What is a business plan

Briefly, a business plan is a business blueprint for:

• Your business as it is now, even if it is still in the idea stage
• Company management
• Your goals for the company in the next few years
• How you are going to achieve those goals

It is essential to have a well written business plan if you need to seek funding for your business.

A true business plan is not a static document but a living document that can and must change as circumstances change. For instance, a company formed two years ago that provided transportation or delivery services should have been looking at their plan and making adjustments as the cost of gasoline began to rise very quickly. Now that prices have fallen from their record highs, the business plan can adjust to accomodate the new gas prices without abandoning the cost saving changes made when prices were high.

Many factors and changes can impact your business plan such as the general economy, regulations, new or more vigorous competition, demographics, demand, new technology and your own circumstances. A good business plan evolves with your company, addresses current issues and anticipates risks and how to avoid or mitigate them. Call it a business blueprint for success that adapts to your changing needs.

A business plan written specifically for you and your business includes:

• Research on your target market
• Developing a target market
• What your competition is up to
• Branding and uniqueness
• The risks you face
• How you plan to succeed

Your business plan or business blueprint should be highly adaptable as you find new opportunties, develop other markets, or increase or change your products or services. In addition, a business blueprint also needs to be able to be altered in the face of massive changes such as we are experiencing in this crazy economy.

If your business plan can't adapt to changing circumstances then you will face serious problems. Look at the auto industry. Outdated business plans are partly what got them into the mess they are in. They tried to write new ones but probably still based them on their old models. The federal government rejected the first new business plans because they were not going to accomplish the needed changes. They either had plans that could not adapt to changing markets and circumstances over the years or they simply never bothered to update them to deal with the changing realities.

A business blueprint is not written in stone. Rather it creates the structure for your business on which you can build and adapt as the business climate changes.