I am amazed at how many resources there are and how much 
information is available today on writing a business plan.  There 
is software, documents, templates, outlines and a lot of experts 
that can help you.  Most experts and resources will tell you 
exactly how to write a business plan and maybe even provide a 
template that only needs minor changes to fit your needs.  All 
the emphasis is put on "writing" a solid business plan.  

I agree that you need a good business plan but I don't believe 
that you need to spend hours, days or even months writing your 
story so that people can read all about what you are going to do. 
In the first place, most of the people that are going to read 
your plan are bankers or investors that are not so much 
interested in your story as they are in whether you will succeed. 
Secondly, you may spend a lot of time writing this great and 
wonderful story only to find at the end that you cannot make it 
work.

You need to start by analyzing the feasibility of your 
prospective business by using good software or a professional 
that can help you do the research and develop a set of 
projections that will be sure you have covered everything.  Most 
businesses fail because they have not accurately projected their 
cash flow needs and perhaps because they have not been realistic 
in their projection of sales and expenses.  Remember that writing 
a good plan is about first doing it for yourself.

For your plan to be feasible you have to decide what goals you 
want to accomplish and how you will get there.  For instance, you 
may now have a job that provides you with a steady income.  How 
much must your business make to replace that income and how long 
can you survive if your income is reduced?  Can the project make 
enough money to satisfy the needs of investors?  Investors 
typically want higher than normal returns on a high-risk 
investment like a start-up business.  Can you meet the loan 
payments that are required and do you have sufficient equity in 
the business to satisfy the lender requirements in order to get 
the loan in the first place?  Lenders will look critically at 
your cash flow and the amount of cash and assets you have 
invested in the business.  

Several years ago I had a newly expanded business that in the 
first year of expansion increased sales by 50% and produced a 
substantial profit in the same year.  The problem was that I did 
not properly project the cash flow needs and ended up in a 
position where I could not pay the bills or payments.  How could 
this be?  I asked myself the same question when I had to shut the 
business down.  That is when I first learned about the importance 
of projections and analyzing the feasibility before leaping in. 
An inch from success will not get you where you want to be.

Take your time to do your projections and research each and every 
aspect of your business.  It is not just guess work.  In fact, 
you can be very accurate with all your costs and expenses.  If 
you talk to all of the appropriate professionals, suppliers and 
service providers you will probably be as accurate as possible in 
most areas of your projections.  The area that requires the most 
research is sales but, there are good techniques to come up with 
accurate estimates.

If you have researched and prepared your projections correctly 
and your business is feasible you have done a whole lot more than 
just create a financial projection.  You have discovered what it 
takes to make your business work, you have created a network of 
professionals to assist you in the success of your business, and 
now it is easy to write the rest of the story.  So, when you set 
out to "write" your business plan, start with the feasibility 
because it will tell you a lot about your business before you 
even get started.  If it looks good you will be able to sell it 
to the bankers and investors.  But, if it doesn't look good you 
haven't wasted a lot of time writing a fiction novel. 

Look for the next article on Writing A Successful Business Plan -
Part 4 - "What are Projections" of the Becoming Wise - Wild & 
Free series. 

Written by Rod Francis - President of Advantage Venture Systems 
Inc. creators of the Venture Planning System(tm) Pro business 
plan software @ www.VPSpro.com Suite 207, #1-1081 Central Ave. 
N., Swift Current, SK Canada S9H 4Z1
Check for more articles on writing a business plan at: 
http://www.vpspro.com/business_plan_articles.html