I recently joined a Small Business mailing list and conversations were a little stilted until the topic turned to Business Plans. My inbox immediately filled up with opinions ... some people very much pro Business Plans ... some vehemently against the idea because they were too busy running their businesses to write a business plan ... and some sitting on the fence, not willing to take a side but making small rumblings about all that work. I decided to write this article because I'm one of the people who are very much pro Business Plans ...

So, why a business plan? Just think about this ... you have come up with the most brilliant idea for an online business but you're concerned that your entrepreneurial abilities may not be up to scratch. What do you do? Where do you start? How do people start up their businesses / e-businesses? It's simple really, a lot of people will develop a Business Plan to assess the viability of their idea. They use the internet, the library, and any other helpful resources, they write hefty reports and research intensively, especially on the financials.

And, believe it or not, these Plans don't take as long as you would imagine. If you're passionate about your idea you will, most likely, enjoy the process of the planning stage. Researching your competition and working out the expected financials may well surprise you but it will empower you at the same time.

When complete the Business Plan will contain information on the following areas, listed in no particular order:

• An exit strategy
• Your Critical Risks
• Your Critical Obstacles
• Your Critical Milestones
• A Financial plan
• A Marketing plan
• Sales Strategies
• A detailed list of your Products or Services
• An analysis of the Industry you'll be entering
• Your Competition
• How your Operations will work
• What Key Staff you will need
• Legal Issues and Copyrights

Wouldn't it be handy to have all that information at your fingertips? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to see clearly your projected financials over the next five years? Or, for that matter, to know that you have a plan in place to exit the Company should you want to. I'll answer those questions with a resounding yes. These are very good reasons to begin the process and create the Plan.

Of course, another very good reason most people actually create their Business Plans is to obtain finance to start up the Business. So, once your Business Plan shows you that your idea is viable, you put your Business Plan to work for you by using it to pitch to potential investors. And, here are some tips to follow for the "Pitch" presentation:

• Layout your Plan professionally.
  Website layouts are good for Pitch presentations, as are PowerPoint presentations. Just make it professional. Take your time to review that all the information you need to present is in place and you know where to find it. This is where a website layout wins over power point because you can jump from page to page more readily.
• Executive Summary
  You will be passionate about your pitch and your potential investors will be given a copy of your Business Plan. Simply, they won't be impressed if there is no Executive Summary at the beginning of the plan. As the title suggests, this is a summary of the key elements of the plan and aimed at busy people who have sat through your pitch and just want to be reminded of the key points. It shouldn't be more than 3 pages, key points only and don't forget the financials.
• What are you Selling?
  You know exactly what you are selling but is it stated clearly in your Plan? You know, or should do, all about your products and services and you need to explain that information clearly and concisely so that others not from your field can identify and understand what you do.
• You can't Pitch YOU
  Even e-businesses need people in place to actually do the work. Your identification of your "team" of staff will impress potential investors. Don't go into a pitch saying you will do everything, the truth is you can't. Investors will ask "What if you can't work?" and if you don't come up with a solution in a pitch situation ... it's over before it's even begun.
• Know your Enemy
  Your competition is out there and you need to establish who they are and what they are doing and you need to specify this information in detail in your Plan ... financing will depend on it.
• The Final Curtain
  That exit strategy mentioned above comes to the fore in your pitch presentation. Investors aren't usually in it for the long term, they want to know that they can recoup their investment within five years and your Exit Strategy will go a long way to determining finance coming your way. Whether it be Franchising or selling off your client base or the Company in total you need to analyse the financials and pitch it accordingly.

Making your Plan a living thing
Change happens in business. Circumstances change, industry changes, lifestyles change and people change. Your business plan should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure you are on track and if necessary to amend your plan to suit the current situation. After all, you've gone to all that effort to create the Plan, don't just let it sit on a shelf in your office gathering dust.

Purchasing a DIY Plan
There are now loads of legal and other websites offering up Business Plan Kits for sale and even though it may be tempting to purchase one and just fill in the boxes it may not be the best way to plan your business. Creating the Business Plan from scratch will make you THINK about your ideas, your competition, your target market, your staffing issues and everything else. Be tempted to start from scratch or simply purchase a Table of Contents and pad our your Plan from there. Take each point and expand it to include your ideas, after all you're the entrepreneur aren't you?

So, I conclude with my opinion that Business Plans Rock! and passionate entrepreneurs (like yourself?) know that they do.