I understand. Enough of the explanations and positioning, let’s get working on a plan. So go ahead, just jump in and do it.
- Most people like to start with the heart of the plan. Jump there now, you’ll see what I mean. It’s about what really drives your business. Your target market, your business offering, your strategic focus. And don’t worry about format; write it, speak it, use bullet points, slides, or whatever.
- My personal favorite is the plan review schedule. This makes it very clear that you’re after planning, and better management, not just a plan.
- Another very good starting point is the sales forecast. Some people like to get to the numbers first, and many people do the conceptual thinking while they work the numbers. Your target market, your business offering, your strategic focus are all in your head as you make your sales forecast. That’s not a bad way to proceed.
- Maybe you want to start with an expense budget instead. Estimate your payroll on an average month. Calculate your burn rate, a very important number, meaning how much money you have to spend per month.
- If you’re planning to start a business, startup costs is a good place to get going. Make lists of what you need, in money, goods, locations, and so forth.
- Particularly when you have a team, SWOT (strengths, weaknessess, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a great way to start. You can jump to the SWOT analysis now and do that.
- Some people like to set the scene better, with the mission statement, vision, mantra, objectives, or keys to success. That gives your plan a framework to live in. If you like.
However, there are some things in business planning, even plan-as-you-go planning, that have to happen in a certain order. For example, you can’t really just start with the cash flow statement without having done your sales forecast, burn rate, and some asset and liabilities assumptions.
Still, you can get started fast. I don’t blame you. Maybe you’ll jump back here (use your Back button) to continue the explanations after you’ve made some progress.
Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software and Bplans.com. Follow him on Twitter @Timberry.
