It is important to create a good foundation for your business by writing a business plan, even if you are the only one who ever reads it. It will help to establish key areas of your business, set goals, and track your progress.
Consider your business plan as a roadmap, a tool that will help you get from your decision to start your own business, to actually running it, with as little stress and confusion as possible. Like taking a trip, your roadmap can stay flexible, allowing you to make changes to your course along the way, speeding up or slowing down as you need to.
Some of the key areas you may want to include in your plan:
- Mission Statement
- List of Products and/or Services
- Business name
- Your Skills, Knowledge and Talents
- Goals
Think of the above points like questions. Layout your business plan in sections and answer those questions as you go along. Some of this will also help greatly in developing website content, and generally introducing yourself and your business to the world.
Review your roadmap often and make any necessary adjustments to your path as you go along. You may want to keep your original versions though to help you see how far you have come!