I know many of our efforts here at the Extension office focus on agriculture and natural resources, but our office can also help connect clients to resources in other areas. For example, one of our close partnerships is with the University of Georgia’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), which has its nearest branch in Augusta. For the next few weeks we’re going to talk about some key pieces of small business ownership and development for you to consider. All individuals interested in owning or operating a small business (agriculture-related or otherwise) should pursue a basic knowledge of business principles, starting with developing a full business plan.

                A good business plan is the foundation of any business, large or small, and serves as a road map for each stage of starting and managing a business. Business plans can have many uses- from keeping you on track to meet goals and helping guide decisions around structure, operations, and growth, to convincing others that working with or for you is a good choice. There’s no “right” way to develop a business plan- each plan should be specific to your individual needs. The plan can be as long or as short as you feel is practical and effective for your operation. I encourage clients to use more of a traditional business plan format, which is long, comprehensive, and very detailed.

                The traditional business plan usually has a combination of any of the following nine sections: executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management, service or product line, marketing and sales, funding request, financial projections, and an optional appendix. The executive summary is a short blurb about your company- it tells what your company is and why it will be successful. Basically, this is the overview of the business plan and should be written last. The company description is used to share exactly what your company is, what problems your product or service solves, who your customers are, and highlights the unique strengths of your operation. In the market analysis, you’ll evaluate the industry you’re getting into, who your target market/customer is, what business will compete with you, what their strengths are, and how you will position yourself to compete with them. The organization and management section simply tells the legal structure and licensing of your business and provides an organizational chart to describe who is running and leading your company. Be sure to include information on who is filling key roles and what their qualifications are to do so.  Your business plan should always have a service or product line section that discusses exactly what product you’re selling or what service you offer. Describe the benefits of your product, plans for intellectual property (copyrights, patents), research and development, and the product life cycle over time. Similarly, in the marketing and sales section, discuss exactly how you’ll attract and retain customers and what your sales process will look like- how will the actual selling happen? If you need external funding, you’ll want to include a section that discusses how much funding you’ll need over the next five years, what you’ll use that money for, and all of the specifications on the terms you’ll need for those funds. Last, you’ll need to develop financial projections that outline all of your financial statements and documents for the last five years, all of your financial assets and liabilities, and a projected financial outlook covering the next five years. An optional appendix can be useful for including supporting documents such as employee information, legal documents, permits and licenses, product photos, and so on.

                Developing a business plan can feel like a daunting feat, but nobody wants to invest a lot of time, energy, and money into an enterprise that fails 1-2 years down the road. Having a solid business plan can help you identify potential roadblocks ahead of time and navigate change more effectively. One option for developing a business plan that is free to use is agplan.umn.edu, which offers both agriculture-related plans and non-agriculture small business plans. If you need further support, the Augusta SBDC is more than happy to help. If you have further questions, please let me know at uge3181@uga.edu or 706-359-3233.

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