4 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Writing A Business Plan – Part 1.

If you’re serious about owning a business, then business planning is vital to your success and unlocking your business dream.

There are four fundamental questions that need to be answered before you progress to the next stage of the journey and write a business plan.

1. What are your current lifestyle duties and expectations of the business?

How much time do you have to commit to the business?

Factors such as needing to work around your partner’s career, picking up the kids from school, study commitments, perhaps caring for your aging parents and lifestyle interests, will determine what type of business best suits you.

What are your expectations in managing and operating the business?

Think about your background and recognise what skills and experience you bring to the business.  Will you be starting out on your own or bringing in a partner? What team do you need around you to guide you on your journey and smooth out learning curves and keep you on track to grow?

And let’s not forget about what labour and admin support will be needed to get the business off the ground and if any of it be outsourced. Knowing how many hours you want to work and what actual role you will play will define your organisational structure.

Research and select the right organisational structure for your type of business that best fits your management style, sustains your present and future work/life path and efficiently supports your product/service model.

2. How well do you know your industry, competitors and regulation?

Do have really have a solid understanding of the market you are entering into?

Taking the time to talk to potential customers and future suppliers will help you build invaluable information in terms of who are the most attractive customers, how often they buy, how much each time, pricing expectations and what they want from you.

Companies pay big bucks for this type of research. A well-designed questionnaire may actually steer your success from knowing who isn’t your customer.

Also being aware of the current industry trends, regulation and how external factors could affect your business's activities and performance will help you decide if that industry is appealing and importantly increase your accuracy in projecting earnings.

In 4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Writing a Business Plan (Part 2) , we’ll cover more on what other business planning steps you should take to make sure you’re ready to begin writing a business with a robust profit model.

Do you have the time to do Market Research?

Market research can be time-consuming, but at Budget One, we have a team of expert business planners available to provide you with a snapshot of your industry.

Our reports include:

• key statistics
• market characteristics
• operating conditions
• the latest geographic and demographic analysis.

Budget One's market research reports are easy to read and digest and provide you with in-valuable insights that will help you unlock your business dream.

Learn more about our market research services.

Costs: Market Research costs $195 + GST

Are you needing help with your Market Research?  Contact Us today on +61 3 9583 7925.

If you want more help or support talk to the experts at Budget One where our Start Up Success program helps you plan your journey and create the tools you need to navigate the early stage start up period and the stresses that this places on your cash flow.

Author, Taso Tounis

Taso Tounis is a strategic business planning, cash flow management and budgeting consultant. He is passionate about equipping soon-to-be and existing business owners with a GPS system and dashboard on the outlook of startups and existing businesses, so they can make the right choices using their road map to achieve extraordinary success. Learn more about Taso.

Stay in touch by following us on LinkedIn or liking our Facebook Page.

Register here to get our blogs delivered to your personal email.