There is a wide range of books available on the subject of business planning. Here are a few we recommend buying. You can either download them to your kindle or get them from your favourite local bookshop.
The Definitive Business Plan
Richard Stutely (FT/Prentice Hall). This is an excellent introduction to writing a business plan. It is well-written and well-designed. It covers all the important areas including assessing competition, developing a strategy and working out a cash flow, as well as discussing formatting and presentation. However, if you have alot of business background and want to get straight to the key questions, then Michael O'Donnell's book below may be more suitable.
Writing Business Plans That Get Results: A Step-by-Step Guide
Michael O'Donnell (Contemporary Books Inc.). Written in a workbook format, this excellent book sets out clearly and simply the most important questions that need to be answered in a business plan. However, if you need some background information about business issues, particularly around finance and cash flows, it would be wiser to consider Richard Stutely's book above.
The One Page Business Plan: Start with a Vision, Build a Company
Jim Horan (One Page Business Plan Company). Jim Horan is convinced that short business plans are the ones that are most useful. He has written a workbook that will help you develop a vision and mission statement, identify key objectives and strategies, work out the most important areas of your business to concentrate on and then develop detailed strategies and plans. The end result of the process is a business plan that will fit on one page. This book is recommended for people who are turned off by conventional business planning formats.
Business Plans: 45 Ways to Make Yours More Successful
Brian Finch (Kogan Page). From his experience in writing his own business plans and in reading other people's plans, Finch gives tips on how to write a successful plan.
30 Minutes to Write a Business Plan
Brian Finch (Kogan Page). This book will provide the basics to people who are very pushed for time.
Small Business Marketing Bible
David Frey (e-book). Marketing is often one of the least favourite activities of small businesses but poor marketing is a common reason for businesses failing. So it's very important to get your marketing strategy right in your business plan.
In his ebook, David Frey covers a great deal of useful and practical information, including how to develop your marketing plan easily, how to use a simple formula to create your marketing message, how to identify niches that will be most profitable to focus on and how to use different pricing strategies. You can use our free business plan template for your business at no cost.