A Business Plan is an document where you plan your Business to have an organized and effective response to a situation which may arise in future. Business plan is not just for a start up company but also for those which are growing. It can be used it to establish realistic goals or targets to achieve and to determine the current position. A workable business plan  

• Determine where the company needs to go 

• Forewarn of possible roadblocks along the way 

• Formulate responses to contingencies 

• Keep the business on track to reach its planned goals 

Start a business plan with describing your business and product or services. Tell about the market you are targeting and the stage of development your company is in. If you get stuck up on a particular part of the plan-leave it for time being-and come back later and finish it . You can't make a perfect first draft- so just get some thoughts down to start the process and you can always come back and change it or polish it up later.  While making a business plan keep following points in mind. 

Keep target audience in your mind 

While writing your business plan keep in mind the intended audience and why you are writing the plan. For example, if you are trying to get debt financing emphasis should not be on the huge profit potential - but on the certainty that the debt can be repaid. If you are writing a plan to help you run the business better you may start with general background information on the company and the industry, and focus on the areas of your plan that are currently most important to you.  

Strategy - core of your business plan 

Basically the first part of the business plan should be geared towards helping develop and support solid business strategy. The plan should explain the market, the industry, target customers and competitors. Write about customer needs and the benefits of current products and services. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each competing firm and draw out the opportunities for your product or service in the marketplace. All of these steps largely aims to help you in creating a strategy for your business. The second half of the business plan should explain how to execute your selected business strategy. Your products and services, your marketing and operations should all closely tie in with your strategy. Have a strategy that will set the course for your business rather  than having a smart-sounding strategy for your plan, 

Think competitively throughout your business plan 

In present competitive market, you would probably be facing some serious competition sooner or later no matter how unique your business idea is. You need to think competitively throughout your business plan. As an entrepreneur, you need to identify where you will do things in similar manner as your competitors, where you will do things differently, what will be your real strengths and real weaknesses, where will you create your niche. Focus your plan on being different than your competititors and compete with existing players less directly. Find a particular market niche to focus on. Think over the points, can you find a unique strategy? Can you position your products differently? Can you use different sales or marketing vehicles?  Your business plan should be able to answer these questions.

Be realistic with your business plan 

Lots of business plans sound good on paper, but don't work in the real world marketplace. It's difficult to attract people to a new product or service, just because it's better. People or companies have established buying patterns and are currently doing business with someone else. To do business with you, it takes more than attracting them to your business. You've got to steal your customers from someone else's business and create your own base of loyal customers. It is possible that your competitors may launch new products or services or  cut their prices to counter your entry in the current market. For a new start up company it's easy to overestimate sales projections as it's easy to underestimate costs. There are always going to be some unseen expenditure, hefty amount of cost overruns, expensive problems, and items that you simply overlooked. So forecast conservatively and try to have an extra cushion of cash tucked in reserve. 

Tips on Creating Plans 

People  
In seeking fund from banks, venture capitalists or other outside investors, you will increase your chances of success if you get someone committed to your management team who at least have a recognizable name. 

Alternately, you can include as exhibits to your plan any positive media clippings you can find, such as items from trade publications, about members of your management team. If you don’t have any clippings, try contacting relevant publications to get media coverage—perhaps about your start-up business proposal. 

Keep your business plan factual  and succinct 
Try to keep the plan factual, don’t use hyperbole or generalizations to describe the potential of your business plan. Use more factual information you present to reach their own conclusions. Keep it succinct. Don't put too much detail when creating plans. If a business plan is too long, it might be skimmed and focus on what is really important might be lost. 

Involve everyone 
Involve use expert opinion or key employees to create business plan. Then work with them until you are satisfied. Have key people get together to get the plan in synchronised fashion and to get any disagreements out in the open. The more input people have in creating the plan, the more responsibility they will feel toward it.  

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