“Make It Work, People!”: Critical Numbers for a Competitive Business Plan (Part III)

Converting Your Static Plan into a Dynamic Tool

Whether you’ve thought about starting your own business or you are seeking funding to grow your current operations, a business plan may be just what you need. In the first two parts of this blog series, I introduced some key concepts and basic tools for creating one but now it’s time to bring those tools together and make them work to improve your business the way our title’s author, the fabulous Tim Gunn, puts together his priceless fashion pieces.

These days, there are many different opinions about whether a start-up needs a business plan. While the traditional business plan may not be relevant for today’s tech-heavy startup community, a less formal plan can be an effective way for entrepreneurs to better understand their business, document progress, project future growth, and develop a pitch to potential investors.

Now, you certainly may be able to run your company without one, but running a business is often more complex than starting one and a business plan can be a great reference for running your business. Not to mention that writing your business plan gives you a chance to clearly plan out the legal, operational, and financial aspects of your business.

The trick is to make the business plan a focused illustration of the position your business holds in the market and describe how you intend to leverage that position. Here are a few tips for transforming a business plan into a powerful tool for growing your business.

Improving Your Forecasts
Use the projections and forecasts in your business plan to compare your growth forecast with your actual performance. Tracking these two numbers can be valuable in the long run.
Once that’s done, take a look at the differential between your projections and your actual amounts for the year and use this information to adjust for the following year. For instance, if your growth forecast has been significantly higher than your actual growth every month over the past year, then you may want to be more conservative with your projections for the following year.
Red Flag Indicators
These are numbers or facts that you find that clue you in to major weaknesses or risks to your business.
In our previous example we considered the case when your growth forecast is significantly higher than your actual growth every month over the past year. If you created your forecast cautiously and you’re confident that your projections are accurate, this could indicate a larger market trend that is negatively impacting your business and even your industry.
First Year Taxes
New startups can use the list of start up costs in the business plan as a starting point for calculating taxes at the end of the first fiscal year.
If you have an accountant, the list of start up costs provides a good starting point for calculating taxes for your first year in business. Make sure to pass this information along to your accountant when filing your taxes.
Year End Financials
Many new start-ups will need to calculate the year-end financial statements for the first time. Using the information in your business plan (i.e. startup costs) can reduce the time an effort needed to create these documents for the first time.
Pitching
Business plans contain information about every aspect of your venture and it contains answers to many of the questions that venture capitalists may have about your business. Before you pitch to a potential investor, review your market research thoroughly to answer any questions about the growth potential of your business.
Pay special attention to information about the demand for your product or services from your target customers and try to remember a few key statistics or research findings when crafting your pitch.
Review your financial statements and projections to determine the amount of funding you are seeking from investors.