|
|
|
10 Things You Will Like About A Home Based Business
Here's a few things I've discovered along the way that you will like about owning your own home based business. 1.You Are The Boss How many people endure a Boss that undervalues your contribution to the organization? Or one who takes...
Building A Business Relationship
If you have an online business, you conduct your business through the modern technology of computers. Most of your business is most likely transacted from your website, email, or phone. Since the majority of your business transactions are...
Building Your Business with Books
In a world inundated with ads, business owners are clamoring for a way to rise above the "noise" of advertisers and bring customers flocking to their door. One way to do this is by writing a book. Too overwhelming you say? Well, consider this....
Five Cheap Tricks for Promoting Your Business
If you’re like me, you’re always looking for ways to promote your business — without spending a ton of money. Well, you’re in luck. This article lists five of my top 10 favorite ideas for promoting your business or organization for next to...
Franchises - A proven Business System
Franchises offer the first time business owner a proven and successful business opportunity. If you are looking to start your own business for the first time, franchises provide you with the greatest opportunity for success. When you purchase a...
How I Learned to Make $100K per Month: The #2 Thing I Learned You Must Have in a Successful Home Business
Have you ever heard the expression—“Be in business for yourself, but not by yourself”? If so, you may have been promised, “Full Support”…“Full Training”…“We’re here to help you every step of the way.” And then, they failed you every time. ...
Making Your Purpose Your Business, Step#4
Step#4 – Organizing & Developing Online Content If you have done your homework then you are ready to organize and develop what will be your online content. Your content is very important as it will be used for promoting you, your work, and...
PRONTO North America ERP Generates Increased Reliability of Business Decision-Making
PRONTO-Xi Digital Dashboard is a powerful new way to public PRONTO-Xi data in an easy to view format. According to Tom Verzi, Director of Marketing for the Minnesota-based ERP leader, “By using the browser interface, the Digital Dashboard gives...
Resources For Staying Current of IT Advancements For Online Business Owners
The internet and associated technology changes at a relatively fast pace. For anyone working in fields that make extensive use of IT technology, it is crucial to always stay one step ahead of the game. Keeping up the pace can be challenging and...
Top 7 Ways to Succeed in the Business of Speaking
How attractive are you as a speaker? No, your looks, but your consistent ability to provide a quality presentation, attract clients, and be irresistibly attractive to meeting planners and speaker bureaus? Below are some useful tips that I...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Ideal Length of Your Business Plan
How long should a business plan be? A business plan needs to be whatever length is required to excite the investor, prove that management truly understands the market, and detail the execution strategy. From surveys of investor needs, Growthink has found that 15 to 25 pages of text is the optimum length in which to accomplish this. Any more and the time-constrained investor will be forced to skim certain sections of the plan, even if they are generally interested, which could lead them to miss essential elements. Any less and the investor will think that the business has not been fully thought through, or will simply not have enough information to make an investment decision.
Many management teams feel that their company is too complex to describe in 15 to 25 pages. While this is sometimes true, the business plan is not meant to tell the whole story. Rather, the company must be “boiled down” into its essential elements. If the investor is interested, there will be plenty of additional time to tell the whole story.
Business plans, like other marketing communications documents, should be visually appealing and easy-to-read. This can be accomplished by using charts and graphics and by formatting the plan for readability. Effectively using these techniques will enable the investor to more quickly and easily understand the company’s value proposition within fewer pages.
While the body of the business plan should be 15 to 25 pages, the Appendix can be used for supplemental information. The Appendix should include a
full set of financial projections, and as appropriate, technical and/or operational drawings, partnership and/or customer agreements, expanded competitor reviews, and lists of key customers among others.
If the Appendix is long, a divider should be used to separate it from the body of the plan, or a separate Appendix document should be prepared. These techniques ensure that the investor is not handed a thick business plan, which will make them queasy before even opening it up.
To summarize, the goal of the business plan is to create interest – not to have an investor write you a check. In creating interest, the full story of your company need not be told. Rather, the plan should include the essential elements regarding why an investor should invest and spend more time examining the business opportunity. The shorter length does not mean that your business plan should take less time to prepare. Rather, it will take more time. As Mark Twain once said, “If I had more time, I would write a shorter story.” Likewise, condensing your business plan to a concise, compelling document is challenging and time consuming. Fortunately the rewards are significant.
Growthink Business Plans has developed over 200 business plans for clients that have collectively raised over $750 million in financing, launched numerous new product and service lines and gained competitive advantage and market share. Growthink Business Plans is the sister site of GT Venture Capital.
|
|
|
|
|
|