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Writing A Business Plan - continued

In last week’s Business Insights video, Franchise Direct CEO Sean McGarry discussed the first two components in creating a successful business plan. In this week’s installment, he addresses the subject in more detail, and specifically talks about the operation of the business plan and its funding elements.

Download Business Insights #7 or view in the player below.

The operational side of the business plan deals with how you are going to deliver the product or the service, and in particular questions like, ‘What is the equipment you’re going to need?’, ‘Are there specialist, key-skills you’re going to have to identify?, and Who are your suppliers?’. “These are issues that are going to have to be dealt with in the operational plan,” Sean says. Financing is the final element of the business plan, though Sean admits that financing is the first thing that many banks and investors examine. “You will have to clearly set out the funding that’s needed to start this business,” Sean says. Sean warns against a common mistake that entrepreneurs make: underestimating your total funding. He urges entrepreneurs to set up a realistic cash plan that will clearly set out how much cash is coming in and how much cash is going out in the first months of your business. “The one thing you’re going to recognize in your first few months of business is that cash is king. If you run out of cash, it’s all over.” With this knowledge, plus Sean’s advice from last week, you should now have everything you need to create a successful business plan.