Why Doesn’t Your Business Plan Consistently Secure Your Desired Results?
From small businesses to large corporations, when you render all the challenges and issues facing these economic engines from employees to growth and innovation, the inability to secure desired results or implementation always float to the top as the number one to number three obstacles that prevent business success. As a business owner or management executive, have you ever asked yourself one of these five questions: Read more
The Key to a Successful Business
Where would a business be without a business plan? A business plan sets the course for the future of the
business. It gives the business owner or manager a sense of direction, listing the objectives and goals of
the business from the outset.
Writing a business plan requires a lot of time; a successful business plan cannot be a rush job. Once an idea for a business has been developed, researching the many facets of owning and operating a business is the next most important step. Your local county council should be able to assist you with accessing the required information of a legal nature, as should your local business enterprise center. The rest of the research will be up to you! You will need to research products for your business, at the same time as researching other enterprises that may be in direct competition to you. Furthermore, you need to research the market to determine whether there is a need for your business product or service.
Documenting the Exit Strategy in Your Business Plan
All investors greatly desire and are motivated by a clear picture of a company’s exit strategy, or the timing and method through which they can “cash in” on their investment. This picture best comes into focus when the key valuation and liquidity drivers of the company are clearly delineated. An excellent method to accomplish this is through descriptions of comparable firms that have had successful liquidity events, either through acquisition, merger, of initial public offerings (IPOs).
It is helpful to show other companies in your market, or similar companies in other markets, who have successfully exited, and how and why these companies were successful. For instance, were they successful since they acquired a large customer base? Or were they successful since they accomplished fast growth or high profit margins? It is also important to tie their success to their exit price. Was the exit price based on earnings or the number of customers the firm had at the time? The business plan should tie these metrics (e.g., exit price of $X per customer) to the business to determine its future price.
