Developing and Executing a Business Plan for the Business Consulting Practice

This essay addresses basic concepts of writing a business plan.  In my view, creating a succinct business plan is essential for a successful business consulting start-up. It is true that some entrepreneurs succeed without development of a written plan of some form but it makes sense to develop a plan summary, especially if you will require financing or equity investors.

I’ve seen many methods of plan formulation, but whatever the length or complexity, the following critical items should be addressed:

1)    What service is being offered?
2)    To whom will it be offered?
3)    What is your primary goal?  Is it to make money, grow the business or simply break even? 
4)    What is the competitive advantage of your firm in making this offering?
5)    What revenues can be conservatively projected and what expenses that will be incurred? 
6)    What is the sales strategy?
7)    Where will the business be located and how will it be staffed?
8)    Who will be your allies in making the plan work? 
9)    What risks will exist and how will these risks be mitigated?

When the plan is complete, a condensed version should be created that is about two pages long that articulates the essence of how your business will function and the details of why it will be success.

Although I suspect many entrepreneurs expect the task of writing a business plan is like writing a report, I believe the best method to formulate a plan is to construct it over a period of months or years with frequent revisions. To me, building a plan is like making bread from scratch.  Just because the dough has risen and looks ready, it’s not. It has to be kneaded and folded over and over again to get just the right consistency.  It’s your bread and no-one else’s. Therefore you have to do the kneading and only you know when the plan feels right and is ready to execute.  When it’s ready, I hope you can pull the trigger and put it in the oven.

In my case, I began building a plan about two years before my business started (you don’t need to take that long!)  Its written content had its beginnings on various airline napkins. The ideas on these napkins were transcribed into a notebook that I kept by my bedside.  When not traveling, new business plan components were formed and older ones were deleted or edited.  Like bread, over time, the business plan began to feel right and make sense.  I would share the plan with others I trusted and with constructive criticism and wise input the plan would be further enhanced. 

There are many useful guides for writing a business plan.  Two good, no cost, references include:

SBA Business Plan Template 
http://web.sba.gov/busplantemplate/BizPlanStart.cfm

and the SCORE Plan Template
http://www.score.org/pdf/Business%20Plan%20for%20Startup%20Business_08.pdf

With dedication, application of common business sense and input from trusted business colleagues, your business plan will create a sound foundation for your business consulting start up.  Because the US and global business climate changes daily, you should update your plan frequently.  

 


Mark Williams, President of Strategic Development Group, Inc., will be writing a series of essays for MidlandsBiz during the coming months targeted to entrepreneurs considering startup of professional business consulting practices.  The series of essays began publication in January 2011.