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Mind mapping A fun way to start on your business plan

Written by: Marianne Craig

Article Overview: Lots of people don’t like doing a business plan. It’s a daunting task- all these scary headings and forms to fill in. One great way to make a start is to mind map a business plan first. It’s like being a kid in art class again!

Mind mapping A fun way to start on your business plan

Lots of people don’t like doing a business plan. It’s a daunting task- all these scary headings and forms to fill in. One great way to make a start is to mind map a business plan first. It’s like being a kid in art class again!

Get down on the floor

Get some large sheets of blank flip chart paper or the back of a roll of wallpaper will do. Find chunky coloured marker pens. Sit at a big table or get down on the floor for this task.

Put a circle in the middle with your business in the centre. Then draw a line coming out of the circle in green and call that branch “marketing”. Draw a circle round. Do the same, using different colours for each branch: my skills and experience, products/services, finances, business objectives, my business vision and so on. You probably have some headings of your own. Or if you have a pro forma from a bank, you can use those headings. Then for each branch, staying with its own colour, draw lots of little branches off, giving each one its own name (use a keyword or symbol.) So for marketing, the little branches might be: press coverage, advertising, contacts, promotion, my marketing strategy, website etc. And for “finances”, branches will include projected income, projected capital expenditure, fees, bank loan etc.

Brain Dump

Drawing a mind map is a bit of a brain dump and is a very creative process. Just bung down all your thoughts until you can‘t think of any more. Then go off for a coffee, come back and you’ll probably think of a few more ideas. Stick them down. If one branch becomes very crowded you can take a fresh piece of paper and do a separate mind map just for that heading.

Once you have done your own business plan as a mind map, you’ll find it much easier to write a full business plan. If you have loads of business ideas capturing them on a mind-map is fantastic. You can go on to do a mind map for each idea. And mind mapping is a great way to plan any aspect of your life, as well as being a useful technique to share with others. Mind mapping is a fabulous tool for studying, as an aide-memoir.

You can find out more as well as see lots of colourful examples of mind maps in The Mind Maps Book by Tony and Barry Buzan.

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Business plans - [quote:2cj5vift]I wrote one and I did so because I feel that one needs to determine whether their business stands a chance at being profitable before they start-up.[/quote:2cj5vift] I would think that a business plan is all important. It's no sense trying to start a business on a wing and a prayer, you have to have all your financials and other details ready and easily accessible. And anyone who hasn't written a business plan to start with, should write one as soon as possible - just to have it documented how far you've come, and how far you want to go in your chosen field.
Re: Is A Business Plan A Waste Of Time? - If you require funding a business plan is an absolute must. A formal written business plan, not a PowerPoint slide show. A few yrs ago I attempted to start a brick and mortor, original start up and required $300K. When I learned I would need a business plan I panicked and put the idea to bed. Two yrs later the idea was aching to be born so I studied and researched and wrote my own bp. It took me only 3 wks from start to finish complete with all financials. When I took it to the SBDC the counslors were floored that I'd it myself with no canned templates or software. They loved it and sent me to local banks for funding. The loan officers I met with were thrilled that I came in with a complete, formal business plan. They said they were appalled at the number of people that walk in asking for loans to start a business and they didn't even bother with a bp. Since then I have always written my own business plans. When searching for franchises I wrote a bp for each franchise I was interested in to have cold hard facts in hand and know which was the most viable. Handy little things those dreaded business plans...
Re: Dropped Out Of School To Startup! - You are young, so it is not a stupid idea. But I hope you dropped out because you have a plan on how to have a start up business. If you have no plan stay in skool.
Is A Business Plan A Waste Of Time? - According to various government statistics, up to 80% of businesses will fail within their first five years of operation. That number is staggering to me. At the same time, when I look at most business owners, most of them do not have a business plan for where they want to go. When you ask entrepreneurs why they don’t have a business plan, most of them will say something like: “it’s too much work”, “I’m not trying to raise money”, “it’s all in my head already”, or “my business changes too often for a business plan to be worthwhile.” Sound familiar? Did you write a business plan for your company when you first started? Are you planning on doing it for your new business idea?
Help to start a Web-Based Business - I’ve well thought of plan for internet based business. Unfortunately, I don't have any web design knowledge or experience at all. I know how to start and run a traditional business but I have no idea where to start with web design. I realize it's a huge dilemma for the type of business I'd like to start but I'd like to give it a shot. If anyone has any insight or guidance I'd appreciate the feedback. Should I hire a web-hosting company, ask a friend with a computer science degree for some help, or throw the idea out the window like so many others...? Thank you.


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