112: How To Write A Business Plan Whether You Are Starting A Business Or Side Hustle, A Solopreneur

112: How To Write A Business Plan Whether You Are Starting A Business Or Side Hustle, A Solopreneur, Entrepreneur, Mompreneur, Freelancer, Bookkeeper, Virtual Assistant, Business Owner, Or Self-Employed

When you have a business, you most likely have a vision for your business. If you are like many business owners, you think about your business the majority of your time. You think about the products and services you offer or want to offer, you think about your ideal client, you think about how much money you want to make, and you think about how you want to grow your business. So why does it seem like it is such a challenging process to take all of these thoughts and put them into a written business plan? In today’s podcast episode, I will help you take some simple steps so that you can create a business plan that will solidify your ideas and keep you on track to create the successful business you’ve been spending so much time thinking about. Getting everything out of your head and on paper will not only help you make sure you are taking action on all your ideas, but it will help you to see where you may need to make improvements within your business. Whether you are starting a business or side hustle, you’re a self-employed individual, a solopreneur, entrepreneur, mompreneur, freelancer, small business owner, a remote, virtual, online, or in-house bookkeeper, or a virtual assistant or VA, listen in and make now the time that you finally take the step to write your business plan so you can stop thinking that it is just another task you should be doing that you are unsure about how to get started, afraid of doing it wrong, or anxious about what you need to include. These tips are essential whether you are using a computerized software system like QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, or FreshBooks for your business finances; or doing your bookkeeping manually with an Excel spreadsheet or even a Google Document…

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Show Notes:

Welcome Back…Whether you are just starting your business or side hustle, or you’re an experienced business owner, you undoubtedly heard at some point in time that you need to create a business plan. Just the words business plan make many business owners feel their anxiety take over them. The first thing I want you to know is that there is no reason you need to worry or feel overwhelmed when you write a business plan for your business. If you have felt this way in the past, I want you to take a deep breath and tell yourself that creating a business plan can be easy. For many of my clients, I tell them it truly is simply taking all the thoughts they have about their business and writing them down so they can see everything in one place. The second thing I want you to be aware of is that your business plan is not going to be something you write once and never make any adjustments again. It will not be written in stone, and you can make changes to it as your business pivots or as you come up with new ideas. This thought alone should help the majority of you who are afraid of getting started on your business plan because you feel like everything has to be perfect from the start.

Your business plan will reveal not only your current vision of your business but it will also list your short-term and your long-term goals, which will help you to see how your business will do financially. When you start working through your business plan, you’ll quickly start seeing just how profitable your business could be, or if you notice your profits are not where you want them to be, you’ll be able to quickly make changes to your business plan so that you can generate the profits you intend to see.

Your business plan will be broken down into six simple sections, and each section will contain information about you as the business owner and your business. We’ll start with the first section, which is the executive summary. Although I am going to talk about this section first, many business owners feel that this section is easiest to prepare after they go through all the other sections. Your executive summary section is a summary of your business. It should be relatively short but direct and to the point. You’ll want to be able to list the facts of your business and give the highlights of your detailed business plan.

The following section will be about your business. In this section, you will write about the specifics of your business. You’ll include information such as your business name, address, owners, and employees, as well as the objectives of your business. This is where you can include your short-term and long-term goals.

Next, you’ll write about your products and services. Here you will expand on what you offer in your business as well as your pricing structure, who your ideal customer is, and how your products or services will benefit them.

Your market research, marketing, and sales will be the next area you’ll cover in your business plan. In this section, you’ll explain your approach to your business, how your products or services fit in the existing marketplace, how you differentiate your products or services from the rest of the market, or how you are filling a gap or need that currently exists.

The next section will be all about your financial analysis. Don’t let this area scare you. If you’ve been listening to this podcast, you already know what you need to do to Master Your Small Business Finances. When you are creating your financial plans, you will want to create a budget if you don’t already have actual financial data, or if you do already have financial data, you can use this information. You will want to include your profit and loss or income statement as well as your balance sheet information for the current year as well as past years.