Writing a business plan has never been easy. I know that for a fact. Before I can start developing a product, I made sure that my business plan was all set.

 

This includes the business idea, target customers and the big picture. When you have all of these in place, you can start the planning process, study your market and develop a great product.

 

However, not many of us are Stephen King and we do not have the thinking capacity like a professional writer. It's like trying to understand DNA translation only you're not a biology student.

 

In this post, I will share with you some ways to reduce your stress level when writing a business. Let's get started.

 

 

10. Understand the writing process

 

Writing cannot be done at one time. It's very stressful if you do that. A well thought piece of writing involves planning, researching and drafting.

 

If you plan to write in one day and hoping it will attract readers, then you're not serious enough to be an entrepreneur. Understand the process is the key. 

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9. Blank paper

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Once you understand that writing involve several key processes and having a blank paper by your side helps you to plan out your journey.

 

Blank paper, note book or a white board exist so you can lay down your bright ideas. We are not born with a photographic or eidetic memory.

 

Having a blank paper to plan your writing journey and researching goals will be very helpful in the process.

 

8. Plan

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With a blank paper in front of you, you're ready to plan your writing journey. Planning doesn't have to be in great details. But a great plan has two important thing, a goal and an objective.

 

Goals and objectives are like the ingredients in your fridge.

 

Sometimes you don't know what to cook. But when you start chopping the ingredients, you noticed how quickly you were able to prepare an edible and may be delicious meal.

 

A plan serves as a guideline which will keep you on the right track. 

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7. Basic Research

 

Once you have set your goals and objectives in your writing journey, you can begin with the basic research like what content to put in your business plan.

 

You can find all these information online. Some people are very nice and they even upload a template  on their website free of charge.

 

However, sometimes you get excited that you've found so many information and you begin to feel overwhelmed.

 

At this point, refer back to your plan and review your goals and objectives. Only take the information based on what you've had plan. 

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6. Gather information

 

After spending hours doing the basic research, I hope you've stored those information in a place where you can review them again.

 

That is the whole point of research. As I had mentioned, not many of us are born with a photographic or an eidetic memory.

 

Storing the information in a place where you can refer to will be helpful as you begin the writing process. The traditional way to store information is in a notebook.

 

You can also use words, excel, evernote or any other writing software.

 

When storing information, make sure you collect the essential information like a web address if you use the website, the author’s name and a book if you use a book or the name of an article and volume if you use a magazine.

 

This information will help you find what you need faster.

 

5. Organize information

 

Now that you've collected key information to be inserted in your business plan, it's time to organize them.

 

Organizing the information is the first step you take before writing an outline. If you start with an outline, then you may revise the outline multiple times to fit with other ideas.

 

To save time, organize the information beforehand will be helpful.

 

4. Create an outline

 

Now the hard part has been completed, outlining your content is super easy. In any piece of writing document, it usually follows the general sequence

 

It includes the introduction, main body and conclusion. You can start with describing your business as an introduction. Then you can write  the product ideas, cost, and marketing plan, forecast and so on.

 

To make it easier, you can always use the outline of a business plan recommended by experts. It's save you a lot of time and headache. 

 

 3. Audience

 

Before you can start with the writing process, you need to think of your readers.

 

Who are they? What are they like? What is their reading levels? These questions are important because you don’t want to use the wrong tone when writing to a specific audience.

 

For example,  if you're writing too academic using whole bunch of big words, your business partner or customers may have a hard time understanding what you're trying to say.

 

Let's make it easier on all of us. Use simple word and follow logical sequence. The goal of any piece of writing is for the readers to understand the story. 

 

2. Clear your mind

 

Make sure before you write, that your mind is cleared. Do some yoga. Get some food. Read a magazine. If you're like me, writing helps you to distress than by all means go ahead with the writing process.

 

If you find that the process of planning, gathering information, outlining are overwhelming, then take a break.

 

You can step away from the planning for a day until you get used to the process. It's all depend on you.

 

1. Drafting

 

Now it's time to draft. I like to point out that drafting is not writing a final piece. There's no such thing as writing at one time without multiple drafts.

 

Great writers write hundreds of draft before they can declare finished. Since you and I are not a professional writer, let's keep the draft a maximum of five.

 

You can do more than that if you are a perfectionist, but because you are on a deadline or have many other things to do, knowing when to stop will reduce your stress level.

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Congratulations!

 

You're writing your first draft. I hope getting to the writing process was less stressful compared to when you had no plans at all.

 

Being an entrepreneurs is more than just the number on a spreadsheet. Translating your thoughts and ideas in a logical and concise manner is what set average and great entrepreneur apart.

 

Remember, to master any skill, it requires practices and repetition. So keep on writing.

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