How to Write a Business Plan for a Surveying Company

Business plans provide a surveying company with the ability to get financing or investors as well as a way to set goals, focus on business building activities, and measure success. Here's how to write a business plan for a surveying company.

Write an executive summary. This introductory section of the business plan summarizes all the aspects of your surveying company. It should include your mission statement and surveying company's history. Describe your facilities and indicate the number of employees. Finally, outline your goals for the surveying company for the next year.

Do a market analysis. Describe who will use your business. Do you do surveys for large land developing companies, or will you contract with government agencies? Describe your customers by demographics, and explain where and how you will be able to reach them through your marketing efforts.

Analyze your competition. What other surveying companies do you compete with? Who do they target for business? Do they do business the same or different from you? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How can you set your business apart from the competition?

Outline the management team of your surveying company. Who runs the business on a day-to-day basis? Who are the others involved in the management of your company and what do they do? What are you and your team's skills, experiences, and education as they relate to providing surveying services and running a business?

Describe the daily operations. What activities take place on a day-to-day basis to run the business? What sort of marketing is done? How are surveying services provided? Who takes care of the clients and sending out surveyors?

Give the financial details. What are the expenses and earnings projected over the next year? What are the company's liabilities (e.g. loans) and assets (e.g. surveying equipment)? In this section include financial statements that show the cash flow of the business.

Create an appendix for other information. Any details that don't fit into a category already listed, add to the appendix. This would be the section to include copies of contracts and forms, brochures, and permits and licenses.

Package the information into a business plan. If you will be applying for a loan or looking for investors, package the information with a professional cover letter in a quality folder. If the document is simply to help you and your management team, keep it available for easy reference when decisions about the company need to be made.



About the Author

Leslie Truex has been telecommuting and freelancing since 1994. She wrote the "The Work-At-Home Success Bible" and is a career/business and writing instructor at Piedmont Virginia Community College. Truex has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Willamette University and a Master of Social Work from California State University-Sacramento. She has been an Aerobics and Fitness Association of America certified fitness instructor since 2001.