4 Ways to Improve Your Business Plan

"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler."
                                     -- Albert Einstein

Congratulations! The good news is you have a plan or idea and you think it can make some money!  The bad news is you have a lot of work to do to get your idea ready to present to potential investors. You're going to work hard to write your business plan. 

It will take longer than you think it should take and, in the end, you will be forced to do the things that you would really rather avoid right now... like research and financial projections and identifying the strengths of your management team in a convincing way.

Dale Carnegie said, 'Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all." 

There will be times when you will feel this way as you try to fund your new venture.  Perhaps this article will give you an easier time with the basics.  

What to Expect

You're going to have to work and work hard on your business plan.  There's no way around it if you want it to do the job.  Have you ever written a major business report or proposal or strategic plan? 

If not, consider hiring a business writer to help you with that part so you can be free to gather and organize the information.  It will save you a lot of grief. If you're going to write it yourself, here's what you'll need to do to get ready.

• Do your homework. A business plan gives prospective investors the facts about your concept and ability to deliver, but it also demonstrates how you think through a problem.  This is important to investors who may not know you. 
• Define your audience and get facts to support your idea that will matter to the audience of potential investors you are trying to reach.  The Roman poet Ovid said, ``Everyone is a millionaire where promises are concerned."  It takes proof, not claims, to convince an investor to write a check.
• Tailor your resume to emphasize the skills needed to make your venture succeed. A business plan is like a management team resume with financial projections. An investor wants to know that the people behind the idea have the expertise to make it happen.
• Give presentations in a factual way. Even if your idea involves creativity or leading edge technology or a radically new concept, the people with the checkbooks still need a document that is full of substance, easy to read and simple to understand. In this case the rule is substance over form. That is why you will work harder than you think on your business plan.

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Copyright 1997 by Kaye Vivian (kvivian@cloud9.net). All rights reserved.