Developing a Business Plan

When you decide to go ahead and start your business, the next step is to write a business plan. Your business plan explains the product or service you are selling to people, the goals of your business (like how much money it will make), and the steps you will take to achieve those goals. There are two main reasons that a business plan is important:

1. You'll want to map out all the steps you need to take, and calculate your finances, before you start spending a lot of time and money.
2. Your business plan can convince people to work with you. If you can clearly show how your business will become profitable, people will be more likely to give you money or advice.

What You Need in Your Business Plan

A traditional business plan has the following nine sections, although yours might not need all of them. Use the sections that make the most sense for your business.

1. Executive summary: A short explanation of your business, including your goals and values, and your plans for growth.
2. Description: Information about your product or service, who your customers will be, and what sets you apart from similar businesses.
3. Market analysis: Information about the industry you work in and the other businesses you are competing with.
4. Organization and management: Information about how your business is organized and key people.
5. Products or services: Details about the product you sell or the service you offer, and why people will buy it.
6. Marketing and sales: A description of how you will attract and keep customers.
7. Funding request: Information about how much funding you'll need and what you'll use it for.
8. Financial projections: Your estimated costs and the money you think you will make in the next five years.
9. Appendix: Extra documents, such as your credit history, letters of reference, licenses, and permits.

Depending on your personal situation and business, some of these sections may be very detailed, and some may be very short. For example, if you are the only employee in your business, the Organization and Management section will probably be short.

You can read sample business plans for many different types of business on Bplans.com.

Get Help

You probably can't write your whole business plan alone. Luckily, there are many organizations that help potential entrepreneurs write their business plans, often for free. Some of these organizations specifically help people with disabilities.

Organizations That Help with Business Planning

• Your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Georgia. SBDCs partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide assistance and resources to people who have or want to start small businesses
  
• The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA), which can help you plan your business and give you business training, if you qualify for its services
• SCORE, a nonprofit that provides education, mentorship, and tools to help small businesses get off the ground
• Synergies Work, an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities start small businesses
  
• The Georgia Micro Enterprise Network (GMEN), a nonprofit association in Georgia that supports and funds microenterprises
  
• The Small Business Administration (SBA), a federal agency that provides counseling and resources for small businesses
• A Women's Business Center (WBC), which provides free or low-cost training and counseling for women with small businesses
• The Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC), an SBA program, if you are a veteran
• The Job Accommodation Network (JAN), which provides technical assistance, consulting, and mentoring services to people with disabilities, including help with self-employment and small business development

The organization you work with might not know much about disability benefits, like Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and Medicaid, or about resources specifically for people with disabilities. For questions about your disability or benefits, speak to a benefits expert.

Build a Team

Even if you will be the only employee in your business, you'll still need people to help you with the parts of your business you don't know much about. For example, you might need an accountant to do your taxes or a marketing specialist to help you attract customers. Start creating a support team of people who can give you advice, suggestions, and solutions to problems.

The people you need on your support team will depend on your personal situation and business. Some examples of experts and advisors are:

• Accountants or tax professionals
• Lawyers
• Disability benefits planners
• Marketing experts
• Bankers or credit experts

No one can do everything alone. These people will have knowledge that you need.