| Writing a business plan to help you direct and manage | | | | probably came out to three or five pages of copy! |
| your company is a key part of starting you new | | | | You are almost done!! (Ok, you have some work |
| company that will help lead you and your company to | | | | ahead of you, but you have the outline in place for |
| success. Creating a "living and breathing" business plan | | | | the rest of the work.) Again, these pages should only |
| makes that success even easier to reach. Many | | | | summarize where you are going with your company |
| people feel that the sole purpose of a business plan | | | | over the next three to five years. This is a |
| is to get funding, and write a plan that is targeted to | | | | document in and of itself that you will be using in |
| that audience. This plan should be considered a piece | | | | your initial presentations, as a PART of your |
| of you Fund quest documentation, but should not | | | | presentation, for going for outside funding.Now, |
| necessarily be edited to meet each funding | | | | within this document, go to a new page and copy |
| source.What is a living and breathing business plan? It | | | | the WHOLE THING back into the document. From |
| is a short document that outlines your company, its | | | | here you now start getting into more detail.For each |
| product or products, and the development stages of | | | | product you have, you need a page or two mapping, |
| that/those product(s), competition, market or | | | | assuming a new company and new products, the |
| industry, marketing strategies, sales strategies, | | | | development of the product, what the product is and |
| including key clients you want to target, and your | | | | how it works, etc. Go into more detail on the |
| financial needs and goals. As your products advance | | | | market, who the competition is, and how your |
| in development, as the marketing strategies shift and | | | | company differs from these folks. In expanding on |
| change due to success or failures in marketing, as | | | | your sales review you will need to post your first |
| you acquire those clients you were targeting or you | | | | three to five target clients you want to land. Give |
| change your target clients, as you acquire funding or | | | | details such as who to contact, how they buy your |
| revenue streams, your plan gets updated to reflect | | | | type of product, etc. THIS SECTION NEEDS TO BE |
| the next steps.Many people dread the "writing of the | | | | UPDATED, as does every section, AS YOUR |
| plan" process. It doesn't have to be that hard. You | | | | CLIENTS ARE ACQUIRED OR DROPPED! Get into |
| already have an idea that you have pretty firmly in | | | | more detail on the kind of people you need to hire, |
| your mind, or you wouldn't be creating a | | | | especially in key positions, time lines, cost, etc.. Give |
| company.Write a short paragraph that summarizes | | | | full profiles of your Key Executives.You now have |
| that idea. From there, write a paragraph or two on | | | | 95% of your full business plan in place. The next |
| each product that you plan on building. Just describe | | | | thing to do is create your financial data sheets that |
| the product, not how to create it. Next look at the | | | | outline your first two years expenses and income by |
| market, write a couple (two or three) paragraphs on | | | | month, the next two years by quarter, and the fifth |
| the market, including the market value, and the ups | | | | year by year. Again, these are approximates. If your |
| and downs in the market. Next you need to show | | | | company has been around for any length of time, |
| yourself the value proposition in your company over | | | | with expenses or revenue, you need to put in |
| the market and who the competition is. Now you are | | | | historical data, in front of "future" pages, as well to |
| going to want to know how you are going to sell | | | | keep you up to date in your plan of how you are |
| your product(s) and what that cost is going to be | | | | going historically as well as in the future.You have |
| and how much you are going to sell it for, in two to | | | | now created a document that you can keep an eye |
| three paragraphs. You should by now have an idea of | | | | on your company and direction from, and that you |
| how you are going to market your product, and | | | | can present to funding sources as an outline of how |
| write those ideas out in a couple of paragraphs, not | | | | you are going to spend their money once they hand |
| too much detail yet. At this point you have a good | | | | the money over to you. But the key is to keep this |
| idea of what your staffing needs are going to be in | | | | document current. It isn't so big so keeping it up to |
| the near term, three to five years at the high end, | | | | date shouldn't be the hassle that many of the current |
| next year or two at the near end, so write it out in | | | | tombs out there are, and it keeps you on track!! If |
| a paragraph or two. To run a valid company, you | | | | you change tracks, change the plan!If you write a |
| need three people, a Business Manager, a Financial | | | | business plan to guide and manage your company |
| Manager, and a Product Manager. (These can be one | | | | from, which changes as your company changes, you |
| person, two people, or three people, and I | | | | will be more apt to meet your goals.Create and write |
| recommend that it be at least two people, Business | | | | a presentation, centered on your plan, as your Fund |
| Product Manager in one, and a Financial Manager. You | | | | Search document. In that document, you can target |
| want the checks and balances of having two people | | | | your funding source, but your plan remains a valid, |
| monitoring the money.) Write up a paragraph on each | | | | living and breathing business plan, that you can, and |
| of these key people, describing their qualities and | | | | should, continue to use after you get funded.Don is a |
| abilities. If you are going to have Executive level | | | | Venture Capitalist with over 15 years of successfully |
| people managing sales, marketing, etc, you would | | | | funding early stage Ventures. Information on his fund |
| want to put in a paragraph on these people as | | | | can be found at His company also consults start up |
| well.Guess what, you just wrote your Executive | | | | companies on business plan development and start |
| Summary of your total Business Plan!! In total, it | | | | up strategies. |