Thinking about starting a business? You also need to be thinking about creating a business plan as one of the first steps.
Planning is an essential part of the business start-up process and a written business plan acts as a guide for mapping out and running your business successfully.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines a business plan as a vital road map for business success. Business plans typically provide information such as:
•An executive summary which is a snapshot of the plan
•A company description with information on what you do, what differentiates your business from others; the markets your business will serve.
•A market analysis which involves researching your business industry, market and competitors
•How your business will be organized and its management structure
•What service you will provide or what you will sell. How your customer will benefit and your product’s lifecycle
•A plan for marketing your business and your sales strategy
•If you need funding – find out necessary information to include in your plan
•Financial projections to back-up your funding request is critical. Find out the information you need to include in your financial projections
Help is available locally for those looking to start a new business and who need assistance in developing a business plan.Jan Pisanczyn is regional director of the NYS Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the College at Brockport, 350 New Campus Drive. She says many people starting a new business realize a business plan is important, “but they blow them off until the bank says they need one.”
Having a business plan ready is particularly important if you will be needing funding, Pisanczyn explains, and many who come seeking help at the SBDC are referred by a bank for assistance.
Creating a business plan can be a daunting proposition, Pisanczyn says, particularly if you don’t know how to write one and don’t think you have the time, but, “…. it doesn’t have to be the size of a phone book,” he says. “At the veryleast, you can create an outline yourself of what you need to do.”
In developing a business plan, you will be thinking through the process of going forward with your business, including issues like budget and the cost of advertising.
“You have to do your homework,” Pisanczyn notes, “you need to ask…. ‘what’s my market?….. who will buy my product?…. what’s my competition?’ Come and see us…we can get you through this,” he advises.
The SBDC can provide guidance in writing the plan, including identifying competition and your market, demographics, as well as funding, which is a key issue, Pisanczyn says.
“We know what the banks look for,” he says, and the SBDC has information about local, no fee grants, as well as programs Monroe County has available for manufacturers.
The best part, Pisanczyn notes, is that all help is provided free of charge. In addition to The College at Brockport, the SBDC has an outreach MetroCenter in downtown Rochester at 55 St. Paul Street. Outreach is also provided in Batavia at the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, 220 East Main Street and at the Genesee Community College MedTech Center, 99 MedTech Drive across from the Batavia GCC campus.
Office hours are M-F, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Brockport. Call 585-395-8410 for more information or to schedule an appointment.
Mentoring and counseling assistance is also available from the Greater Rochester chapter of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), a resource partner with the Small Business Administration, which provides guidance for small businesses. The local office is located in Rochester at the Keating Federal Building, 100 State Street, Rm. 410.
Robert W. Zinnecker is a counselor/mentor for SCORE. He says a business plan has two primary purposes – to help with borrowing money and to provide focus.
Banks “want to see projections and marketing plans,” Zinnecker says, and a business plan also helps owners to “focus their efforts and not allow themselves to go off in different directions.”
SCORE provides free mentoring and counseling for those who already own their own business as well as those just starting out and looking to write a business plan, Zinnecker says.
He notes those just starting out need to gather information, “look at competitors… what they do and don’t do…who is the target customer for your product or services? – a man or woman, young, old, rich or poor.”
Zinnecker says it’s also important to develop the message you want to give your customer. One way to do that is to develop a “one-minute elevator speech” – what you would tell someone about your business if you had their attention for only one minute, he explains.
SCORE can also help start-up businesses with the process of gaining access to media including social media, print, television and setting up a website.
Zinnecker notes that SCORE’s mentoring and counseling services are free, but SCORE does charge a small fee for their various seminars held around Monroe County on topics such as marketing and business plans.
“Our free services offer guidance,” he says. Those in business or starting a new business can, “receive the help of someone who has a lot of experience in the business world.” That experience includes executives and those who have owned their own businesses, Zinnecker says.
Mentoring is offered at SCORE’s State Street location downtown. Call 585-263-6473 for information.
