SmallBusinessNewz

We are at the end of our series on Business Plans. Can you believe it? The Projections section could be included in your Financial Plan, but it could also stand-alone as its own section. It lays out the  financial expectations for your business. As explained in the video below, entrepreneurs often times struggle with making their first projections. They don't want to sell their business short, but they also don't want to come across as overly confident.

The projections should be clear and realistic. One side of your projections will likely be an educated guess, but that "guess" can be deduced from research. The other side should be based on the assumptions you reach from the other sections of your Business Plan.

Projections need to include balance sheets explaining the sources and uses of funding. Also, detail your sales/revenue predictions. Ultimately, all your expenses need to be explained and accounted for.

Regardless of whether you include your Projections into your Financial Plan or not, here is a list of all the sections of the Business Plan for review:

1. Executive Summary
2. Business Overview
3. Operations Plan
4. Market Analysis
5. Products and Services
6. Sales and Marketing
7. Competitive Analysis
8. Management Team
9. Financial Plan
10. Projections

Your Business Plan serves as a roadmap into the future of your business. Each section of your plan explains a very important role of your business and should not be taken lightly.

When we launched this series, we referenced Frank Fiore, the author of Write a Business Plan in No Time. Fiore gives the following reasons for writing a business plan:

• Defining a new business venture
• Determining whether your business will make a profit
• Providing an estimate of your startup costs
• Devising an effective marketing strategy
• Helping you compete in the marketplace
• Measuring your business performance and tracking your growth

After you have completed your Business Plan, read back over those reasons and make sure your plan meets the criteria.

If you have any questions on Business Plans, you can refer back to our entire series on Business Plans or email us at videos@smallbusinessnewz.com. Be sure to also share your own experience with writing a Business Plan below.