Whether you're planning on founding your own post card printing company and taking it nationwide or opening a franchise location here in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a business plan is probably your most important tool for success. With it you can convince investors to loan you the start-up costs, qualify for city economic incentive programs, and get your business up and running smoothly and effectively. If you're new to the business world, here's an overview of what to include in this all-important document.

Goals

What do you hope to accomplish by opening this business? Most for-profit companies focus on making money, while not-for-profit companies focus on doing something worthwhile in a community. However, there are other goals businesses can strive for in addition to money. For instance, your goal might be to develop a viable new type of Green cable glands to help the environment, or give Albuquerque seniors a place to play shuffleboard.

Research

The point of your research is to find out if the goal you have set yourself is attainable. You'll need to include any pertinent information on Albuquerque's demographics, existing businesses, household incomes, or product market that is relevant to your endeavor. For instance, if you were to open a shop selling baby sleeping bags, you might include statistics on how many children under age 1 there were in the city, how many families liked to go camping together, and how much disposable income they had.

Plan

This all-important part of your business plan lays out the means by which you intend to accomplish your goal. For a start-up business, you'll want to outline every step you need to take to go from nobody to manufacturer of wire rope sheaves: finding investment, choosing a commercial property, renovating it, hiring staff, starting production, and eventual plans for expansion. Budgets should be included, listing start-up costs against expected revenue.

Bios

This part of your business plan could also be called the "why you should trust me" section. In it you give an overview of the training and experience you and your partners have which could help you succeed. For instance, do you have a degree in electronic manufacturing? Was your partner once on the board of another company? Did the two of you run a successful business together before and sell it at a profit? Include anything that makes you look reliable and competent but don't embellish or lie, as that could be the death knell to investors.