Business Development Officer Megan

Remember writing term papers in high school or college? You had to prove a point using evidence provided by your research of the topic. In many ways, a business plan is proving the following thesis: “I can successfully operate a sustainable business.” So what research do you need to prove this idea?

Market Research – Who are your competitors in the area? What are their prices for comparable services? How will you differentiate your product/service from theirs?
Financials – Create realistic projections for the money you will make and lose over the next 3 years. Explain how you came up with these figures, and how they will figure in to the growth of your company. Also include the amount of money you, your partners, and your investors (if applicable) are contributing to the start up.
Biographies – Who’s who in the organization? What skills, experience, and talent does each of the business owners/partners bring to the proverbial table? Understand how each person will make the business successful.
- What are the duties of each person employed by the company?
- Each person should provide a personal financial statement
- How will matters be resolved if the partners cannot agree on an issue?
Marketing Plan – How will your potential patrons know about your business? How much of your budget is devoted to marketing? Depending on the type of business, will you do traditional advertising, or organic word of mouth marketing?
The Company Itself – What product or service are you providing, and how will you be doing this? How did you originally get involved in the industry? What makes this industry a worthwhile use of your time, energy, and money?

These are only a few of the aspects to consider when creating a business plan. You can find many seminars on how to write a business plan for little to no cost at local libraries, local community colleges – particularly Brookdale Community College, and of course at First Financial Federal Credit Union. Formal templates can be found at www.SBA.gov or www.SCORE.org. Use these questions provided, along with one of their templates, to prove your thesis – you can, in fact, operate a successful business…once you have the right plan!

For more information about any of First Financial’s business accounts and services, you can contact Business Development by emailing business@firstffcu.com

Questions and Answers signpost Awhile back, we wrote about how an important part of starting your business is creating a mission statement identifying the proverbial “who, what, where, why, and how” of your business.

Now that your business is up and running, however, have you noticed that the snapshot vision you created for your future doesn’t align with the reality? If this sounds familiar, ask yourself the following questions:

Am I reaching the target audience I thought I would?
- Perhaps you were targeting Baby Boomers and ended up servicing more Millennials instead – have you updated your vision, plan, and marketing to reflect this adjustment?
Who runs the business?
- Have you added new employees to your leadership team whose decisions add value to your business? Do you need to?
What is the business? What is the product?
- Ultimately these might not have changed significantly since the launch of your business. But should your company or product be altered to meet new demographics you did not realize you would reach?
Why does the business exist?
- You started this business because you had a dream and a market to enter. But now that you have been operating for awhile, what makes you competitive enough to stay in the marketplace?
How does the business operate?
- Is it time to hire a new manager? Are you solely an online business and would like to move to a storefront – or vice versa? Could you cut costs or do you need to develop your inventory more?

Admittedly these are a lot of questions; however, it is crucial to question your business several times per year to justify the sustainability of your company. If you aren’t questioning it, someone else could be, as well as developing their own company that might be your direct competitor. Questioning your mission statement that you created with the original bullet points gives you a chance to look at your business as if you were your own competitor. The best way to maintain your mission is to stay ahead of it!

Have a question about business planning, products, or services? Contact Business Development or leave a comment below.