Does anyone know how to write a Business plan?

Does anyone know how to write a Business plan?

I would like to(someday) open my own business. I have a name and floorplan kind of mapped out in my head, however, I still need a business plan of some sort before I even try for that SBA loan.

User Comments

1. Try the following sites.
2. SBA is a lender of last resort, so they won't talk to you until you can demonstrate that you have been turned down by conventional financing sources (banks,etc.)
   
   As to writing a business plan, this is more of an art (and a dark one at that). There is a horde of consultants out there that charge thousands of dollars for writing a business plan. There are also companies that market software to assist you in business plan writing; Palo Alto Software is probably the best known. You can look at some sample business plans they have here:
   
   http://www.paloalto.com/ps/bp/samples.cf...
   
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3. You don't need a business plan as yet. You need a business idea. It seems you have this vague wish to start a business, which you still do not know what.
   
   Start with the business concept. The research if it is something that will actually work. Then you start thinking of writing a business plan
   
   Here are some resources that can help you write your business plan:
   
   - SBA Business Plan Basics http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/pla...
   - PowerHomeBiz.com Creating a Business Plan section http://www.powerhomebiz.com/startup/busi...
   - Entrepreneur.com Writing a Business Plan section http://www.entrepreneur.com/bizplan/0,72...
   
   You may also want to review some sample business plans to see how it actually looks like:
   
   - Bplans.com http://www.bplans.com/sp/businessplans.c...
   - MOOT Corp Business Plan competition winners
   http://www.businessplans.org/businesspla...
   - VFinance - View hundreds of real business plans in pdf format. http://www.vfinance.com/home.asp?bps=1&t...
   - Business Owners Toolkit Sample business plans and information on how to create a plan. http://www.toolkit.cch.com/tools/buspln_...
   - PlanWare Planning software and information. http://www.planware.org/
   - Virtual Business Plan Walk through the design of a business plan. http://www.bizplanit.com/vplan.html...
   - SBA Business Planning Guide http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/pla...
   - Small Business Advancement Center http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/business_plan/b...
   - Sample Business Plan General planning guide created by the Canadian Business Service Center. http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/contentserve...
   - Business Plans Index - A subject guide to sample business plans and profiles for specific business types from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. http://216.183.184.20/subject/business/b...
   
   Some recommended books are :
   
   - Business Plans Kit for Dummies
   - The Complete Book of Business Plans : Simple Steps to Writing a Powerful Business Plan
   - Writing Business Plans That Get Results : A Step-By-Step Guide
   - Business Plans For Dummies®
   - Your First Business Plan : A Simple Question and Answer Format Designed to Help You Write Your Own Plan
   
   Hope that the above resources help
4. If you send me an email to john_extraincome@yahoo.ie I'll send what you need to include in your plan Cheers John.