How to Get Started
Entrepreneurs sometimes think that they can shut themselves up in their office on a rainy Sunday afternoon and emerge several hours later with a winning business plan. In reality, a business plan is not written in a vacuum. Crafting a credible and convincing business plan requires a lot of foresight, research, and analysis. A successful business plan document merely reflects the results of a properly executed business-planning process.
As you prepare to write a business plan, you're really testing the viability of your business idea. Every claim that you make in your business plan must be substantiated with the results of your research and analysis. In order to evaluate an idea’s chance of real success, and to develop an action plan for realizing it, you must first do the legwork to analyze and refine it.
Preparatory Steps
Evaluating and planning your business is critical preparation for writing a convincing business plan. That process includes:
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Refining your business concept
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Validating the market
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Analyzing your competition
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Assessing your market opportunity
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Planning marketing
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Modeling operations
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Assessing and adjusting your model
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