After finishing your market research and study, you can use it as the starting point for developing one of the most important foundations of any business – the business plan.

A business plan helps you succeed in many ways. They’re essential when looking for loans; they help you gauge your progress; and they’ll tell you where you’re going and the path you should take to get there. Business plans typically include a description of your business and the industry details such as customers, competitors, suppliers, the products and services you’ll offer, your pricing or fees, sales, and your marketing and production plans.

You’ll also need to outline the opportunities and threats facing your business, the resources you will require, your expansion plans, and current and projected financial statements.

PLAN TO SUCCEED

Business planning is not just important, it’s critical. This is fairly obvious when starting a business, but don’t forget to continue to plan as your business grows. Continual planning is necessary to help you avoid some of the pitfalls and hurdles that go along with expansion.

One often overlooked part of business planning is human resource development - the hiring and management of employees. Good people are at the heart of any business. Finding and recruiting employees with the right training, experience and skills to make your business a success is fundamental.

You must be aware of the numerous legal, tax and regulatory requirements associated with having employees on your payroll. Provincial regulations include employment standards, workers’ compensation, minimum wages, and occupational health and safety standards.

Others fall under federal jurisdiction and include Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Income Tax. For further information, you should contact the appropriate provincial and federal government departments or professionals such as a lawyer or accountant.

Business planning is an ongoing process, especially in these times of rapid technological and economic change. No business stays the same for long. You need to adapt to changing industries, markets and economies. You must revise your plan periodically to compensate for changing circumstances. This will allow your business plan to keep working for you. The process of rethinking and reworking the plan will force you to consider new ways of doing business, new markets or new products and services. This can offer you new ways of increasing revenues or cutting costs.

For more information and assistance in developing your business plan please explore the rest of our website. Or, send us an email or pay us a visit at one of 41 local CBDC offices in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador.