The Business Plan and why you need it

As a business owner, you have to be aware of and work with so many variables – like creating a compelling product, building a great team, generating sales and keeping your customers loyal. Writing a business plan helps you as it will guide you in understanding how your company operates. The process of writing a business plan, will help you learn how to forecast any challenges, understand what resources you would need and even manage your own company more effectively.

What does a business plan consist of?

First and foremost, when writing a business plan - you should be aware as to who your audience is. Depending if you’re pitching a VC or asking your banker for money, you should tailor the plan to what they are interested in. In general, every business plan are composed of these sections:

• Executive Summary: Placed in the front of the plan but written last, this allows the reader to quickly understand whether want to read the rest of the plan or not. It will provide them with a concise idea of what your business is, where the opportunity lies and how you plan to solve it.

• Description of Business and revenue model: This is a deeper analysis in your business. What is the problem you’re solving, how are you providing a solution, and how can the business be sustainable over the long term and make a profit.

• Industry Description: What industry are you competing in? Do you research and find out who the main competitors are and why are they failing or doing well. Present your company in a way that outlines how you plan to capture market share.

• Market Research: This is a deep analysis into defining who your customers are and whether they are interested in your product or service. By doing your market research, you may find out that your potential customers may want something else entirely.

• Operating Plan: How are you going to deliver your product or service to your customers? Make sure you account for every detail including customer service, manufacturing, sales and human resources.

• Management Team: For any business, it’s the management team that will make or break the company. Include a summary of each team member’s experience, what their responsibilities are and how they will help the company succeed.

• Financial Analysis: The most important aspect of any business plan, the financial analysis will show others if your company is going to make a profit. It will outline when you will break even and how long will it take to profitability.

Tips on a successful business plan

When you are raising money for your startup – it’s your business plan that will grab the attention of potential investors. Make sure that you have no spelling or grammar mistakes, it is printed on good quality paper, and most importantly, your financials are solid. Mistakes in your plan will make a poor impression to anyone who’s reading as they will wonder if you will make same mistakes in running your company.

As mentioned earlier, understand who the plan is for. If your plan is for your partners or employees then it would reflect more on the operations side. Likewise, a plan written for a loan officer, they will be very interested in your financial analysis. Did you make realistic projections? Will your potential sales revenue cover the loan payments over time?

Your business plan is one of the best methods to show investors that your company is worthy of their investment. By keeping your plan clear and realistic you will be able to show them that you can make it happen.

Border Frustration

And there we have it – another dream dashed. The Canadian business community looked across the Atlantic and envied the open borders of the European Union. Imagine shipping materials and products between countries in a virtually hassle-free method. Every day, more than $1.5 billion in goods crosses the border between the U.S. and Canada. Thanks to the near state of panic of the American government, entering the United States has never been more difficult.

To be fair, the U.S. has cause to be concerned. The American nation is probably the number one target of terrorists worldwide. However, many have asked if the overly stringent security measures are not being employed in the wrong places. Are U.S. security measures doing more harm than good?

Take a look, for example, at the Great Lakes shared by Canada and the U.S. At the same time that kindly old grandmothers are having their belongings thoroughly searched, prior to being exposed to full body scans, a low level terrorist, with limited resources and minimal effort, can cross an open body of water between the countries in a canoe.

The auto industry, already in a troubled state, is suffering terribly from U.S. border restrictions. A foreign auto company can import 4,000 vehicles to the U.S. with a single customs clearance. On the other hand, the same number of vehicles manufactured in joint U.S./Canada ventures – where the complete assembly process may involve up to seven border crossings due to the integration of the supply chain – require almost 28,000 customs and security clearances!

For many of us who remember entering the U.S. many years ago using a library card for identification, those days are long gone. Passports are now required and lengthy, sometimes infuriating lines are now commonplace. As Europe moves to a common currency and mutual trust, the U.S. is building a deep moat around its castle.

The economic and commercial links between Canada and the U.S. are far too intertwined to ignore. As such, perhaps the nations' leaders should be searching for ways to punish the terrorists without punishing the innocent bystanders.
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Canadian Auto Industry Driving Growth

Cars are a vital part of the Canadian culture, not to mention the economy. The recent recession had a devastating impact on automobile manufacturers and sales in North America. However, with the economy on the rebound, sunnier days are in sight for the Canadian auto industry.

British Columbia and Alberta, the country's westernmost provinces and both with resource – dependent economies, were hit extremely hard when commodity prices took a nosedive during the recession. However, with the demand for natural resources rapidly returning, the economy in the west is improving and car sales will follow suit. Industry experts predict that new car sales in British Columbia will rise by 5% in 2010 and by 10% in Alberta. This is a major recovery following a dismal 2009 ending in sales declines of 15% in B.C. and 21% in Alberta.

Growing consumer confidence in the nation's economy, coupled with global recovery, is expected to fuel positive sales figures across the nation. Projections for the current year anticipate auto sales to climb to 1.53 million units, 10% higher than sales figures for 2009.

Another province expected to contribute to the rise in sales figures is Saskatchewan. Although the province holds the record for the oldest vehicle fleet in the country – average age exceeding 11 years – auto sales are still 12% above the average. In general, growth in the province has exceeded the national average for the last three years.

On the other end of the scale, Quebec is expected to show only a moderate increase in auto sales of no more than 3%. The province currently has more new vehicles per capita than any other province.

Whether the contributing factor is a recovering economy, a relaxation of credit restrictions, or even purchases for the upcoming Winter Olympics, the fact is that Canadians love their new cars and, having weathered the global storm, it's time to go shopping.

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