Creating a Plan: DIY or Hire Help?

Depending on how hands-on you are as a business owner, you will have to decide whether you want to write your own business plan or hire a consultant to help you.

Do It Yourself: A business plan isn’t rocket science, especially if you’re writing it for your own purpose. There are dozens of free and cheap marketing and business plan templates available online, and you can easily plug in your own information in to get a satisfactory plan.

Additionally, there is software that helps make it easy. These can help you create longer plan presentations for investors or clients, and range in price from affordable to not-so-affordable for small businesses.

Consultant: If you’ve learned the hard lesson for most entrepreneurs, you can delegate this task to someone who knows what they’re doing. There are professionals all over the world that assist small businesses with marketing and business plans, and can help you with a professional grade plan that the bank will approve of.

If you’re worried about a consultant getting your business, don’t. In fact, since they’re outside of the situation, they may be able to see the bigger picture better than you and make good suggestions to create a great plan for your business.

There are many organizations that can assist you with developing your plan, including Small Business Development Centers and Chambers of Commerce.

No matter how you decide to put your plan together, dedicate enough time on it. A business plan is not something to take lightly, and spending a good amount of your time on it now can prevent headaches down the road.