“I put a tremendous emphasis on cash flow and having a solid financial platform,” says Tom Raymond, a SCORE mentor in Detroit. 

All too often, business owners forgo a business plan. They have big ideas and jump right in before gaining a thorough understanding of what their business can offer.

Raymond, a SCORE mentor, helps new business owners make “short and sweet” business plans that include an executive summary, a description of the business’s goals and objectives, a marketing plan, an operations plan, a management plan, and a financial plan.

“The written business plan and the financial plan — the cash flow projections — are extremely vital to getting started,” Raymond says. “The rest of the stuff kind of falls in line if you have a solid set of goals and objectives and a good, solid financial platform to move your business forward.”

Read the full article here: https://www.lendingtree.com/business/small/failure-rate/