Business plans are a part of doing business. I spent years in industry planning expansion of existing businesses where the facts are pretty well known and the success is high. I was involved in the construction of five factories, some of which were new areas of business for the company. Existing companies must budget for new expansions and sometimes they must borrow money to make the expansion possible. A business plan for new business whether part of an existing business or a new business is absolutely essential if funding is involved.

Even if funding is not required a business plan should still be developed. If you are new to this process, don’t try to do it yourself. Get some help from local sources. Many educational institutions and governmental agencies help new business start ups and they will help you with your business plan for new business.

Having said that, you should learn what a business plan is before you start. That way you will have time to generate answers to questions that must be answered in your business plan for new business.

You will need what is called an executive summary to start your plan and you will want to list your objectives, mission, and the keys for achieving success.

If you were writing a plan for an expansion of an existing company you would need a summary of that company, its ownership, and history. In the case of a new company you would describe where you are in company organization and ownership and where you hope to be at some time in the future.

Next you will want to describe any existing facilities and locations or planed facilities and locations.

Next you will need to describe the products and services you plan to provide. Explain what your competition is doing and how you plan to compete. And explain how you will produce your products along with the technologies you will use. Show how you will obtain your raw materials and equipment and how versatile your operation will be in providing future products.

You will need to explain why the market will support your products over those of your competition. You will need to describe that market, its past history, and what is expected in the future.

Not going into too much detail here, you will need to describe your budget including all purchases of materials and equipment, facilities, and any special cost such as training of employees, etc.

You will need to describe your competitors and decide how they will respond to your entering their market. Describe your marketing plan, how you will manage the business in respect to daily operations and employees and service, how you will distribute your products or provide services and how you will manage the finances of the business.

If you plan to operate on the Internet then you will need to describe your marketing strategies in this area.

Finally you will need a management summary describing your organization, the management team, the workers, your financial plan, and projected financial statements including cash flow and balance sheet. You will want to discuss how you will initiate new products and retire old ones which is part of your long-term plan.

The business plan for new business is really your dream formalized so it can be evaluated by others. Your banker will certainly want to see your plan along with your accountants and attorneys. Your attorneys need to know how to protect your inventions and obtain patents and copyrights. Don’t think that any attorney is alright. Get one who is experienced in this area.

Good luck in starting your own business. You can start slow from your home or you can go to your banker to get a small business loan so that you can expand faster. You can go beyond this. You can sometimes obtain capital from individuals who work through organizations that cater to entrepreneurs.

You can provide jobs to people in your community and elsewhere which is exactly what this country needs.

If you start an Internet business, I’ll see you there. Good Luck!

Fly Old Glory!