Business plans help set and hold you to goal, Getting the forumla right is vital.
1. Honesty is the best policy.
Your business plan will be seen by investors and potential business partners and as such, it’s tempting to, erm, ‘embellish’ certain parts of it. The old adage about writing checks your ass can’t cash remains true – the grilling you’ll get during the investment stage is nothing compared to what you’ll get when your numbers don’t work out.
Rejection isn’t a bad thing – it’s an opportunity to improve.
Show off everyone in your company.
Ultimately, a company is people, and investors want to know that you’ve got all the skills you needed to make a company work. That doesn’t just mean the hotshot programmer, the amazing chef or the grizzled experienced senior management you’re hiring – that means accountants, lawyers, mentors, customer service et all. Recruitment plans are also important – Skill weaknesses are fine so long as you show that you know they’re there and you have a plan to combat them.
Have a strong executive summary
This is the entire business plan, summed up. It’s got to get the investor excited – without it, they won’t bother reading the rest. And it’s got to speak to the investor – convince themthat, yes, there is money to be made here.
Know your market
It’s essential that you know your marketplace and who your competitors are. No consumers mean no product, and you need to know exactly who you want to be buying from you, and who they’re buying off at the moment.
How are you going to market
They’ve got to know you exist before they can buy from you. How are you going to do that? TV? Magazines? Search Marketing? Banner Adds? Industry conventions? Research – what are the numbers like?
1. Honesty is the best policy.
Your business plan will be seen by investors and potential business partners and as such, it’s tempting to, erm, ‘embellish’ certain parts of it. The old adage about writing checks your ass can’t cash remains true – the grilling you’ll get during the investment stage is nothing compared to what you’ll get when your numbers don’t work out.
Rejection isn’t a bad thing – it’s an opportunity to improve.
Show off everyone in your company.
Ultimately, a company is people, and investors want to know that you’ve got all the skills you needed to make a company work. That doesn’t just mean the hotshot programmer, the amazing chef or the grizzled experienced senior management you’re hiring – that means accountants, lawyers, mentors, customer service et all. Recruitment plans are also important – Skill weaknesses are fine so long as you show that you know they’re there and you have a plan to combat them.
Have a strong executive summary
This is the entire business plan, summed up. It’s got to get the investor excited – without it, they won’t bother reading the rest. And it’s got to speak to the investor – convince themthat, yes, there is money to be made here.
Know your market
It’s essential that you know your marketplace and who your competitors are. No consumers mean no product, and you need to know exactly who you want to be buying from you, and who they’re buying off at the moment.
How are you going to market
They’ve got to know you exist before they can buy from you. How are you going to do that? TV? Magazines? Search Marketing? Banner Adds? Industry conventions? Research – what are the numbers like?