How Do Business Plans for Home-Based Businesses Differ?

Every business should have a business plan, including a home-based

business. The growth of technology and telecommunications has allowed the home-based business to be considered a much more accepted part of the modern business world. No longer is such a business viewed as a sideline or a hobby. Many highly successful businesses began in someone's home office, on the kitchen table, or in the garage. Generally, a business plan for a home-based business should not differ greatly from any other business plan, with a few exceptions.

There are some areas that you may want to give special consideration. In your discussion of marketing and promotion, for example, you may want to focus more closely on your plans to use technology to promote and sell your product and services to consumers. Likewise, the business operations section should illustrate that the home environment will not detract from the business in any manner, and may, in fact, be beneficial for specific reasons, such as lower overhead and startup costs.

Depending on the nature of your business, you may require greater detail in some areas of your business plan. For example, in managing a wedding-planning business from your home, you should explain your plans for meetings with clients. However, if you are running a business that requires an extensive inventory, you should outline inventory management plans and your strategies for security and shipping.

Other details that may be included in the business plan or asked about by investors might pertain to your technical capabilities or your compliance with zoning laws and the legality of running such a business in a residential area. Address these concerns in your plan or be prepared with answers. If you are planning to grow from the home base into an office in a predetermined period of time, you should indicate that as part of your future plans.