Business Planning
Creating a solid business plan is essential to the foundation of any business. Without a business plan, it will be difficult to obtain financing and hire employees. A business plan will define the company’s mission, vision, goals, objectives and company layout. The policies are rules which help to govern a company, and this may be in regard to employee behavior, as well as how they relate with clients. Both plans and policies greatly help in the decision making process for marketing, company expansion, and other things. Forming a business plan and company policies can often pose a problem for many people.
What is Included in a Business Plan?
In many cases it is greatly influenced by the company goals. Though there are particular issues that have to be incorporated into the plan, there is no specific content; it’s all based on the type of business. Nonetheless, a good business plan should include analysis of competition, customers, the industry and the business itself. LeBaron & Jensen has a team of legal experts to draft and review business plans to ensure they meet all Utah laws and employment regulations.
Details to include:
- Goals and objectives
- Budgets
- Milestones
- Deadlines
- strategies and the execution processes
- Means to keep track of task execution and implementation
- An analysis of strengths weaknesses, opportunities and threats(SWOT)
Pros of a good business plan:
- Strategy for both entry and exit- When running a business, it’s essential to invest only where returns are bound to be obtained, whether in the short or long term. However sometimes this may not go as expected and when this happens, it’s imperative to have a strategy through which to implement better plans. On occasion the best option would be to close down, instead of putting in more money as you will not be able to get it back.
- Legal backup- Businesses need to be run under state laws and regulations. Having a business plan means you will have all the activities of the firm laid out in writing, thus this can serve as proof for what the business is about; it may help prevent fines from legal or government entities.
- Financial support- A good, well-structured business plan displays professionalism, and when dealing with investors and shareholders, they want to be certain that they are putting in their money where it will grow. The plan includes strategy, and this should serve to convince such parties that their effort will be worth within the stated periods. Also, for a new business, if you need to obtain a loan from creditors, a good plan will better persuade them on why they should give you the funds.
- Capital – When you form a good plan, you are in a better place to know exactly how much you need to kick start, as well as how much more will go into the processes that will help the business grow. With a good business plan in place, and well-crafted policies, a business is bound to move toward the right direction, and this will enable it to start, or keep earning better profits.
For information on how to create a business plan, or to have your business plan created, contact LeBaron & Jensen today!