“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”.

This old adage is often cited by business advisers, and is particularly important for anyone starting or running a small business.  You may have the best recipes and be the best cook, or sell the most beautiful clothes, or be an amazing IT professional, but if you do not plan how you will run your business, you will start out at a disadvantage.  A written business plan does not have to be a daunting experience or a hundred-page document.  There are many examples on the internet, but the SBDC encourages you to refrain from using a “canned’ template or having anyone else write you plan for you.  If this is to be your business, it needs to be your plan.

The Alexandria SBDC has a guide that, when followed, will produce a simple business plan sufficient for most small businesses.  In fact, our clients who have followed the guide have been able to get bank loans for their businesses and have been able to use the plan as a “living tool” to continually update to run their business efficiently.  We encourage you to read the Business Planning Guide and to begin writing your Business Plan with the information found on pages 15 – 22 of the guide.  The Alexandria SBDC can review your draft and assist you in completing the rest of the plan.