Financial Planning...???

**KeliTheGuitarMomma** · 08-17-2008 11:14 AM

Hey y'all! Okay, so I'm working on my business plan, and I thought it would be a good idea in my executive summary to summarize my financial plan. Problem: I don't have a financial plan yet!!! So is the financial plan where I tell how much capital I need and for what? Or, is the financial plan where I tell how much I plan to make with my business and what that money will be going to pay for or profits? I'm a little confused... my business plan guide tells me to include a summary of this "Financial Plan" in my executive summary, but really, I'm a business STUDENT who JUST NOW changed her major to business... and I'm a little bumfuzzled. Anyone who can help me with this please please reply... I cannot afford to pay exhorberent prices for someone else to do this business plan for me, plus I want to have my hands in this business from the beginning, and know what the "Plan" is, and go through the steps of creating it so I'll know what I'm looking at when I look at it. Does that make sense? Anyway, I'm looking forward to y'alls responses. Later gators!!

**rogercbryan** · 08-17-2008 01:09 PM

This depends on what type of business plan you are writing? Are you going to have to seek investors or are you simply writing a guide that you are going to use internally. In both cases a financial plan is good idea.. but if you are going to seek outside funding then a complete financial plan will be mandatory.

Writing your financial plan can seen daunting but in reality you can simplify things. Forecasting sales is never easy for a new start-up unless you can benchmark a preexisting company. Start by figuring out what your costs are going to be as those should be pretty evident. Then figure out your price point of your product or service. Once you have that you can calculate your break even point. Now create a marketing or sales strategy to meet or exceed that break even point.

As you are doing this the numbers are going to constantly change... but this should get you going in the right direction. I have a few blog posts about writing business plans at Everything you need to know about auto auctions, vehicle donations, non-profits, and the life of an entrepreneur. If you would like me to take a look at your business plan I would be happy to do so. Just PM me your business summary so I can make sure we are not competitors and we can go from there.

**KeliTheGuitarMomma** · 08-17-2008 01:56 PM

Thank you Roger! I am going to attempt to get funding... however, I don't even want to try it unless I have a total and complete business plan that is up to modern standards. I've got a sample business plan, instructions from another website, and from another website a template for a business plan and I am trying to use all three to come up with what I think I will need. Check out my one and only blog to this point... that should tell you if we are competitors or not I think. I probably will need your help as I have never done this before, and though I've got my executive summary on paper, it is written not typed so I will have to type up what I have and send it to you. It will be in PDF format because I also did some graphs in Adobe Illustrator that need to be incorporated. Once again thanks, and I will get that to you in the next 24 -36 hours probably (I'm estimating how much time it will take me to revise, re-revise and type it up as well as compile it all as a pdf document. Later gator,

**rogercbryan** · 08-17-2008 02:03 PM

Can I have a link to your blog?

**KeliTheGuitarMomma** · 08-17-2008 07:33 PM

Our Dream.... The Christian Internet Cafe and Grill.... - Young Entrepreneur Forums

There is the link to my blog... I hope.... Check it out!!!

**Raul** · 08-17-2008 11:59 PM

Hi Keli

I'm glad to help you with some general ideas:

Okay, I understand you're going to look for investor's funding right? So, the principal objective of your business plan (and your financial plan) is to persuade somebody to put his/her money on your ideas.

Therefore if you were on her shoes, what imagine would you want to receive from somebody who is asking money?...

Somebody who knows what's talking about, somebody who has evaluated and researched all the principal areas (legal, product, cash flow, communications, systems, etc., etc.) right? Ok.

I know you want to DIY but since you're going to talk with investors you have to work hard to cover all those areas in a professional way. Therefore if you don't have all the needed skills (it's difficult that a person has all of them) you may want to cover them with the help of some experts (your team of experts).

That not implies that you have to employ advisors, you may offer something in exchange of their services, or part of the ownership for their advice (you have to be creative here). It's better to give some control of the company and start that never start.

"So is the financial plan where I tell how much capital I need and for what? Or, is the financial plan where I tell how much I plan to make with my business and what that money will be going to pay for or profits?"

Your financial plan shows first to you and later to the investor the whole picture of your business, it shows:

1) What will be your income, your costs, and your profits or losses.
2) How much money you'll need to start up and what is the expected use of those funds
3) How much time an investor can expect to recover his/her invesment.
4) How much is the % of return. etc, etc.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,