Home
>
Strategic Planning
>
More Uses for Your Business Plan

More Uses for Your Business Plan

You have invested a lot of time and energy on writing a business plan just to get a loan or to attract an investor. What do you do when you get the money or, worse, should you be turned down?

Do you just file it away? That's like investing in a boat that remains parked in your driveway after its inaugural voyage.

Instead of filing it away or leaving it on a shelf to gather dust, why not capture more return on your investment? To gain a clearer perspective, convert your investment of time and energy into a dollar amount. Then, you'll think twice before filing your business plan away.

Ways to capitalize on your investment

Expand the marketing section for an ongoing planning document, or for periodic reviews, or for revising marketing strategies. The historical data, projections, competition surveys and analyses are valuable bases for updating the data into a working framework. The material is a convenient reference for when you are asked to make an oral presentation, to write an article, to provide background data for ad copy or for other promotional activities.

Save the various sections as templates for any number of purposes. Some of these can be used for decision-making, for analyzing proposals and new ventures, or for dispensing with those time-consuming 'dream/someday' projects.

Use some excerpts for such Human Resource Management activities as: orienting and training a new associate, or as a preparation for a staff promotion.

All your grueling work on the financial data can form the foundation for financial controls and reviews, budget-actual sheets and as background for trend projections. Your original documents serve as benchmarks and as reminders of your progress for your bankers.

You will not have to start out from scratch should you have a similar need to re-apply for funds, tender an invitation to a partner, or supply data for the experts should you consider 'going public.' The evidence of before-and-after progress is helpful as a contribution to a 'for sale' proposal, or for a sudden and urgent offer to buy. Plans for expansion, mergers, spin-offs, or cooperative alliances can start with your collected data.

Your business plan, with its appendices, is a convenient repository for company data and records, equipment details, floor plans, measurements, maps, contact details for legal and accounting consultants, general historical information, industry descriptions including your historical SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of the past, current and future at the time of its writing.

Create in-house displays of your mission statement, the organizational chart or the photographs and biographical sketches of your benefactors and supporters.

Don't have a business plan in your files? Begin preparing portions today as an investment for that day when you will need one. It's quite probable that when that need arises you will be too pre-occupied to devote the required time and energy on an appropriate plan.

Now, you have a greater incentive to do a more thorough business plan today, knowing it is going to serve several useful purposes in the future.

About The Author

Gerry McRae added practical wisdom to his college and univeristy courses by owning and operating small businesses. That wisdom is now online at http://www.unclemaxsays.com.

monthly home cleaning Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

More Uses for Your Business Plan

Strategic Planning