Investing in Bellevue (or any Seattle area) requires that you have capital, that you find tenants, and most importantly, that you organize a business plan and set clear goals for yourself, and your investment. A business plan can help you to decide where your business is going, which is especially important if you’re getting into business without hiring a Bellevue property manager. What you might not know about your business plan is that you can also use it to help find investors willing to put money into your real estate ventures which is especially important for anyone looking to grow and expand their business. If you choose to hire a professional writer to do your business plan, then you might not have to worry about this section. If you’ve hired a Bellevue property manager, you might also be able to get them to help with this phase of your business, or work around it entirely. The following advice is aimed to get you started on writing your real estate business plan.
Using Categories
Every business plan should be divided into categories and for the most part, there are a couple that are expected to be included for professionalism. Starting with an executive summary lets readers know what you are about and what you are trying to say without having to read the whole plan, so this is the most important place to start. The following parts should be included in every business plan:
• Executive Summary
• Company Overview & Business Module
• Market Analysis Compared with Business Practices
• Marketing Plan
• Implementation
• Financial Plan
• Assumptions
• Closing Statement
In these sections, you should include how your business works, what you expect to get from it, and how you expect to get there. Usually you can create a ‘table of contents’ at the start of the document so that readers can easily flip through to relevant sections at will.
Style
While some options such as writing the executive summary last might be easy to identify, others might not be quite so easy. A business plan should be written in a formal business style (think anything on Forbes), and should be easy to follow. As a general rule, you can follow a specific word count per section to achieve a good length for your business plan. Usually half a page to three pages is more than enough for any one section.
Content
The most important part of your business plan is content, and for any real estate business plan, this should focus on items that make you qualified to invest in real estate. If you are not qualified in any way, you may want to consider hiring a Bellevue property manager and highlighting their involvement in your investment. Showing experience, skills, and talent are very good, but showing that you have the business savvy to hire a company that knows how to make a profit from your business will also go over quite well. Each section should answer a question “What is your company, when did they start, what are your goals?” “How much do you plan to make this year?” “How do you plan to achieve that?” “Do you know how to market your business, if so then how?”
Look at each section and thing of everything you might want to know about another company if you were handed their business plan. Write down a list of questions, and then answer them in your own plan.
In Closing
Your goal for your business plan should be to create a concise and formal look at everything you plan to do with your business. Remember that while getting information across is good, getting it across in a clear and easy to understand way can mean the difference between a successful and a failed business plan. Taking some time to familiarize yourself with business jargon such as USP (Unique Selling Plan) will also help you to talk business without sounding like you have no idea what you are talking about. Last but not least, if you have really no idea where or how to start, it might be in your best interest to hire a professional.
Importantly, you might not need a business plan. Bellevue real estate investors who don’t plan on doing anything more than personal investing can get away without one. On the other hand, if you are looking to expand your business and potentially bring in investors, then a business plan is your best option.