What is a Business Plan and Where do i start???

My sister and i have thought about running a little sandwich shop... We've found the shop, which is already a sandwich shop now... but we want to take over the lease and carry on running it... We have the money and the enthusiasm but we need help as to What we do now! Thanks

A business plan lays out your intentions for the year. What you will do in terms of sales and marketing. You mission and vision statement, etc. It is the basis to set your financial budget.

You can find templates at:

www.office.microsoft.com

Click on templates, then search for business plan.

You definately need to set up a business plan that includes your marketing plan, missions, business objectives and financial forecasts. Afterall, everyone needs to know where they are going before they start a journey, otherwise, you can't find your way to your destination. Also, you need to set up an appropriate legal, business tax structure that is appropriate for both you and your sister.

In a nutshell you need a tax/small business lawyer and definately an accountant to help the both of you set up a business system. The lawyer can help you set up appropriate legal structures.

The accountant can help set up your financial system, make financial forecasts/projections, set up a start-up budget, help with setting up your cash register system, employee payroll, book-keeping, inventory system etc...

The most important person you need is an accountant, they can also help you put your business plan together--in terms of financial aspects.

Go to http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/ or http://www.bplan.com/ where you will find sample plans and instructions on how to write a business plan

Then, go to http://www.score.org/ to find the nearest SCORE chapter. In the upper left hand corner is a box to enter your zip code. Your nearest SCORE chapter will be on the next screen. Contact them to arrange for a free one on one meeting with a SCORE counselor about starting a sandwich shop.

SCORE is a nonprofit organization. They provide a public service by offering small business advice and training. .

SCORE's 10,500 volunteers have more than 600 business skills. Volunteers share their wisdom and lessons learned in business. The volunteers are working/retired business owners, executives and corporate leaders.

you should have a paln it should be simple and ready as in case of the gaiant ray crock, mc donalds giant. simple franchise businees

a business plan is document that describes the business in great detail from concept to execution. They typically are 15-30 pages for a typical business. You can get and read books that will walk you through it or use software like "business plan pro" or any number of others to guide you. Google Write business plan and many options will come up. The main thing is you want the person reading it to understand what your business does, how it does it and what is the projected result of that.

Good luck.

There are pleanty of resources online and offline to help you start your own business and write a business plan.

Online:

SBA Articles About Business Planning
http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/

Free Online Business Plan Program and Start-Up Articles
http://www.diybizplan.com

They also have an overview of the process of starting a busienss and articles on the registration process with links to additional resources here:

Starting a Business Overview
http://www.diybizplan.com/default.php?ac...

Business Registration Overview
http://www.diybizplan.com/default.php?ac...

Business Legal Structure - Single Owner
http://www.diybizplan.com/default.php?ac...

Financing Your Buisness
http://www.diybizplan.com/default.php?ac...

Offine:

Check with your local
SCORE Office - voluneteers who mentor entrepreneurs
http://www.score.org

SBDC Office - Help with Business Planning, Financial Projections and Identifying Loan / Financing Resources
http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/sbdcnear.html...

I hope this helps and Good Luck!

dwadholm