Virtually Yours Personal Assistants

One of the first steps in starting a business is developing a business plan. It’s a pretty scary step but one that is vital in helping to determine the future direction of your venture. Here’s a list of resources we recommend:

FREE

SCORE Business Plan Template: http://www.score.org/template_gallery.html

BPlans.com also has a number of free plans available online in several categories: http://www.bplans.com/Sample_Business_Plans/index.cfm 

LOW COST

Check your local community college for a continuing education course on business plan writing. For a relatively small fee you’ll meet other aspiring entrepreneurs, get low cost classroom materials, and have an instructor who can answer questions and refer you to other resources.

MODERATE COST

Review Amazon.com to find highly reviewed books on business plans (or save a few bucks by borrowing them from your local library). If you insist on spending money, one book we personally recommend is New Venture Creation - Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century by Timmons and Spinelli. At 700 pages its no quick read but the CD that accompanies the book is an excellent resource for thinking through every aspect of your new venture.

Once written, you should revisit your business plan periodically to review and, if necessary, reevaluate your direction.

What other business plan writing resources would you recommend?