Developing a Successful Business Plan

Thomas Edison famously said, “Success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.”

Many aspiring entrepreneurs think that just because they have a brilliant idea, their business will easily take off. But if you study the history of successful companies and entrepreneurs, you will find that's not true.

If you want to open a restaurant, it is not enough to know how to cook. If you want to open a school, it is not enough to know how to teach. If you want to open a hospital, it is not enough to know how to take care of patients.

It took me at least two years of product testing and market research before I was able to formulate my business plan. But that’s only because I already knew how to write a business plan. 

My master’s degree in business administration helped me understand all the different aspects of running a business–operations, technology, finance, accounting, human resource, marketing, legal and management.

If you don’t have any relevant business management experience, I suggest that you take some courses to help you learn how much capital (initial and operating) you need and how long it will take you to put together all the resources (equipment, supplies, inventory, personnel, suppliers, partners, store/office location, permits and all other business registration requirements) necessary to open and continue to run your own business. Then you can write your business plan.

A cheaper alternative is to hire a business plan writer or a consultant to do it for you.

Please bear in mind that writing a business plan is more than just getting a template and filling in the blanks. You are hiring and paying professionals like business plan writers or consultants for the knowledge and experience they have accumulated for several years. 

Just like any other process, if you don’t want to do it the hard way, you should be willing to pay the premium for a fast track or expedited method. 

You may not realize how much time and effort goes into preparing a business plan, especially if you are not familiar with how business loans get approved, or how investors decide where to put their money. But if you're concerned about cost, and calculate that your time and effort would be less expensive than the cost of hiring a consultant or business plan writer then, by all means, just do it yourself.

One thing you should understand is that the business plan itself does not guarantee your business success. It is your business strategy articulated in your business plan that will spell the difference. If you do your market research really well, you will become familiar with your market, your competitors and your industry as a whole.

So what should your business strategy look like?  

“You should be able to provide something unique or something better than everybody,” Pat Romani of Face Reality Acne Clinic said. “My partner Laura has been a skin care specialist for 14 years. She is already very familiar with what customers need and want. From those customers’ feedback, we formulated our dream clinic,” he said.

Romani had been in business before but eventually sold his share. He said for his next business, he decided to invest in something he could easily afford. 

"You will be afraid to make mistakes if you have a lot to lose," he said. "The more you’re scared, the more you make bad decisions. So start small and learn every aspect of the business,” Romani advised.

Starting a business takes more than just putting up capital. It will take a lot of your time and energy. 

Sometimes you will make a lot of mistakes before you can finally come up with the right formula. Be ready for ups and downs, especially in the first five years. Your market can move in different directions before you even know it.

If you want to stay open for very long, you have to do a very thorough market research or feasibility study. Then you will find out if you have what it takes to become successful in this business, or if it would be better to pursue something else. 

Building a successful business takes a lot of hard work. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.