Writing a business plan can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! Business plans are essential for your practice & in this series of articles, we aim to demystify business plans & give you actionable steps to take to create your own. The first step in writing a business plan is to determine your audience.
A business plan is a strategic tool that provides a roadmap for entrepreneurs to achieve their short & long terms goals by focusing on specific steps. According to the SBA, a well-thought-out business plan helps you to step back and think objectively about the key elements of your business & informs your decision-making as you move forward.
A business plan communicates your vision & can be used to get buy-in from your team and lenders. The first step to business plan writing is to determine your audience. To do so, first, identify your intention.
Are you looking for clarity, funding, team buy-in, or to sell? Whatever your purpose is, that will form the basis for your audience. For example, if your strategic goal is to drop PPOs and go to a fee-for-service practice, your audience could be your team. You will need their buy-in for this transition & the business plan will help with this. Maybe you are looking to expand & need to secure funding. In this case, the audience would be a lender or investor. Perhaps you are looking to sell your practice, in which case the potential buyer would be your audience.
Now that you understand the significance of a business plan, the first step is to define your audience. To whom do you want to articulate your goals & to what end? As always, start with the end in mind. See not that bad! You got this & we will continue to walk you through the steps of a business plan in this series of articles.
References
https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/write-your-business-plan