Writing a Business Plan - Why Bother?

Attention to properly writing a business plan will safeguard your investment, provide a focus for your time and effort, guide your team vision, wrap up your finance and give you a yardstick by which to measure progress.

Will You Do It Yourself?
Writing a business plan can be a do-it-yourself exercise, or you can out-source the task to a business plan service.

Doing it yourself is the best way to learn more about your business, and the environment in which it operates, on a first hand basis. But you need the time and resources. Business plan templates will save time by providing a outline to follow, and even some suggested content, possibly relevant to your industry.

Business plan software can speed the process even more, with in-built templates and sample content.

Out-sourcing
Nobody is an expert on everything. If you are putting together a plan for yourself, you may still consider out-sourcing sections which require specialist expertise.

For example, you might get specialist input for the marketing plan strategy.

Or if some of the financial concepts such as "capital budgeting", "break even analysis", "cost of goods sold" and the "cash conversion cycle", are a little unclear, then an accountant can provide the right level of financial input.

It is also worth bearing in mind that the cash flow statement is an essential component of your plan, and might possibly be the only section which is given serious attention by the readers of your plan. 

Your cash flow statement should be built on robust assumptions and checked for accuracy to ensure it can withstand intense scrutiny. It should be sensitised to varying business conditions, to ensure the reader gains confidence from the business case being presented.