 Look, here it is. This is the outline ... Table of Contents Executive Summary The Business Strengths and Weaknesses Legal Structure Business Description Product or Service Description IP Property Description Location Management Personnel Records Insurance Security Litigation Risk Factors The Marketing Markets Competition Distribution and Sales Marketing Industry and Market Trends Strategy The Financials Uses of Funds Income Statement Cash Flow Statement Balance Sheet Income Projections Breakeven Analysis The Supporting Documents _____________________________________________________ Pointers: Don't write a technical document. This is a strategic document. If you present a 100 page plan to your bank or investor, they are not going to read it. Fifteen to 20 pages should suffice. The Executive Summary should be written last and is the highlight reel of the rest of the plan. If you operate a business as a sole proprietorship, change that. Seek out competent legal advice and form an entity - An S Corp, C Corp, LLC or LLP. A serious investor will deposit the business plan in the trash if they see you are a sole propreitor. The business plan should include the company mission (compass), goals (the map) and tactics (steps to achieve your goals.) Remember on goals, be specific. Instead of saying I want to lose weight, state "I will weigh 171 by September 22nd, 2010 at 7pm." Be very specific, read it three times a day, rewrite it every day, visualize it as already complete, affirm it out loud. Cash flow is king. Your business plan should contain a cash flow statement and for your own sake it should show that the business can cash flow. This is for your benefit - do not sugar coat your projections. Over time the business should be building and/or buying you an asset. This will be reflected in the balance sheet. __________________________________________________________ Rember our small business mantra - build systems, not buckets - and the vital role a business plan plays in the following anecdote: ____________________________________________________ A small town in need of water identifies a quality source, a large lake one mile away. Two budding entrepreneurs start a business to deliver the water to the town. The first gal gets a bucket on day one and starts tenaciously hauling, making about a $100 a day. The second gal plans for 6 months, visits the Small Business Development Center, writes a business plan, incorporates, secures financing from her banker, meets with the zoning commission, buys insurance, hires employees, builds a pipeline and starts pumping water to the town for about $1,000 a day.
The first gal seeing this starts hauling two buckets a day, hires her son into the business, starts working 12 hours a day and after 12 months of this, folds and goes back to her day job. ______________________________________________________________ The point again is to build systems, not buckets. |
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment