The Operations Plan is a critical component of any business plan as it outlines a company's specific action plan for executing its overall vision. The Operations Plan can be broken out into two sections: the everyday processes that are performed to serve the customer and the overall long-term business milestones for the company's success.

Everyday Processes (Short-term Processes)

Every company has processes to provide its customers with products or services. The processes that a company uses to serve its customers are what will transform a business plan from concept to reality. The business processes that you outline will show investors how ready you are to execute the business as a reality. You will need to very critically look at the processes you have in place and plan any processes that will need to be developed to successfully serve your customers.

Business Milestones(Long-term Processes)

The second piece of the Operations Plan is establishing the long-term goals or milestones for success. The milestones are best represented on a chart with key target dates set for each milestone. Examples of potential milestones: introduction of new products or services, revenue milestones, key financial events, key marketing initiatives, or the hiring of key personnel. Make sure the realistically support any specific projections with text explanations as appropriate on the chart.

The milestones represented in the Operations Plan must be consistent with the financial plan projections. It is important to be aggressive in your growth strategy but credible in your key assumptions. Make sure to provide a measurable operations plan that will get your investor excited but is attainable in operation.

Article written by Terri Sullivan owner of TLS Business Consulting.
http://www.tlsbusinessconsulting.com
Article not to be used without the authors permission