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Introduction
So, you were searching the web for something about business start-ups, or maybe you were assigned to honcho a hot new project at the office, and up pops a promo for this book. You clicked “buy now.” Sweet, we like you already! Great minds must think alike because while you may not know how to construct a business plan yet, you’re savvy enough to have surmised that a plan is important — which is exactly what we know. From years of working with numerous organizations both large and small, old and new, profit or nonprofit, local or global in scope, we concluded that a business plan is more than just another factor for goal achievement — indeed, it’s usually the single most important task prior to actually jumping in there and getting started!
Some people visualize a business plan as something they have to put together to raise money for a new venture or convince the higher-ups to sign off on for some upcoming project — at best, a formality with lots of splashy PowerPoints in which all graph curves streak upward; at worst, a waste of everyone’s precious time and effort. But you don’t create a business plan just to secure funding or check a bureaucratic box; au contraire! Rather, you should embrace and own your plan as a powerfully performative tool — one that makes your organization a better place at which to work and your business a more successful operation for everyone it touches.
Is a business plan a guarantee? Hardly. In today’s “VUCA” world (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity), it’s increasingly hard to tell what even tomorrow will bring. But prediction is not the point of planning. Rather, planning is in fact a matter of process. A business plan works because it forces you to stop and think about what you’re doing. It prompts you to figure out what you want your company to become in the future and how you intend to make that future happen. Your plan acts as a template, guiding you through the steps required to meet your goals. And by engaging in this planning process, you are going to not only learn much more about what you’re trying to do but will also dramatically enhance your ability to both survive and thrive when the inevitable unknowns and pitfalls emerge. For example:
A business plan requires you to look carefully at your market, your customers, and the competition to determine what your real opportunities are and what threats you face.
A business plan takes a good hard look at your organization so that you can honestly and objectively recognize your capabilities and resources, your strengths and weaknesses, and your true advantages as well as the problem areas that need repair.
A business plan coaxes a financial analysis, a forecast, and a budget out of you so that you know where you stand today and what the future will require in terms of cash and other financial resources.
A business plan prepares you for potential uncertainties by encouraging you to come up with alternative business strategies to increase your chances of success down the road if and when those unknowns pop up.
About This Book
This book helps you create your business plan step by step. Along the way, you’ll discover things about your business that you never realized — information that just may help you beat the competition. Heck, we even throw in a few laughs as well — no joke.
Business Plans For Dummies, 3rd Edition, can help your business succeed no matter who you are or what your job description says, whether you’re part of a large corporation or a one-person show. Depending on your situation, you may find yourself dipping into and out of the book in different ways:
If business plans are new to you, you may want to start at the beginning and let us be the guide by your side. We take you from your company mission all the way through to making your business plan work, and we keep your head above water the whole way.
If you have more experience, we’ll be your sage on the stage; you may want to head for one of the more interesting chat rooms (or chapters as they’re called), such as how to recognize the critical success factors in your business, or where to look for your company’s strengths and weaknesses. After dropping in somewhere, you may discover yet another section where you want to spend time and do a deeper dive.
Just remember — no matter where you are, it’s never too late to start
