Dont Start Woodworking Business Without Business Plan

Failed to plan means planning something failed. Have you heard about that? That is also applicable in business. 

Having a business plan before you start any business, including woodworking business, should typically form an essential part any business startup. 

Statistics (gathered from various sources) revealed that 60% of business owners, including small / home woodworking business, who used a formal business plan say that he/she made a major difference to the success of his/her business.

Going through the process of making a woodworking business plan will help you to identify several common setbacks and potential problems that you might have otherwise overlooked. Yes, a woodworking business plan does not guarantee success but it plays pivotal role so that you can avoid some common problems of business failures such as under capitalization and lack of market research

Even if you just wanna start a woodworking business from your garage, business plan is essential as due to following reasons:

• A business plan is vital for securing finance. If you're seeking finance for your business, a business plan is an essential document to help you convince lenders and investors that you should be taken seriously. Whether you're new to business or have been operating for years, lenders and investors will only risk their time and money if they are convinced your business will be successful and profitable.
• A business plan provides a road map for success. A complete, thoughtful business plan is one of the most valuable tools in helping you reach your long term goals. It gives your business direction, defines your objectives, maps out strategies to achieve your goals and helps you to manage possible bumps in the road.
• A business plan gives you control of your business. Business planning can seem overwhelming and time consuming, but many successful business look at it as an opportunity. The planning process helps you learn about the different forces and factors that may affect your success. If you're already in business, it helps you to step back and look at what's working and what you can improve on. Instead of worrying about the future, a business plan helps to give you a sense of control over your business and your livelihood. Writing and researching for your business plan gives you the chance to: (1) learn about your industry, market, and competitors (2) write down exactly where you are in the market and where you're headed (3) identify challenges you may come across and work out strategies to avoid or overcome them (4)understand your business finances, including managing cash flow and determining your break even point (5) Set specific goals, time frame for achieving them and how you'll measure performance (6) make sound business decisions that focus your activities, maximize your resources and give you a competitive edge

Okay, so what constructs a woodworking business plan? It conveys your woodworking business goals and strategies and how you are going to use them in the future to reach potential customers, make sales, avoid potential problems, visualize the future of your woodworking business, how its going to develeop and grow, hwat kind of structure and shape is going to take, what people are going to be involved and the roles they are going to play and also the amount of money that you're going to finance the venture and keep it going to need till breaks even.

Business Plan Components

Here I will share a systematic approach to making a business plan, there are three primary categories in your woodworking business plan: (1) The business concept (2) Marketplace and (3) Financial. The business concept outlines the industry you are going to operate in, in this case the woodworking business, your business structure, your product and how do you intend to make your woodworking business a success. The marketplace section should describes the research and analysis of potential customer as well as the strategies that your are going to use to deal with the competition and target your customers. The last, financial section, must contains your details about the finances required, potential income, cash flow requirements, balance sheets and other financial issues such as the break even analysis.

Furthermore, the above 3 sections can be broken down into six major parts as follow:

1. Executive Summary

2. Business Description

3. Marketing Strategies

4. Competitive Analysis

5. Design and development plan

6. Operations and management plan

7. Financial factors

You can get the woodworking business plan example through this link: (NC State University)