How to Create a Business Plan - Contractors Edition
Updated: Feb 2, 2022
Whether you are just starting out or a veteran, a business plan will help keep your company focused on a goal and progressing forward.
Without a business plan, you could run the risk of getting off track, losing money, losing your vision, and struggling more than you need to.
It makes sense to have a business plan, but things are often easier said than done when it comes to actually creating one!
While every company’s business plan will be unique to their needs, they all start with a similar structure. Read on to learn how to create one for a streamlined business.
What is a Company Business Plan?
A business plan is a document that outlines the goals of your business, the methods that you will use to attain those goals, critical time frames, details about benefactors, key stakeholders, and funding, and other important information.
Some banks and loan officers require that you have a company business plan, but, for the most part, many businesses have never made one.
In general, a business plan will have a mission statement, a description of your business, marketing directives, and financial planning.
Why Do I Need a Company Business Plan?
Many veteran business owners, especially in the contracting business, will tell you that you don’t need a business plan.
And technically, they are right. You aren’t legally required to have a business plan, but creating one will give you an edge above your competition.
When you sit down and create a business plan, you are forcing yourself and the other business owners to get together and figure out exactly what your business looks like.
This might be in the form of a conceptual plan, but it also maps out on paper what you think your business looks like, what it might become, and what it actually is.
For example, perhaps you have the idea to create a multi-million dollar electrical contracting business.
Without writing down what that vision actually looks like, you might never achieve it.
Or, you might do something wrong, like sell off parts of your business when you were in a tight spot.
With a business plan, you can map out your financial and marketing goals, and you can clearly see that you may need to seek funding in two years, so you need to be careful in your spending up until then.
Having a business plan is smart, and it will actually help you think analytically about your business!
How to Create an Annual Business Plan
You can download templates off the internet or log into sites that allow you to fill in the information online.
But really, creating a business plan is as simple as opening a Microsoft Word document and starting with your headers.
Remember that this is an annual business plan, so you don’t have to think five years ahead in the future (although this helps for long-term vision planning).
Start planning for next year by the summer or fall of the previous year. See what you need to line up (like digital marketing software, more contractors, or salespeople), so you can see growth next year.
Business Name: First, add your official business name, registration number, and the owners. You might also want to write down what your business does and when the company started.
Products and Services: Many templates start with your company vision, but it might be easier first to write down what you actually offer. Create a “Products and Service” header and start documenting the services that you offer right now. Be detailed and even include the price and if you have help on the jobs.
Personnel: Next, list other people who are helping you. If you have business partners within your company or other businesses that you work with, jot them down here so that you can see how many ways your business branches out.
Overall Company Mission, Vision, and Values: Once you’ve gotten those other three out of the way, you can start to think more about the future. Try to jot down what the mission of your company is. Is it to provide high-quality contracting services as a plumber? Perhaps you have a unique offering, and you want to market yourself within that niche.
Try to nail down your vision next. What do you want your company to become? What do you see in the future of your business?
And finally, make a bullet point list of your values as a business owner. Everyone might value money, sure, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.
Are you reliable? Are you trustworthy? Do you have a highly technical background and that transfers into expertise? Pick out three to five core values that you think represent your brand or you want to represent your brand.
Strategic Goals: Now we get to the fun stuff. We have listed (above) everything that is actually happening with your company. Now we need to look to the future to see what is possible to bring in.
Strategic goals might be to hit a certain annual revenue goal. If that’s the case, you need to do the math to see what it takes to get to that goal. If you want to do 1 million dollars in revenue in a given year (total, not profit), you need to divide 1 million by 12 months.
That’s roughly $83,333 per month.
How close are you to that number?
Where does your current business model fall short of hitting that number?
How many months or years do you think it would take for you to get to that number?
Doing this type of speculation can be difficult to bear. But it is extremely important to understand where your business is at and where it needs to be.
Next Steps With Your Business’ Strategic Growth
Every business is different, but when you map out a business plan, you can clearly see areas for growth, improvement, and optimization.
There are things that you can do to streamline your business process and finally to get to where you need to be.
Some things might be hampering your growth. Common items include the CEO or president (you) doing too much and not outsourcing your work.
This can range from making sales to completing the technical jobs or filing all your paperwork by hand.
This is most likely your next step in the area of your business’ growth. If you want to grow, you have to delegate jobs to other individuals, coach them on what to do, and let the company run on its own.
Naturally, this step doesn’t happen overnight, and you will remain part of the engine.
Here are some things you need to consider:
When will you need more salespeople?
When do you need more mechanics/technicians?
What software will you need to streamline the process?
What can be automated?
Start by Implementing Automation and Software
One of the easiest things that you can do is implement a software or automation product. These are often free or very affordable, much cheaper than hiring a full-time employee or even a part-time one.
If you are making all the sales, doing all the technical work, and managing invoices manually, you need to change.
The first step is getting the software to streamline your processes.
The software you go with will depend on what you are using the most.
Are you regularly sending estimates and invoices? An invoicing and accounting software like Divvy or Ramp can help with this. It can also automate billing and payment requests.
Other software like lead generation software can help you keep track of your potential customers and how interested they are in your services.
Take this information out of your brain and put it in an ABM software like Terminus, Leadfeeder, Rollworks, or 6Sense.
Another way to improve this process is through automated digital marketing.
If you are the one making sales, but you don’t think you can afford a salesperson, consider getting Pipedrive or Hubspot.
You can also consider a review generation and listings software like Synup, Birdeye, Podium, or Yext, which will make the sales and marketing process smoother.
Hiring Personnel
Hiring people to help you is a big step. You have to try to convince them that what you are doing is a good idea and that you are a trustworthy person.
You also have to try to ensure that they will do the right work.
Whether you are hiring for a sales position or subcontractor, don’t rush into this.
Do the research and interview your candidates multiple times if you have to.
You can put them on test jobs that are for internal projects (or long-term clients) so that you can see how they work.
However, you want to make sure that the person you hire is the right one for your business and your goals.
Consider bringing on a salesperson to work remotely, part-time, and mainly off sales or commissions.
If you need a subcontractor, bring one on early so that they can tail you at job sites and learn the ropes. Probably, you will need help early on as you start to pick up more sales.
And if you are on the job site more and more, you will want to consider a sales representative who can speak to potential customers while you are away.
Start to time track and figure out how long it takes you to do each aspect of your job.
The more times you have to do that, the more time it will take. You can start to figure out when it’s too much and when you need to bring on help.
Creating Your Business Plan
Coming up with an annual business plan can be difficult. Once you get into a rhythm, you will find yourself revisiting your yearly business plan every summer and tracking the growth, tapping into new and exciting opportunities, and really succeeding.
By maintaining a constant vision of the future through a contractor's business plan, you will find that marketing your services is far easier, and you are more equipped to navigate challenges that crop up along the way.
Rationale
In general, a business plan will have a mission statement, a description of your business, marketing directives, and financial planning.
Having an annual business plan is smart, and it will actually help you think analytically about your business!
Start a simple business plan with:
Business Name
Products and Services
Personnel
Overall Company Mission, Vision, and Values
Strategic Goals
Use this business plan for growth. Ask yourself:
When will you need more salespeople?
When do you need more mechanics/technicians?
What software will you need to streamline the process?
What can be automated?
With an annual business plan, you will find you are more equipped to navigate challenges that crop up along the way.
Kyber Digital
343 Harbor View
Forked River, NJ
0873
(215) 305-8769
