Chapter 1
Preparing to Do a Business Plan
In This Chapter
Getting your planning resources together
Figuring out who needs to work on the plan
Checking out what the written plan looks like
Planning is serious business. For many companies, a solid business plan is the difference between success and failure. Many people going into business for the first time want to rush right in, print business cards, hang up the sign, and start making money — a natural response for anyone excited about a new business idea. But taking a little extra time up front to prepare can pay off in many ways down the line, especially when it comes to writing a business plan. Face it, after your company is up and running, you won’t have all the time you need to devote to writing the major pieces of your plan.
Identifying Your Planning Resources
Having the right resources at the right time can make business planning easier and more successful. Fortunately, you can now find more useful and usable business-planning resources than ever before, from books and software to Internet websites and real, live experts. Of course, you may also find plenty of stuff that isn’t worth looking at — much less paying for. And you can’t always judge a book (or software program) by its cover.
As you begin to put together your business plan, you may discover that you need some additional tools — a book devoted to social media marketing, for example, or business-planning software that can help you create and maintain your written document.
Hitting the corner bookstore
Obviously, you already selected one of the best hands-on, business-planning books around. But okay, you can also find other useful business-planning books out there — particularly books that concentrate on specific areas, such as protecting intellectual property, marketing, or financial planning, and books that focus on particular kinds of businesses, such as nonprofits or sole proprietorships.
You can find out a lot about a book by reading through its table of contents. Also try dipping into the first chapter. If you’re browsing on the Web, booksellers such as Chapters.Indigo.ca often include an About the Book section, customer ratings and reviews, and experts’ recommendations directly on their websites. Readers’ reviews and ratings that you find online can also help steer you toward other particularly useful books. And remember to ask your colleagues, business advisers, or investors to list their favourite business books and resources.
The basic principles of business planning may be timeless, but certain subjects — Internet marketing, for example — change rapidly. A book that was published three years ago may already be ancient history. If you want to find timely information, such as details about tax considerations for a small business, be sure to check the book’s publication date.
For the timeliest info, turn to magazines, newspapers, and journals, or surf the Web to find online versions. They offer a terrific way to keep up on what’s happening in the world of business, in general — and your industry, in particular. The business media also provides an efficient way to routinely scan the business environment for trends or new developments that may affect your business plan. If you’re not sure what periodicals focus on your particular industry or your region, do a quick search on the Internet (see the following section for more details).
Surfing the Internet
Today, hundreds of websites offer information on business planning. You can access the information on some of these sites for free; other sites tease you with a sample of what they have to offer and then charge you for more details. In our experience, some of the freebies can be just as helpful as the subscription sites, so we suggest that you check first to see what’s free for the asking before you plunk down your hard-earned cash. In particular, the federal government offers masses of solid information, templates, and tools on planning, starting, and operating your own business through its Canada Business site (www.canadabusiness.ca) and its network of provincial and regional sites. Even the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has helpful planning tips, which you can find on the Web at www.cra-arc.gc.ca.
