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BUSINESS PLANS : Three key messages for designing business plansThree key messages for designing business plans you must clearly and convincingly communicate to your lender or investor. Key message #1. Interesting Opportunity A interesting business opportunity starts with an innovative solution to a screamingly painful problem that customers are willing and ready to pay a lot of money to solve. It should be communicated in a way that the reader can feel the pain and experience the solution, and it is big and significant. Don’t leave them guessing what the precise solution is, who the customer is, and how and why they will use it. Explain the value and benefits to the customer, and the impact when this new business idea is widely deployed. Your solution is more compelling if it is early in a new and growing market, riding a favorable trend, scalable to a substantial global market and defensible ( for example, strong intellectual property, not easy to replicate ). An investor is also thinking about how easy it is for customers to understand the value proposition, because that affects the speed and cost of penetrating the market. Key message #2. Business Model Stripped down to the bare essentials, your business model is precisely how you are going to make money. You must show how you are going to significantly grow revenues and maintain margins. There is no shortage of business model strategy literature that you can research. Two key items that are often inadequately addressed in business plans are: A. show how your business idea makes enough money for everyone. I have had aspiring entrepreneurs say they will make "it" for $80, sell it for $100, and they only need a half million dollars to make it happen. Attractive gross margins depend on the business type and sector, but clearly 2 percent gross margin is not nearly high enough. A viable business model is one that makes plenty of money for everyone – the owners, the employees, the company for operations and expansion, sales and distribution channels and retailers where appropriate, the bankers, the professional services, AND the investors. B. success of the business model usually rides on your access to markets, a sales channel for marketing. Having a big market is not enough, you must be able to reach that market and secure orders. You must understand who and where the customers are and communicate specifically how you will reach them. It’s not enough to say you are going to hire a marketing and sales person. Key message #3. Credibility and Evidence It’s ultimately about your ability to execute. Your business plan should provide ample evidence that you can do so. You demonstrate credibility by:
- Providing financial projections with clear, realistic, documented assumptions supported by real data. - Validating the market by having customer feedback ( or better yet, customers ), and recognized strategic business partners, sales/distribution channel partners and other credible endorsements. - Outlining a clear definable path of getting from where you are to an operating business with satisfied customers, including measurable goals and milestones, capital needs and financial management. - Identifying and exhibiting the precise skills and experiences needed for all elements of developing and running the business, including advisers and Board members, and lining up as many of these team members as possible now. - Being realistic about your strengths and weaknesses/limitations, and how they will be addressed and managed. Writing a Business DescriptionThe first thing you need to concentrate on when you write the business description is its structure. By structure we mean the type of operation....Business Plan DefinitionA business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals...Free Sample Business PlanRemember that your plan should be only as big as what you need to run your business. While everybody should plan a outline to help run a business, not everyone needs a complete formal business plan...Design Business Plans to Start a BusinessBusiness planning is about results. For every business plan, you need to make the contents of your plans match your purpose. Don't accept a standard outline just because it's there.Five Business Plan MistakesIf you are preparing to raise capital from either an investor or a bank, you’re probably writing a business plan. Here are five of the most common mistakes that I have seen as a result of my experience as a commercial banker and corporate-finance consultant...Do I Need a Business Plan for a Loan?Not everyone who is going to start a business begins with a business plan. It all depeneds on what size and kind of business. If you are a freelance designer or you are a one man show data entry business...Three key messages for designing business plansThree key messages for designing business plans you must clearly and convincingly communicate to your lender or investor...How to Write a Business PlanWriting a business plan can be ohat is worth doing, you need to take the time and aquire some information....Other related Articles: Start-Up Founders Forget About Business Plans? Dec 15, 2009This past summer, HubSpot Inc. received several offers from venture firms to invest in the marketing software start-up all without a formal business plan. ...Develop a business plan to make more money October 27, 2009It's time for you to develop a business plan, whether you're just starting up or are already running a company. ...Wow Investors : Web-Savvy Business Plan August 27, 2009As an online business owner or potential startup, one of the major documents you will need to get funds from potential investors is your business plan. ...Home Based Business Plans August 23, 2009Business school students spend a lot of time learning about different strategies to create a successful business plan. All businesses should have a fully ...How far will a business plan get you? June 30, 2009Business plans can be useful tools. But a new study finds that they do little to help entrepreneurs get financing. ...Why Business Plans Don’t Deliver June 30, 2009An economic downturn is a great time to start a business....and prepare a business plan? ...The business plan- who, what, when, where June 16, 2009Once you've decided you may want to start your own business, you need a business plan as well as two important milestones ...Business Plan Competitions Offer more then Money Apr 2 2009In a time when money is tight and funding is tougher than ever to get, winning a business plan competition could provide a nice boost in cash for a start-up. ... |
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