocall and groupchat apps, or other project management and digital technologies.
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Leave room in your business plan for branding your virtual enterprise. Your brand is the set of beliefs that people associate with your business name. It mirrors the overall image and tone of your company, your employees, your product, and your customer service. Branding is reflected through everything from your name and logo to your business offerings to how product manuals are written and how employees interact with customers.
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Most businesses, especially when they’re starting up or planning for expansion, face periods when they need to rely on outside resources to stay afloat. Whether the funds come from the owner’s pocket, accumulated business profits, or outside funding sources, they provide the lifeline that keeps the business going when expenses exceed revenue for a prolonged period.
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You've finally made it! After many months or, perhaps, years of planning and saving, you're now the sole proprietor of your very own business — woohoo! But now the real work begins, and one big question lies ahead: How much should you be charging?Start with addressing how you should charge, then move on to determining an appropriate rate.
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Reward-based campaigns are the ones that have been around the longest and could be a useful part of your business plan. For years, they’ve been providing a financial lift-off for businesses that can’t qualify for bank loans and whose owners can’t call on deep-pocketed family and friends to fill the start-up coffers until product sales can cover business costs.
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If you plan on starting a virtual enterprise, you will need to account for a fast-changing climate in your business plan. Many observers are convinced that virtual companies will become increasingly common as advances in technology make it even easier for employees to work wherever they are. Transformative innovations will continue to yield new opportunities and new virtual business models.
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Writing a business plan is a big task, and no two business plans are alike. But most effective plans include the following major elements. As you write your business plan, come back to this list of key components to make sure your plan is complete and thorough. Company overview: Your mission, vision, values,
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Even the best-laid plans sometimes veer off course, usually as the result of unanticipated events or conditions. By gaining a clear understanding of your business environment, you open your eyes to possible threats on your business horizon. And by conducting a SWOT analysis you gain a clearer understanding of why to bolster business strengths and overcome weaknesses to address external factors that could rock your plans.
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If you plan to operate a virtual business, you need to compensate for working without headquarters. A headquarters or home office is more than a bunch of rooms and corridors. The space also reflects the hierarchy of a business and how it operates.For example, in the Washington, D.C., headquarters of a well-known magazine, one floor is devoted to editorial, another to photography, and another to art.
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Planning for your virtual business means accounting for the technological necessities. At the heart of every successful virtual company is a flexible IT network that allows employees, clients, customers, and subcontractors to interact smoothly and efficiently.Teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and groupchats allow participants from around the country or around the world to connect from far-flung locations.
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As you draw up your business plan, give serious thought to how changes in your industry could alter how you conduct your business. Mobile digital devices and other disruptive technologies have transformed not only the way companies interact with customers but also the way they run their operations and conduct business.
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Reeling in new customers keeps your business growing, but you need to retain those customers in order to leverage marketing costs and build a solid customer base. Providing a great product or service at the right price is crucial. So is individualized and outstanding customer service. Those are fundamentals. Without them, loyalty will never be achieved.
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Lots of businesses start with a great idea. Writing a business plan can help you refine that great idea and put it to its first test. Ask yourself these questions to evaluate your idea as you assemble your business plan: Is your business idea something you really want to spend time doing? Do you have the resources, connections, skills, and expertise to turn your business idea into a success story?
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The word rapid is inadequate to describe the speed of change your business faces: shifting population demographics, global trade, digital and technological innovation, climate change, new rules and regulations, economic and political uncertainty, transformations in healthcare. The list of possible challenges — or opportunities — goes on and on.
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Big data is the term for collected facts and figures that reveal trends and patterns for your business plan. It used to apply to those businesses with big operations and big budgets, but today it’s for everyone because data is now so readily accessible, and data analysis tools are often free or almost-free.To leverage available facts into information that help you define and predict your market and customer conditions, take these steps: Set your sights.
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