The Small Business Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Succeed in Your Small Business, 3rd Edition

Chapter 6

Writing a Winning Business Plan

Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.

—Tom Landry

Having decided on a business that seems both emotionally and fiscally right, the next step is significant: you need to draft a business plan. All of the research that you have done up to this point will now be needed. Maybe you think that you do not want to write a business plan. That is understandable. Writing a business plan is a lot of work. In it, you analyze what you are going to do and how you plan to do it. You crunch the numbers and dissect the competition. You scrutinize risk and ponder reward. It takes a lot of thought and research. So yes, business plans are work, and you may, in fact, be the only person who ever reads yours. But if you are going to create a great small business, one that exemplifies your values and earns a fine profit, then writing a business plan is vital.

The Road Map

Pilots would never fly from Seattle to Miami without a detailed, well-researched flight plan. The flight plan helps them figure out how they will get from one place to another. It tells them how much fuel they will need, what important landmarks to look for, and how long it will take to get there. It is their blueprint for a successful trip.

Your business plan is your version of a flight plan. It is your blueprint for a successful trip. Creating a business plan forces you to carefully think through your proposed business. ...