Business Plans For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Part II. Sizing Up Your Marketplace

In this part . . .

The best way to succeed at anything is to figure out what you're getting into before you even start – especially the things that you can't control. Think about your garden, for example. If you plan to make that patch of dirt into a neighbourhood showcase, you have to do your gardening homework. You have to know something about the soil conditions and your climate. Is it shady or sunny? How cold does it get at night? What type of plants thrive? What combinations work well together? Which weeds do you have to watch out for? And what pests are you up against? And who said gardening was going to be easy anyway?

A business plan isn't much different. In this part we help you look out the window to see what your company's up against in its own backyard. The experts call this process by the important sounding title of 'research', but looking around will do just as well! First, we take a hard look at your industry to see what it really takes for you to be successful. And we get you prepared for business opportunities and threats that are bound to come your way. We spend a lot of time talking about your customers – what they need, what they want, and what makes them happy. We look at how you can divide your customers into groups with similar needs and wants, so that you can serve them even better. Finally, we talk about your competitors – ...