Best Practices | BP & FM | Business
Plans
Submitted by
Alan on 01/09/2002
Be realistic when developing your business plan and PLAN to make major
adjustments during the first couple of years. We embarked on a very
aggressive plan and found quickly that we had constraints that hadn't
been considered in the original plan. Now we are more realistic about
our long term goals.
Get a facilitator to help you drive the process of planning. Doing it
yourself can be an exercise in going round and round with the same old
issues.
DONT GIVE UP!
Submitted by
Len Mitchell on
10/12/2001 Check out the resources at the small business administraion,
particularly their "Business plan guide" at
www.sba.gov.
Submitted by
Jane Tally on 10/15/2001 Here
are some questions you might want to ask as you get started: Create a
business plan. If you are unfamiliar with business plans, consult with
university business schools, philanthropy organizations or
corporations. Funders will want to know exactly what you are going to
do, where there is competition or compatible relationships, what are
your strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities, what resources
are available to you, eg. space, equipment, resources, student
prospects? How many staff do you need and is there space for them? How
does your past experience or those of your partners make you qualified
to run this program? What are the benefits your program will provide
to the students, the funder, the community, the food service industry?
Are you a 501c3 or are you in the process of getting it? What is a
realistic budget and have you considered everything you will need. Do
you have a development/fund-raising plan? How do you plan to continue
funding? Can you be self-supporting in the future by developing a
mini-enterprise? (This is a critical question now among KC funders!)
Do you have a communication plan? How are you able to ensure your
program will work? What partnerships do you plan on including to make
your program successful. Most important, what is your long term vision
and what is your mission statement? The ability to answer these
questions will bring you support.
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