Creating a formal business plan commits you to an idea, and increases your chance of following through with your concept. A business plan is often described as a roadmap to help you guide your business toward success. It outlines a strategy for taking your business with its current resources today to where you envision it at a future date, typically 3 – 5 years in the future.
The B.R.A.I.N. has a Business Plan Checklist that lists the key components of a business plan. While going through the checklist, it is important to clarify your direction, plan for the future, describe organizational structure and be attractive to not only future clients, but investors, and team members.
Not all business plans are suitable for your start-up, and there is certainly no single format that will fit all small businesses. But, the B.R.A.I.N. can offer assistance with your plan, if you are looking for a program to take you from the concept stage to a more structured written plan as well as examples of actual business plans. The Sammons Small Business Center, on the 5th floor of the Central Public Library, has access to the Business Plan Pro software suite. This program allows the user to see example of business plans, as well as develop a personalized outline for your own business plan.
Developing and writing a business plan can be a tedious task. But, taking time to think through a detailed business plan will help with the long term success of your small business. In addition to the B.R.A.I.N. workshop series, local partner organizations, online tutorials by the Small Business Administration, there are a number of resources on the subject available for library check-out. Many of our materials give examples or a designed as workbooks to guide you through the process at your own pace.
Look through our online catalog and type in “Business Plan” in the keyword search. Then request one of the books to be delivered to your home branch library. Or come by the Sammons Small Business Center and look at our collection of small business resources and talk with someone about the Dallas B.R.A.I.N.
