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Prior to writing your business plan, you need to take time to focus on two primary goals: What you see as the goal and future direction of your business and what your goal is for writing the business plan.

The Goal or Future Direction of Your Business. By identifying where you see the business going in the next one, two, or five years, you can write a plan that adequately reflects your goals. our personal skills, needs, knowledge, leadership abilities, available resources, level of risk, and the nature of your business will factor into the equation when identifying your personal business goals. One of the most important aspects of starting your own business is that it gives you an opportunity to do what you enjoy. If that means a two-person business, then that is what will be reflected in the business plan. Conversely, if your goal is to build a large corporation, and you realistically feel you have the knowledge and experience to do so, then that is what your business plan will indicate. There is no size minimum or maximum for a business plan. The major differences will be reflected in the amount of details and the amount of funding you will need to achieve such goals.

The Goal for Writing the Business Plan. Are you writing the plan to attract funding or as a guide to running the business? While one plan can serve both purposes, you can tailor the plan to more closely focus on the financial needs of the business if you are trying to procure funding. You will want to make it clear how much money is needed, how it will be spent, and when you foresee paying a profit on the investment dollars. If, however, the plan is for yourself, and/or your team to use as an internal guide, the emphasis can be more heavily built around reaching specific goals and milestones. Such a plan will be written with an emphasis on guiding you through the business process. The goals of such a functional plan will be to measure operational progress, test planning assumptions, anticipate capitol requirements, make decisions on adding/eliminating products or services, and evaluate operational procedures.

Therefore, prior to writing a business plan, make a list of what you see as your personal goals for the company and then determine the goal of the plan itself.