When Writing your Business Plan?

Twelve things to do when writing your business plan:
 Create a framework for the plan e.g. table of contents.
 Identify possible appendices, attachments etc.
 Estimate page lengths for each key section.
 List main issues and topics to be covered within key sections.
 Assign work programs based on the framework and lists.
 Draft all key sections in a logical sequence.
 Check the preliminary draft for completeness and plug gaps.
 Stand back and take a detached overview of the draft.
 Let an outsider or adviser critique the latest draft.
 Redraft, fine tune and spell check.
 Write the executive summary and plan's conclusion.
 Get an independent assessment of the final draft

Ideal Length of a Business Plan

What is the ideal page length of a business plan? Well, what is the length of a piece of string? The answer really depends on the purpose and scope of the plan - are we talking about a basic or comprehensive plan. See the tip below on Decide on your type of Business Plan at the Outset.

Analysis of findings from an ongoing survey about business plans by Plan Ware indicates that the main parts (i.e. the body of plan excluding appendices etc.) of many basic plans are under ten pages long whereas comprehensive plans are often 10-25 pages long. More specifically, the analysis found that almost half of all comprehensive plans were at least 26 pages long as compared with just one-tenth of basic plans

How to Assess New Business Ideas:

Having built up a moderate list of new business ideas, these must be evaluated so that a short-list of preferred options with the greatest potential and lowest risk can be assessed in greater depth.
Once your short-list has been developed, you will need to start devoting substantial time to assessment, research, development and planning. For a start, you could pursue the following tasks:

 Discuss products/services with prospective customers
 Assess the market using desk & field research
 Analyze your competition
 Consider possible start-up strategies
 Set ball-park targets and prepare first-cut financial projections
 Prepare a simple action plan
 Critically examine ideas from all angles