Business Forum: Writing a Business Plan

When we started our contracting business about 15 years ago, our concerns were pretty immediate — like how to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads. With no formal training in business, we were fortunate that the California economy was strong during the first several years we were in business. With so much work available, it was easy to recover from our mistakes. But in 1991, building slowed down in the San Francisco Bay Area where we live and work. As the pressures of the business increased, we began to ask ourselves, “Why are we doing this? Are there alternatives? What do we want from life?” It was obvious that we were