一小时商业计划执行指南

How to write a business plan quickly and easilyPatrick Forsyth THE ONE-HOURBUSINESS PLAN HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESSPLAN QUICKLY AND EASILY CONTENTS The Author51Introduction: Making A Chore Useful62What Is Business Planning?93The Art Of Planning164Making It Work395Ten Steps To Successful Business Planning51 EXPERIENCETHE VALUE OF APROFESSIONAL NETWORK Our peer groups are carefully tailored to members’profiles, which ensures both adequate input fromprofessionals who match your level of managementand discipline, and avoids accidental placement witha group of competitors or significant customers. THE AUTHOR Patrick Forsyth is a consultant, trainer and writer. He has worked with organisations largeand small and in many different parts of the world. He is the author of many successfulbooks on management, business and careers and prides himself on having a clear how-to style. One reviewer (“Professional Marketing”) commented:Patrick has a lucid and elegant styleof writing which allows him to present information in a way that is organised, focussed andeasy to apply. In this series he is also the author of “Your boss: sorted!” His writing extends beyond business.He has had published humorous books (e.g.Empty when half full)and light-hearted travelwriting:First class at last!, about a journey through South East Asia, andSmile because ithappenedabout Thailand. His novel,Long Overdue,is published in November 2014. He can be contacted via www.patrickforsyth.com 1INTRODUCTION: MAKING ACHORE USEFUL If you’re not planning where you want to be, what excusedo you have for worrying about being nowhere? – Tom Hopkins Okay, the title is a bit of an exaggeration, but the subtitle is certainly the intention: to showhow to write a (useful) business plan quickly and easily. The information presented here is directed at those managing, or involved in managing,small/medium sized business. Many people regard such a manager as being in an enviableposition. Often they are their own boss, they are independent, able to be flexible, toconcentrate on the things that interest them, to organise matters their way and generallyget on with the job in hand. By contrast, larger enterprises may seem slow, bureaucratic,committee driven and steeped in rhetoric. The reality is often all too different. A dose of reality Under pressure, the manager of the small business often seems besieged by a plethora ofdifficulties that conspire to make running the business unnecessarily complicated. Paperwork,administration, taxation, legislation, the bank and more paper work, administration, formfilling;…the problems can be numerous, and may be all too familiar. Furthermore, abusiness – any business – ultimately stands or falls by its success in the market place. Itneeds sufficient customers buying its products and services often enough to produce boththe necessary financial return and the wherewithal to invest and secure future growth. Now the manager doubtless recognises this, but the process of ensuring it happens can stillprove problematic for a variety of reasons. Senior managers may be specialists. Perhaps thebusiness was founded on engineering or design skill and it is such things at which they arebest, but the business-generating and management process is less their real forte. And asthat process may seem complex and is certainly time consuming, this too may contributeto it being neglected. Besides business-generating activities cost money, real money, paid outin advance with no guarantee that it will bring in results which will repay and exceed it. However, somehow any business must be made to work as a complete entity, finance,marketing, production and more must all contribute and contribute effectively. There isone thing that can act as a foundation to all aspects of operating success – that is planning.This is not an overstatement, planning really is vital. Starting with a blank sheet of paperas it were, it takes a little time to do; but not a disproportionate amount of time given theadvantages it bestows on the planner. It needs to be done, done effectively, and then keptup to date (this latter process is easier and less time consuming). However, the problem is that planning can tend to seem somewhat academic, alright if youhave the time, but something a little cosmetic and not really a part of actually running thebusiness. With this attitude it is easy to do only lip service to it, or even just to bypass orignore it. This is a mistake. As this work aims to show planning is important for practicalreasons. A plan is not a good one if it does not help – really help – direct and manage thebusiness and make success, however that is defined, more likely and more certain. The causes of failure If we look at things from a negative viewpoint for a moment, we can focus on what makesbusiness fail. For new small business the causes are well documented, the top ten are oftenquoted as: •Lack of experience and skill in the founder•Lack of capi