Building a business is an exciting journey. You get to learn a lot of things and give a new product or service to the world. Before you can start your company, though, you will need to gather enough funds to jumpstart and grow your business and as early as possible, planning for a career in business while in college should be considered.
According to Entrepreneur, an aspiring business owner needs a solid business plan to encourage investors to put in money to his or her company. A business plan includes details such as the company description, market analysis, organization and management, product line or service, marketing and sales as well as funding request and financial projections if outside capital is needed.
The publication noted that a business plan is basically a map for the upcoming three to five years of your company. It should be flexible as well since it needs to grow as your business' needs and abilities change.
A concise executive summary should be included in the business plan as well as the company description, market analysis and an organization and management section.
Next, a funding request should be in the business plan if your company needs investors. The amount of funding required and the projected amounts for the next five years should be included in the document. Details should be explained in-depth, especially the method of how the funding would be implemented and the preferred type of funding. The funding request also needs to include buyout plans.
Financial projections are an important aspect in a business proposal since it gives stakeholders a clear view of where the company plans to go in the coming years. While the business' goals should be included here, it also needs hard data collected from a market analysis.
It was added that business loans are the most common way to finance a business. There are several options available for the aspiring entrepreneur.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) gives various loan programs which are designed to fit your business' needs. The SBA offers general small business loans, the microloan program, disaster loans or real estate and equipment loans, among others. Another option would be to go to banks or other private lending entities.
