Physical Requirements

Physical requirements for the next five years (location(s), plant and equipment, offices, furnishing, plant and/or office layout, etc.) (4-6 pages)

Having thought out your present and future product/service offering, and your present and future organization chart, you can now calculate your physical space requirements, both now and into the future. It is very common for people to outgrow their current space in a fairly short period of time (1 to 2 years). By sorting out your five year plan, you will also be able to develop a transition strategy for how to handle increased space needs as you grow, without having to commit to the future space up front.

This can save you money and reduce the stress associated with these types of issues.

Production Plan

Production plan for the next five years (all aspects of manufacturing or processing relevant to the products to be offered, to the extent this is applicable) (5-7 pages)

What are your product production and delivery mechanisms? If you manufacture a hard product, then this is the place to develop that plan. If you offer a service, this is where you decide how you will evolve the service delivery. This could also include how you will develop any intellectual property that you plan on building over time.

Intellectual property is becoming a larger and larger part of many people’s businesses, especially with the emergence of internet businesses. The product quite often is the intellectual capital itself. How will this be developed over time? Your clarity in determining this will support you as your company, and your intellectual wisdom, evolve.

Marketing Plan

Marketing plan for the next five years (marketing plan for the company, including target markets, research and analysis, advertising, promotion, pricing, etc.) (4-5 pages)

How are you going to get (or continue to get) your stuff into your customers’ hands, as you grow? No business plan would be complete without a well-thought game plan for new customer acquisition.

You know what they say about a business that is a secret . . . it starves! Make sure not to skip this step.

Information Plan

Information plan for the next five years (decision support systems, internal and external communication, etc.) (4-5 pages)

This is one of the areas most commonly overlooked in other business plans. Yet it is present in every business, at all times. This is more than just your technology, though it includes that component. It also speaks to how information flows through your organization. What will be the communication lines between your company and your customers? How will you interact with your staff. How will they get you the information you need to make the decisions you will be making?

And, how will technology support all of this communication and information flow? This will dictate what technology you choose, and how you use it.

One of the mistakes that many small and growing businesses make is to under-utilize technology and over-staff as they grow. This costs lots, and makes the addition of technological processes that much more difficult when they finally are introduced. By thinking through your accounting systems, your databases and other communication systems in advance, you will minimize waste, and be able to evolve your organization in an effective manner.

…End of Part 5