Your People

Human resources plan for the next five years (numbers and types of staff members, job outlines for all technical, management and professional staff, manpower plan, remuneration plan, etc.) (4-6 pages)

After you have figured out all of the structural aspects of the company, you are now ready to determine your people strategy. You have your organization chart, both one for now, and another for 3 to 5 years from now. How will you be staffing your business? Here, like everywhere in this planning process, the goals need to drive the strategies.

On countless occasions, I have seen situations where people meet someone who wants a job, so they hire that person (sometimes a nephew or a cousin), and try to build the company around these people. Then they wonder why the organization is not cost-effective and difficult to maneuver.

Once you are over 5 staff, and all the way to as large as you can possibly grow your business (even if it is into the multi-billions), 80% of your problems in business will be people problems. It just works out that way. The more effort and thought you have in advance, the smaller the nature of those issues, and the more effective your team will be.

I would much rather have problems of what kinds of bonuses to give my people due to their tremendous success (yes, even successful companies encounter their own unique “problems” and situations), than to be struggling with ineffectiveness and attitude issues.

The clearer you think through your people strategies, the better your organization will be.

Financial Plan

Financial plan for the next five years (sources and costs of capital, funding mechanism requested (if any), cash flow projection, pro forma profit and loss statement, etc.) (4-6 pages)

This is the last main component of any effective business plan. You can only sort out the money once you have thought through everything else. Regarding the financial plan, there are a number of components.

How much money will you need for your growth and expansion? How will you be spending that money? Are you looking for funding from outside sources? If so, how much and from whom? How will your cash flow work, on a monthly basis for the next year? How do you expect your sales levels, and overall company to grow over the next 5 years?

Many of these questions may only be answered with guesses at this point. However, it is still a very good exercise to go through. Once you have set up an anticipated forecast, you may then measure the consequences of change. One thing we know is that life will not unfold exactly how you predict that it will (even if you are in the psychic business). So, you will want to see how it differs in real life, as it occurs. Then you may make adjustments to your financial plan along the way.

This is just as important if you are not seeking capital from outside sources. If you are funding your own business with your own internal resources, you will still want to know how you are doing financially.

Take the time to really get clear about your money. Too often I have seen people gloss over this step, especially if they are not looking for funding, only to run into major problems later.

Appendices

In this section, you may want to place supporting documents from any of the other sections that may be relevant.

Executive Summary Revisited

Now, with the overall plan written, summarize the highlights of each section in your executive summary. One to two paragraphs on each area will give you a summary that will be effective, whether you are seeking money, the support of a board of advisors, or trying to entice a potential partner to participate in your new or growing venture.

By taking the time to do the planning needed to complete a business plan of this caliber, you will be setting yourself up for a much more prosperous experience as you grow your business in service of your goals and commitments in life.

The End