Table of Contents
Executive Summary:
Having a background in both the Military and Banking Sector, I have an absolute appreciated for forward planning. However, I have encountered many entrepreneurs and business owners who believe they can get by in business without having to create even a basic business plan outline.
Whether you enjoy business planning or not, it is absolutely something that needs to be conducted. By going through the process of creating a basic business plan outline, you are forced to ask yourself some tough questions, and more importantly, find legitimate solutions that provide you with a base to move forward from.
Business Plan Outline Objectives
It Keeps you Focused
Having a basic business plan outline and planning in business generally helps you to stay focused on what you are trying to achieve. In business, it is easy to get distracted and spend time on tasks that deliver low value back to the organization, but which eat away at your productive time.
It Forces you to Evaluate Progress
If you have a plan, you have a goal, and you have a clear understanding of what you need to do in order to reach your goal. Having a basic business plan outline that you review on a regular basis means you have to determine your progress and evaluate how you are doing.
It Helps You Know When You Need to Make Changes
When you plan in business, and you evaluate your progress, you get a clear indication of whether or not you are on target with your performance or whether you need to make changes and adjust the way you are working in order to achieve what you set out to do in your initial or ongoing planning activities.
You Are More Committed to Goals that are Written Down
It is true that when you put pen to paper or write your goals down, they become more ‘real.’ Planning out your goals helps you to commit to those plans, and it allows you map out a defined set of actions to take in order to attain them.
Final Thoughts: Takeaways for SMBs
A key part of planning is research. If you are going to create a basic business plan outline, you need to research your market, your competition, and many different methods and tools you can use to help you meet your business plan objectives. Understanding what options are available to you now and in the future are also an important part of planning.
If you believe you might want to apply for an SBA loan in the future, you might benefit from taking a look at this comprehensive guide to SBA loans. This simplified guide will help you to know what options are available to and at what point in your business lifecycle you might be eligible to apply for funding for your business.
I wrote an earlier post on my blog about why entrepreneurs make terrible planners, and while that is true for many, it doesn’t mean that business owners cannot plan. The planning is only the start, and when you plan, you need to make sure you carry out and actually do what you intended to, and then review how things are going, and where needed, change direction or tactics to allow you and your business to succeed.
