Business Plans for Financial Services Professionals - FSPs

 

This advice is not about Business Succession Planning for clients. It is about Business Planning for Financial Services Professionals.

 

Setting Up A Private Office
Some Financial Services Professionals will start their careers with an Insurance or investment firm. After a period…the desire to own their practice will cause them to set up their own private office in the communities they serve. Setting up a private office means hiring staff, buying furniture, fax, copier and other office devices. This may require borrowed capital. You need a 3 to 5 year business plan.

 

Business Plans
A business plan will convey how money will be used by your practice. The Business plan will also defining your business, identify your goals, and serve as the practice’s resume. The Small Business Administration says that the business plan is a written guide to starting and running your business successfully…and it is essential. A well-written business plan encourages loans, promote growth, and provide a map for you to follow. The business plan shows bankers, venture capitalists, and angel investors that you are worthy of financial support. It shows that you have the tools, talent and team to make it happen.

Marketing Plans Are Subsets Of Business Plans
Do not confuse business plans with marketing plans. A marketing plan is a subset of the your financial practice business plan. It focus is on how you will look for new customers. The marketing plan also includes details about your business “Unique Selling Proposition – USP” or  “Unique Value Proposition – UVP”. The marketing plan conveys pricing strategy, the sales and distribution plan and your plans for advertising and promotions. The marketing plan should also contain the summary of your company's products and position in relation to the competition.

 

One of the most important sections of a business plan is the executive summary. Your executive summary should be no more than a page or two and it should summarize all the other sections of your plan. It should include key financial numbers from your plan, as well as brief summaries of other important sections. The executive summary is equivalent to a trailer for a great movie. People are busy…if their interest is not piqued at the start they will not continue to read your plan. They will only read a plan if the first few pages indicate that it is worthy of further exploration, which is why your executive summary is so important.

 

Here are resources that can help: