Writing a Business Plan

Super Quick Business Plan


1. Executive Summary
2. The business opportunity
3. Your information
4. Your marketing and income strategy
5. Marketing and operating budget for the year
6. Sources of capital


Even though it can be fairly easy to get started face painting, it is still important to do some business planning to ensure success. One step in this process is writing a business plan. A business plan will build the foundation for a successful face painting business.

The first part of a business plan, though normally written last, is the Executive Summary. The summary highlights the key points of your entire business plan from opportunity to financials. It is important to keep it interesting and concise. This is normally followed by a short description of the business opportunity, your personal information and qualifications, marketing and income strategy and an overview of the financial information. This should include the marketing and operational budgets and sources of capital.

Start by describing your unique business opportunity and the services that you will offer. Focus on what makes your business unique and why customers would want to hire you. Make sure to keep this section simple and to avoid a great deal of industry jargon that the layman might not understand.

Now include some information about yourself. Start with an overview including how you began in the industry, how long you have been in business and the strides you have made since its inception. Include the qualifications you have to be successful and where you plan to take the business.

Next is the marketing and income strategy. The marketing plan may include emails, postcards, flyers, volunteering and more and a schedule of when these activities will occur. Now identify all of the income opportunities. List all of the organizations and events in your area that might pay you for your services and talents. Working on these two together will help you fine tune the targets for your marketing plan.

Now we need to decide on our marketing budget for the year. There are several formulas for determining your marketing and operational budgets. Your budget should be a balance of how much risk you are willing to take and how much capital is at hand.

You’ve got your plan; you know your expenses, now identify potential sources of capital. Personal savings, credit cards, family loans, small business loans and government grants are all sources to tap into. By identifying and securing these early, you won’t be scrambling to pay for essential expenses down the road. Now go back on write the Executive Summary.

While all this may seem a bit tedious and boring to those of us who deal with glitter and colorful make-up all day, establishing a business plan will instill in you the confidence of a legitimate business owners. The confidence gained will be communicated in your emails, phone calls and written corresponded for years to come.

Writing a business plan may seem impossible to start, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It can be as short as one page and can grow with your business. For more information writing a business plan or help with your marketing budget, see the resources below. Next month we will cover marketing plans and budgets in more detail.

Business Plans and More:
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?r.s=sl&r.lc=en&topicId=1073869162
(this site has loads of wonderful information)

Marketing Budgets and plans:
http://www.score.org/m_pr_11.html
http://sbinformation.about.com/cs/marketplansample/a/impactplan.htm
http://www.smallfuel.com/blog/entry/popular-ways-to-determine-your-marketing-budget/

Please feel free to post other resources you have found as well!

Thanks Metina.

I have always had a Business Plan. I did my first one in 1997 and update it annually, and revise it every five years to reflect changes in my business goals and experience.

I was advised to create it initially by my accountant who said that if I was every audited, that the Business Plan would prove my business intent. As my, at the time, fledgling make-up business was a money losing proposition (right out of make-up school and making more purchases than income) it was important to prove that there was a long-term intent to make this a viable business as opposed to a tax write-off!

There are many different forms and templates out there and some have more sections than others as they are targeted for a variety of purposes - for loan applications, planning, etc.

The template I use includes a review of your competition which is VERY important!

And it doesn't require a lot of detail on your actual capital or budget - that is more your financial plan as opposed to your business plan but it does form part of it ultimately.

My Business Plan is my planning and assessment tool so I know where I want to go, and when I review it I can tell if I got there or changed direction.

I have templates for the Business Plan format I use on my CD "Designs & Templates Vol 2" and cover it in depth with step-by-step instructions in my book "The Business of Face Painting."

It really is a very important and valuable tool and exercise to anyone with real business intent in this industry. And I think I am going to start reviewing mine now for my annual assessment!

Awesome! Thanks Shannon!

I'm taking a business start up class this fall, they will cover the entire scope of business from market research to operations. I found the class through a community organization for small businesses. Check with your local chamber of commerce they often have links for such.

Ryan forced me to write a business plan.. and honestly I had a really hard time with it. He is really focused when it comes to thinking about what he wants for his business and its future.

I, on the other hand, have a hard time conceptualizing my business in any capacity other than what it is now.

We did sit down and write our goals for this year today though, and I have to say that I was really proud of myself!

I think that it is hard for those of us in this industry to take business seriously. We got into it for fun, many of us starting out with volunteering or a hobby and it is hard to for this to transfer into a serious business.

Additionlly, as with anyone, when you write down what you want to accomplish it opens up the mental delimma of a possibility of failure.

At the end of the day it "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail." and If we don't take ourselves seriously, how can we expect our clients.