{"id":376,"date":"2015-04-21T20:53:13","date_gmt":"2015-04-21T20:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/masterybusiness1xngcxmaster\/?post_type=chapter&p=376"},"modified":"2015-07-11T23:16:37","modified_gmt":"2015-07-11T23:16:37","slug":"business-plans","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/clinton-introbusinesswmopen\/chapter\/business-plans\/","title":{"raw":"Outcome: Business Plans","rendered":"Outcome: Business Plans"},"content":{"raw":"

What you\u2019ll learn to do: identify and describe the essential components of a business plan<\/h2>\r\nNo one plans to fail, but many\u00a0individuals who start a small business fail to plan! \u00a0Let's go on\u00a0a trip . . .\r\n\r\n\"Photo<\/a>\r\n\r\nWe decide that we are going to Malibu, which, according to our sign here, is 1,760 from wherever this sign is located. So,we grab our suitcases, sunglasses, and sunscreen and head west. We drive through rolling hills and scenic pastures and then realize that we have no idea how to actually get to Malibu because we don't have a map\u2014there's no fancy GPS in the car, and even though\u00a0we look great in our sunglasses, the battery on our\u00a0phones died about three\u00a0hours ago and no one brought a car charger. So, we begin stopping at roadside diners and gas stations asking people how to get to Malibu. Some of them have never even heard of Malibu and others seem to know how to get there, but their directions seem very vague and generic. Our travels are taking a very long time, and we are wasting\u00a0a lot of money. . . . Well, this isn't how we expected the trip\u00a0to go at all, is it? We had planned to be in Malibu by now\u2014or had we? As I recall, we didn't\u00a0plan at all.\r\n\r\nThat's what a business plan is\u2014a map. It's a map of what you will sell and to whom, how you will run your business, whom you will rely on, and where you will be located. Starting a business without a solid business plan is just as ill-advised as jumping into a car and heading\u00a0on a cross-country trip with no map, no expert advice, and no support system in place. In this next section you'll learn about the components of\u00a0a well-crafted, solid plan to help entrepreneurs successfully launch a business and get where they're trying to go.\r\n

LEARNING ACTIVITIES<\/h3>\r\nThe learning activities for this section include:\r\n