Achieving success in today's business environment is an increasing challenge. There are a myriad of pitfalls that can await even the most competent construction company executive-labor issues, supply problems, timely payment, inclement weather and a host of others. How can a construction company owner navigate this climate?
If you were to set off on a long trip, you probably would not think of leaving until you had a set of detailed directions-a roadmap, if you will-of where you were headed, the key points along the way, relative distances and some idea of how long it would take you to get there. The same is true for planning your business journey. You must have a business plan, or roadmap, for your business success.
A Good Business Plan Contains the following:
- Executive Summary
- Table of Contents
- Company Description
- Services
- Market Analysis
- Marketing Plan
- Operations Plan
- Financial Plan
- Management
- Exit Strategies
Executive Summary
Perhaps the single most important part of the business plan, the executive summary, allows the business owner to capture, in a nutshell, the core essence of what his or her business will be. Think of it as the Reader's Digest version of the full business plan. Understand, too, that it might be all that a credit grantor or potential investor reads before making a decision about meeting with you or investing.
The executive summary should quickly capture the reader's attention and generate excitement. It should focus on the hard facts and should avoid, at all costs, exaggerated optimism or "management speak." The writing of the executive summary, and the entire business plan for that matter, should be void of any words that you wouldn't use when speaking with someone in normal conversation.
Among topics to address in the executive summary are the following:
- what type of company it is
- how it will differ from competitors
- what products/services it will offer the market
- the size of the market and amount of that market share to be captured
- who the management team is and a brief highlight of their qualifications
- how the company will be capitalized
- what that initial or additional capitalization will be used for
- what goals the company hopes to achieve
If a strong summary is written, the remainder of the business plan will be relatively easy to flesh out by using the summary as an outline and providing more details for each relevant section.
Table of Contents
Once you've mapped out your executive summary, you can then lay out the table of contents for your business plan. The table of contents is exactly what its title implies says: an outline of the various sections and their corresponding page numbers. The table of contents should be designed in such a way that someone reviewing your plan can readily access any section with ease.
Most likely, you will probably spend a good deal of time editing and revising your business plan. Once it has been finalized, it is always a good idea to go back and double-check that the sections and pages numbers of your table of contents are still correct.
Company Description
The Company description is your chance to impress the reader with what will make your business different. Here you highlight the key accomplishments and history of your business to date, how it was started, significant milestones, sales growth, evolution and plans for the future. If your company is a start-up, explain what your vision is for the company and how you hope to achieve it. Another thing to consider in the company description is how you will perform the work. Will you participate in joint venture projects frequently with strategic partners, or will you perform most work yourself? Similarly, to what extent will you rely on subcontractors? These decisions can significantly change the dynamics of both your business
