The Beauty of a Business Plan

For marketing, make sure to lay out your plan. How are you going to reach your base of customers? Will you use an internal marketing force, or are you going to use a direct mail campaign? Also, detail which mediums you will use for promotion, whether television, print, Internet or a combination.

The finance section is particularly important. It should include how much money you need to get the business started. It also should include information on sales, profits and returns on investment.

And many entrepreneurs forget about the table of contents, which is important to include. You can draw this up once you've finished the entire plan; it will give the reader an idea of where you're going before he or she starts. Additionally, although it seems like common sense, don't forget to put numbers on the top corner of every page.

Expert Advice

"The main part of a business plan is the executive summary, which is like a pitch for a movie -- you want to get someone to read the rest of the plan," says Robert Moses, a career counselor at Score, a nonprofit organization that advises small-business owners through its 389 chapters nationwide. Volunteers at the organizations are retired or working executives who have decided to give back to the business community.

There is even a section on Score's Web site to guide you step-by-step through writing a business plan.