In its most general sense, business planning is about taking your dream and turning it into reality. A business plan is the document you create when you take an idea for a commercial endeavor and work through all the factors that will have an impact on the successful startup, operation, and management of the business. Smart entrepreneurs plan, not because accountants or business advisors tell them to, but because they understand that it increases their chances for success. Sure, there are successful businesses whose owners fly by the seat of their pants and never create a written plan. But they succeeded despite the lack of a formal plan, not because of it. How much better might they have done had their good ideas been coupled with some solid planning?
Online Resources
BizPlanit.com
"This unique and free
online resource mirrors the major sections of a business plan, and enables
you to learn the fundamentals of writing a business plan."
CCH
Business Planner's Toolkit
URL: http://www.toolkit.cch.com/text/P02_0001.asp
Small
Business Administration (SBA) - Small Business Planner
URL: http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
Small
Business Lending Corporation
Online tutorial for developing a business plan
URL: https://www.smallbizlending.com/resources/workshop/main.asp
Small
Business Plan Guide
URL: http://www.smallbusinessplanguide.com/
Sample Business Plans
You
Belong in Connecticut - Department of Economic and Community Development
Sample Business Plans
URL: http://www.youbelonginct.com/user-cgi/pages.cgi?dbkey=107
SBA
- Sample Business Plans
URL: http://www.bplans.com/samples/sba.cfm#
Books
Abrams and Kleiner: The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies, (1999)
Bangs: The Business Planning Guide: Creating a Plan for Success in Your Own Business, (1998)
Bewsey: Home Cleaning Business: Your Step by Step Business Plan, (1999)
Covello and Hazelgren: Your First Business Plan: A Simple Question and Answer Format Designed to Help You Write Your First Business Plan, (1997)
Dethomas and Grensing-Pophal: Writing a Convincing Business Plan, (2001)
Eglash: How to Write a .com Business Plan: The Internet Entrepreneur's Guide to Everything You Need to Know about Business Plans and Financing Options, (2000)
Fallek: Business Plan Example, (1997)
Horan, Horan, Peters and Shaw: The One Page Business Plan: Start with a Vision, Build a Company! (1998)
Kapron: BizPlan Express: Provides the Tools to Write a Winning Business Plan, (1998)
Manning: Businessplan.com: How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan, (2000)
McKeever: How to Write a Business Plan, (1999)
Patsula and Nowik: Successful Business Planning in 30 Days: A Step-by-Step Guide for Writing a Business Plan and Starting Your Own Business, (2000)
Tiffany: Business Plans for Dummies, (1997)
Williams and Thompson: The New York Times Pocket MBA Series: Business Planning, (2000)
Software
BPlans.com
URL: http://www.bplans.com/
BRS
URL: http://www.brs-inc.com/index.asp
Business
Planning Freeware (It's free to download)
URL: http://www.planware.org/freeware.htm
Quicken
Small Business Center
URL: http://www.quicken.com/small_business/
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