How to Write a Winning Business Plan: Seven Steps to Communicating Your Business Idea

You have a winning business idea. Now you need to write a killer business plan that will clearly communicate your vision, and how you'll execute it. Whether it's for a business loan, investors, or for yourself, where do you begin?

First, it's important to understand that planning is a process and not an event. Your business plan will be a living document that will be revised and added to over time. So just get started with a first draft. You can always begin with a simple working plan, and then tune it up later into a formal presentation plan if needed.

Seven Steps to Writing a Winning Business Plan

1. Determine Your Plan. Depending on your objectives, you may need a very different plan from another business owner. Business plans vary widely in their appearance, length, detail, and emphasis.

You must keep your purpose and audience foremost in your mind before writing. If your business plan will be presented to investors, then your plan's emphasis will be on maximizing returns and minimizing risk. But if you're writing a business plan for internal company use, then focus on making your plan practical, simple, and useful.

2. Research and Information: Start by drafting a general industry overview. Study the competition, industry history, current situation, and trends. Support your business plan with documented online and offline research. Your business plan research will cover these areas:

Your personal insight and industry experience

Published information on the market

Field research from customers, competitors, suppliers, and industry experts

3. Analysis: After most of the data is collected, you can begin your analysis and draw conclusions to write a competitive profile, contingency plan, etc.

4. Finances: If you are presenting your business plan to investors or bankers, you should work closely with your accountant to develop realistic numbers, or you'll risk losing the deal and your credibility.

5. Executive Summary: When you have completed all the sections of your business plan, it's easy to write the Executive Summary by highlighting the key points and (financial) bottom line.

6. Review and Edit: Aim to communicate clearly and appropriately. Read it objectively for clarity, completeness, grammar, etc. Depending on the purpose of your plan, you may or may not need to have a perfectly presented and proofread plan. Get feedback from friends, family, associates, and/or partners. Continue to proofread and edit.

7. Adjust Your Plan: Test out your business plan in the market (i.e. implement your plan and/or present it to the bank), and continue to update it regularly.

Business Plan Dos

Keep it simple, specific, realistic, and concrete. Set measurable goals, responsibilities, and deadlines to guide your business.

Create the right type of business plan. For example, write a short "working plan" for your own use or create a "presentation plan" for fund-raising.

Make it one part strategy to ten parts implementation for a practical plan.

Provide for regular reviews and adjustments.

Shoot for about 15 - 20 pages (50 pages maximum) depending on your plan's purpose.

Business Plan Don'ts

Don't be long-winded and create a lengthy plan to show off how much you know.

Don't make the plan complicated, vague, unrealistic, or incomplete.

Don't fail or delay to make a business plan. The busier you are, the more you need a plan now.

Successful implementation begins with a good plan. By following these steps, you'll soon be on your way to creating a winning business plan.