Business Plan Development

We can help you develop or refine a formal, clearly-written business plan that captures several key elements:

• The mission of your business and how you intend to serve your customers
• The values that will guide your business’ operations and strategic decisions
• The goals, qualitative and quantitative, that define what it means for your business to succeed
• The products and services you offer your customers
• The target markets your business serves today and in the future
• The operational capabilities required for your business to execute its business model
• The strategic objectives your business must achieve to execute its business plan (and specific plans for achieving them)
• Financial projections

Management System Development

We can help you develop or refine a system of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to help you manage your operations efficiently and effectively.

Although required management systems vary by business or organization, key features of all systems include:

• Clearly defined and documented SOPs for the activities that matter the most to your business or organization, such as financial tracking and sales process management
• Graphical representations of SOP steps and decision points
• A focus on only those SOPs that matter most to your business or organization, as determined by your strategic goals

Having a professionally-developed business plan or management system in place offers you a number of benefits, including:

• A formal, well-articulated game plan and/or system for managing your operations and making strategic decisions
• The ability to measure actual vs. projected performance and then to make any necessary changes quickly and effectively
• The ability to clearly articulate your vision and strategy to the employees you will rely upon to execute it
• The ability to demonstrate a comprehensive vision, concrete goals, and defined strategies to potential investors
• The peace of mind that comes from knowing you have thought about and developed a plan for both the opportunities and challenges that may materialize

Every business plan or management system development begins with one or more free consultations during which we evaluate your needs and priorities.

We then use this information to present a detailed project proposal that includes a needs analysis, a proposed project plan, a list of deliverables, a time frame for execution, and an estimated cost. This project plan is your property; you can use it as you see fit, such as to execute the project internally.

Once you approve the project proposal, the project begins officially and will generally follow one of the processes described below.

Business Plan Development

1. Evaluate and articulate your business or organization’s mission, values, and basic goals that define your success.
2. Define your business model by explicitly defining the services you offer, the target markets you offer them to, and the operational capabilities you need to offer those services effectively.
3. Define several strategic objectives your business must achieve in order to execute your business plan.
4. Write a comprehensive business plan that includes all of the information gathered in the previous steps plus detailed financial projections and documentation (e.g., balance sheet, cash flow, income).

Management System Development

1. Develop a map of the system of standard operating procedures (SOPs) your business or organization needs, or will eventually need, to be successful.
2. Evaluate current SOPs, including those that are not clearly defined, to identify strengths as well as opportunities for improvement.
3. Document the proposed SOP using a detailed narrative with flow charts/diagrams and descriptions of supporting materials/infrastructure such as spreadsheets, marketing materials, and customer relationship management tools (note: materials/infrastructure will vary depending on the SOP).

Our business planning services are priced to be affordable for small businesses and organizations who understand the importance of business planning but may not have sufficient cash flow for a huge upfront investment.

Although prices vary depending on the project, the typical business plan project costs between $2,500 and $5,000. The typical management system project falls in a similar price range, although there is more cost variability due to the highly customized nature of many standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Structure

We offer two pricing structures for business planning projects. You are free to choose the one that makes the most sense for you.

Flat Fee Project

With Flat Fee Project pricing, you are billed a flat fee for a project as defined in a detailed project proposal. You either pay the full fee at project completion or in a series of installments with the first installment due at project launch.

A flat fee for a given project offers you a known expense for budgeting purposes with no risk of cost overruns. However, it also means iterations are limited (as specifically defined in the project plan and the contract), which means less flexibility to modify the scope of a project as it progresses.

Hourly Project

With Hourly Project pricing, you are billed a fixed hourly rate for project-related activities. The hourly rate is determined in the project proposal and can vary for different types of activities. The proposal also provides an estimated total project cost, but the project can cost more or less depending on its execution.

An hourly rate offers you more flexibility for changing course or working through several versions of a given deliverable. Provided you would like to pay for more hours, you can continue to drive the process and make changes as you see fit.

With Hourly Project pricing, there is the possibility that the project may take less time than anticipated, thereby saving you money. On the other hand, the total cost may end up significantly higher than initially anticipated or budgeted.