Business Plans Kit for Dummies

Description

This updated guide shows entrepreneurs how to implement their business plans, with new information on assessing company goals and planning mission statements.;Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Introduction -- About This Book -- Foolish Assumptions -- Icons Used in This Book -- Beyond the Book -- Where to Go from Here -- Part 1 Getting Started with Business Plans -- Chapter 1 Powering Up for Business Success -- Selling Yourself on the Importance of Business Planning -- Tallying up the benefits of a business plan -- Knowing what can go wrong without a plan -- Business planning as a test drive -- The Anatomy of a Business Plan -- Business plan contents, beginning to end -- Business plan FAQs -- Establishing Your Planning Objectives -- Defining your starting point -- Zeroing in on the changes you want to plan for -- Setting out your planning objectives -- Identifying Your Business Plan Audiences and Key Messages -- Your audience -- Your message -- Establishing Your Plan's Time Frame -- Setting your schedule -- Defining milestones -- Launching the Planning Process -- Locating informative resources -- Seeking expert advice -- Sharing the load -- Staying on track -- Forms -- Chapter 2 Developing the Idea That Powers Your Plan -- Recognizing the Power of a Good Idea -- Starting, growing, or pivoting a business -- Knowing the difference between passion and profitability -- Taking a look at ideas behind successful businesses -- and some that went bust -- Searching Out Great Business Ideas -- Tuning in to what customers have to say -- Catching up with marketplace and business world realities -- Pursuing changes that open up new opportunities -- Spotting strategies to grow or pivot existing businesses -- Reimagining your business environment -- Adjusting to the digital future -- Turning a side gig into a business -- Inspiring team creativity (with or without donuts or bagels) -- Narrowing your choices -- Putting a Promising Idea to the Test -- Doing your first reality check. Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Introduction -- About This Book -- Foolish Assumptions -- Icons Used in This Book -- Beyond the Book -- Where to Go from Here -- Part 1 Getting Started with Business Plans -- Chapter 1 Powering Up for Business Success -- Selling Yourself on the Importance of Business Planning -- Tallying up the benefits of a business plan -- Knowing what can go wrong without a plan -- Business planning as a test drive -- The Anatomy of a Business Plan -- Business plan contents, beginning to end -- Business plan FAQs -- Establishing Your Planning Objectives -- Defining your starting point -- Zeroing in on the changes you want to plan for -- Setting out your planning objectives -- Identifying Your Business Plan Audiences and Key Messages -- Your audience -- Your message -- Establishing Your Plan's Time Frame -- Setting your schedule -- Defining milestones -- Launching the Planning Process -- Locating informative resources -- Seeking expert advice -- Sharing the load -- Staying on track -- Forms -- Chapter 2 Developing the Idea That Powers Your Plan -- Recognizing the Power of a Good Idea -- Starting, growing, or pivoting a business -- Knowing the difference between passion and profitability -- Taking a look at ideas behind successful businesses -- and some that went bust -- Searching Out Great Business Ideas -- Tuning in to what customers have to say -- Catching up with marketplace and business world realities -- Pursuing changes that open up new opportunities -- Spotting strategies to grow or pivot existing businesses -- Reimagining your business environment -- Adjusting to the digital future -- Turning a side gig into a business -- Inspiring team creativity (with or without donuts or bagels) -- Narrowing your choices -- Putting a Promising Idea to the Test -- Doing your first reality check. Anticipating disruptive innovations: Opportunities and cautions -- Estimating your runway: How much time does your good idea need? -- Checking out the competition -- Getting a second opinion -- Conducting a self-appraisal -- Forms -- Chapter 3 Defining Your Business Purpose and Structure -- Knowing What Business You're In -- Choosing the Right Business Structure -- Identifying your business model -- Reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of different structures -- Getting your business off on the right foot -- Giving Your Company Its Mission -- Asking basic questions -- Framing your mission -- Crafting your mission -- Fixing a weak or ineffective mission statement -- Putting your mission to work -- Exploring Values and Vision -- Uncovering values you already hold -- Writing a values statement -- Writing a vision statement -- Aligning your vision with your business model -- Setting Goals and Objectives -- Comparing goals and objectives -- Approach #1: Tying goals to your mission -- Approach #2: Using goal-setting ACES -- Approach #3: Covering all the bases -- Making final choices -- Putting Your Principles into Practice -- Forms -- Part 2 Developing Your Plan's Components -- Chapter 4 Understanding Changing Conditions, Customers, and Competition -- Zooming In on Your Industry -- Analyzing your industry's big picture -- Anticipating major industry changes and disruptions -- Recognizing -- and leveraging -- barriers to entry -- Defining Your Customers -- Developing your customer profile -- Conducting customer research -- Putting your customer description into words -- Getting to know your ideal customer -- Segmenting customers into buyer groups -- Shaping a strategy to ensure customer loyalty -- Doing business with business customers -- Defining and Addressing Market Shifts -- Charting target market growth patterns. Tracking changes in buyer tastes and trends -- Sizing Up Your Competition -- Using cloak-and-dagger methods -- Identifying your stealth competitors -- Staying a step ahead -- Reimagining How to Do Business in Today's Environment -- Meeting the challenge of hiring and retaining top-quality people -- Greening your business -- Forms -- Chapter 5 Charting Your Strategic Direction -- Matching Your Capabilities to Business Opportunities and Threats -- Sizing up your strengths and weaknesses -- Identifying opportunities and threats -- Conducting a SWOT analysis -- Defining Your Business Model -- Checking out traditional and digital-era business models -- Following the money -- Knowing your burn rate and runway to profitability -- Generating and collecting revenue -- Putting a price on your products -- Planning to control costs -- Creating a business model that works -- Charting Your Future -- Understanding your options -- Planning for growth -- Knowing your Plan A and Plan B -- Dealing with bad news: Crisis management -- Outlining an Exit Strategy -- Owner exit strategies -- Investor exit strategies -- Forms -- Chapter 6 Describing Your Business and Its Capabilities -- Introducing Your Business -- Describing what you're selling -- Perfecting your elevator pitch in the digital age -- Describing Your Business Capabilities -- Research and development -- Operations -- Distribution and delivery -- Management -- Organization -- Data management -- Updating Capabilities to Meet Challenges and Seize Opportunities -- Putting your capabilities to the test -- Pivoting your strategies -- Moving your business -- Revamping your operations and processes -- Altering distribution channels -- Staying Focused on What You Do Best -- Forms -- Chapter 7 Crafting Your Marketing Plan -- Marketing at a Glance -- The big marketing picture -- The nuts and bolts of a marketing plan. Marketing to a Digitally Connected and Mobile Market -- Analyzing Your Market Situation -- Getting a handle on your market -- Assessing your competition -- Getting smarter with big data -- Forecasting your business environment -- Setting Marketing Goals and Objectives -- Putting Your Position and Brand into Words -- Boosting Online Presence: The Most Traveled Route to Most Businesses -- Zooming In on Your Target Market -- Describing your target customer -- Planning to lock in loyalty -- Designing Marketing Strategies -- Your product strategy -- Your distribution strategy -- Your pricing strategy -- Your promotion strategy -- Forms -- Chapter 8 Finding Your Funding -- Forecasting Your Funding Requirements -- Searching for Money in All the Right Places -- Funding your business with close-to-home resources -- Turning customers and prospective customers into investors -- Navigating the routes to bank funding -- Considering alternative lending sources -- Reaching into deep pockets -- Getting wise about crowdfunding approaches -- Chapter 9 Tallying Your Financial Situation -- Decoding Financial Terminology -- Putting Together an Income Statement -- Knowing the sections of an income statement -- Now it's your turn: Creating your income statement -- Creating Your Balance Sheet -- Identifying the sections on a balance sheet -- Building your own balance sheet -- Constructing a Cash-Flow Statement -- Section 1: Total funds in -- Section 2: Total funds out -- Section 3: Net change in cash position -- Section 4: Changes in liquid assets -- Section 5: Net change in cash position -- Creating your own cash-flow statement -- Forecasting and Budgeting -- Your financial forecast -- The master budget -- Dealing With Regulations and Taxes -- Forms -- Part 3 Tailoring Your Plan to Fit Your Business -- Chapter 10 Planning for a One-Person Business. Having What It Takes to Succeed in a One-Person Business -- Eyeing the pros and cons of a solo career -- Planning for success -- Avoiding legal hassles -- Putting a price on what you do -- Tailoring a Business Plan to Fit Your One-Person Enterprise -- Business overview -- Business environment -- Business description and strategy -- Financial review -- Action plan -- Running Your One-Person Business Like a Business -- Setting up a workspace -- Avoiding the pitfalls of working at home -- Bossing yourself -- Outsourcing -- Developing a business network -- Tapping into social networks -- Observing local and state regulations -- Putting your business plan to work -- Forms -- Chapter 11 Planning for a Small Business -- Recognizing Why Your Small Business Needs a Plan -- Preparing the Contents of Your Small Business Plan -- Analyzing your business location and the surrounding environment -- Describing your business and its purpose -- Plotting your business strategy -- Staffing and outsourcing -- Clarifying your financial situation -- Taking advantage of social media -- Establishing your action plan -- Determining a timeline -- Keeping an Eye on the Business Horizon -- Growing -- or Not Growing -- Your Small Business -- Keeping It in the Family -- Preparing to Sell Your Small Business -- Forms -- Chapter 12 Planning for a Virtual Business -- Understanding the Benefits and Risks of a Virtual Business -- Taking a cue from the first generation of virtual businesses -- Evaluating whether your idea is a good fit -- Keeping up to date -- Running and Planning a Virtual Business -- Operating a company without an HQ -- Hiring and managing a remote team -- Using technologies to manage, motivate, and inspire -- Branding an enterprise with far-flung virtual partners -- Establishing standards and policies across a virtual enterprise.