Florida Small Business Tips: 10 Steps to a Business Plan

Here is a list of great tips for a Small Business Plan from FloridaTrend.com

1. Use an 8.5" x 11" page format. A loose-leaf binder is an easy way to package the plan and facilitate revisions.
2. Begin with a cover sheet that includes the business name, location, phone number and the name of the person who wrote the business plan.
3. Include an executive summary of the most important issues in the plan — the business's niche, marketing, management experience and finances.
4. Prepare a table of contents that shows logically arranged sections and appendices.
5. Identify a target market and indicate whether the market is growing, steady or shrinking. Provide details about competitors' strengths and weaknesses, estimated market share and other details. Include your pricing strategy and explain how you plan to promote the business.
6. Explain the benefits of your product or service to the user or customer. Describe how it is unique and its appeal to customers. Include information about your business's location, current and future space requirements and market demographics.
7. Show that you have an effective management team. Detail the backgrounds of executives, their qualifications, the need for additional management talent and plans for attracting personnel.
8. Focus the plan toward the future by developing forecasts of industry trends over the next three to five years.
9. Highlight current and potential problems and demonstrate how they will be overcome.
10. Develop a financial plan that includes a capital equipment list, a balance sheet, income statements for three years (or pro-forma income projections for a new business), cash flow statements, break-even analysis and loan applications.