Business Planning 

Do you really need a business plan? Many entrepreneurs already have well developed product ideas, but having a good product is only a small part of what it takes to run a business profitably. If you are going to invest the kind of time, energy and money that it takes to become a successful entrepreneur, then you need to have a plan that identifies your business goals and outlines the steps necessary to reach them. Entrepreneurs who go through the process of putting together a business plan are twice as likely to succeed in growing their businesses as those who don’t. Why? Because a business plan is a living document – a guidebook that you create and revise where you record your dreams for your business, the specific strategies that you will employ, and the numbers that you will use to measure your outcomes. For example: When do you think you will begin to earn a profit? At what level of sales will your costs drop because you get volume discounts from your suppliers? How rapidly will you be able to expand your distribution? What are the external factors that will impact your business? How close are you to meeting your goals?

The MSU Product Center’s Innovation Counselors are experts in helping you ask the right questions to create a wealth-building business and guide you through the process of writing your business plan, reviewing and revising it on a regular basis. Their expert guidance will help you become comfortable with the process of identifying your business’s strengths and weaknesses, competition, financing, marketing strategies, etc., so that you not only develop skills to keep your business on track, you’ll also find it easier to raise capital.