A goal without a plan is just a wish. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery(1900-1944)

The Business Plan is the most important document to the success of your business. It contains your detailed plan for success. That is, what you plan to do and exactly how you plan to do it. Rather than making your business plan a document that others use to meet qualification criteria, make your business plan a working tool that sets your own expectations and then guides you into the months and years ahead as you plan your ongoing strategy. By comparing your actual results with your plan, you'll be able to remain focused on the most important aspects of your business and will avoid the pitfall of ignoring a key element in running your business.

There are many resources available to help you create your business plan, but the details can only be provided by you.

A business plan has 3 parts: the narrative section, the financial projections and supporting documentation. Each part has detailed subsections that need to be addressed in full to create a comprehensive plan.

The narrative portion has 5 subsections. The first of these is the description of the business. The business description will include the name of the business, the legal entitiy it has and the mission of the business. It will also include a brief history of the business, if it is existing, and talk about its successes and failures. Most importantly, it will include a full description of the products and services the business offers. This part is crucial as it will define revenue streams for the financial projections.

The second subsection of the narrative portion is the business location. Be sure to emphasize why this location is particularly advantageous to your business. Is it located in a high-traffic area? Is it positioned near other businesses where you might draw customers? Is there ample parking? Be very specific and include a map if necessary.

The next subsection, the market analysis, is widely considered the most difficult portion of the business plan to write, but is the most important section of the narrative. The market analysis determines the demand for your type of business in your area. This subsection will include area demographics, a specific definition of your target markets and trends of your particular industry. It will also clearly define who your competition is and where they are located. Be sure to outline the things your competition does well and the things they don't do so well that gives your business the opportunity to grab a piece of the market share.

The market strategy is the forth subsection of the narrative. The strategy outlines how you plan to attract the target market you outlined in the analysis section. From customer service to print advertisement, this section will detail all the marketing efforts of the business.

The final section of the narrative is management, personnel and operations. This is the section where you will make the case that no one is better to run this business than you, the owner. It will also highlight your employees, their position in the company, and if you haven't hired yet, which qualifications they need to have to be a successful addition to your company. In this section, also detail how your business runs, from start to finish. This will include your hours of operation, your methods of distribution, how your receive your supplies, and how you create your product or service.

There are many online resources available to help you develop your business plan. Sample business plans are available for free for various industries here:

SCORE - sample business plans
bplans.com - sample business plans