StartUp Growth Expert » Business Plans

Why Participate in a Business Plan Competition?

Ruth A. Pavilonis — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:14:01 +0000

Ruth A. Pavilonis, owner of Betina’s & Bailey’s Adventures Talks About Why She Entered A Business Plan Competition Last Year.

Here’s her story...

Last year, on a whim, I entered a business plan competition.

I say “whim” because as a scrappy, 1-person start-up doing it all—sales, marketing, order fulfillment, web updates, receivables, payables—that was the last thing I needed to add to my growing “to do” list.

Sure, I had a business plan—in various forms. Notes scribbled on random pieces of paper and table napkins, half-started documents in Word and even a few Excel spreadsheets started. You know the drill.

It was time to get organized and legitimize my business, define my course of action. Participating in this competition would certainly help me (force me) do just that—and how.

It was in this spirit, I entered the competition. The sheer act of completing their 1-page overview, as the first step in the selection process, proved invaluable.

Talk about getting to the heart of the matter! There was no room for B.S. I had to succinctly capture the essence of my product/service, know the competition, have a handle on the financials and tons of other stuff—all crammed on one piece of paper!

Apparently, I impressed them. Out of 63 applicants from 3 counties, I was 1 of 12 finalists.

Now came the harder part—developing a full blown (many page!) business plan and give a 3 minute presentation to a panel of judges. What did I sign up for? Clearly I was mad, or desperate for funding—which is more the truth of the matter.

It was all an amazing experience—even presenting in front of the judges and audience. Sadly, I did not win the cash and prizes. But again, the “exercise” was invaluable.

So, would I do it again? You bet. And here’s why:

#1 The Act of Developing/Refining a Legitimate Business Plan

Need I say more?

#2 Free Advertising

Entering a competition gives you lots of free advertising. The organizers write press releases, have various media contacts and outlets (TV, newspaper, radio). So why not let them “use” you to promote their cause?

#3 All the Fabulous Prizes & Money

Again, need I say more?

#4 The Contacts

You never know who you may meet—regardless if you win or lose. A high-power Silicon Valley inventor was one of my judges and loved my product. As a result, he has been an active mentor and member of my Advisory Board ever since.

#5 The Potential for Funding—even if you don’t win

This builds off of #4, you never know who you may meet. Lots of VC people, other investors and other “connected” people attended these competitions—be they judges or observers. For example, at the competition in which I participated, 2 of the finalists (who weren’t the official winner) received over $10 million (yes, million) in funding.

So, for the possibilities it is worth the pain. For the fact that a solid business plan is a necessity for a successful business and to secure funding, it’s worth it.

Lastly, here are a couple of tips my high-powered advisor passed along:

#1 Think World Domination

Whether you really want to conquer the world with your product/service, aim for total market domination. This shows the investors/judges that you can think big and are willing to take risks. After all, who wants to invest in a safe and small company with minimal growth potential? Investors want the possibility of the next iPhone.

#2 Have high-powered members on your Advisory Board, not Auntie May and Uncle Georgie, unless they are CEOs of a solid company.

No offense to your family. They are the necessary cheerleaders and possible investors that have helped you get this far. Now you need to identify people who can advise you on getting to the next steps, since they’ve lived in the “after life” of those next steps and can help you get there.

There you go. Now it’s up to you. You’ve stepped out of your comfort zone at this point by making an idea/dream come alive. Go for the next step. Take the leap. Have courage. And good luck!

About the Author

Ruth A. Pavilonis is the author, innovator and owner of Betina’s & Bailey’s Adventures. These international, award-winning facilitated^TM children’s stories help children become skilled readers, build their imagination and develop critical life skills. For more information, please visit: www.BetinaandBailey.com.

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Writing Your First Business Plan?

Bea Joyner — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 06:45:23 +0000

Bea Joyner talks about her experience of writing her first business plan.

You Need More Than A Good Idea!

Many business owners feel that a business plan isn’t necessary because they’re convinced they have the best idea in the world and everyone will beat a path to their door to buy it. I know, I was one of those owners. My company, Busy As A Bea Productions provides a series of seminars called “Parenting Parties” that are designed to help parents and teens navigate the difficult period of life known as adolescence.

What many business owners don’t realize is how many good ideas there are in the world and they have to find a way to get their message heard. For years I had heard how owners were successful without a business plan, I thought I could do that as well. When the world wasn’t beating a path to my door and the bills weren’t being paid by my profits, I decided I needed to change what I was doing.

I understood the value of having a business plan, it would be my guide in generating business and I had tried to write one with little success. I took classes at the Wharton School of Business (University of PA) and realized how little I knew about business. I have three areas of business, but Wharton made me realize I had to narrow my focus if I wanted to be successful and be aware of my bottom line. I still didn’t develop a business plan but I knew I needed one.

Then I discovered the Women’s Business Development Center business plan writing course and found what I needed, a step by step approach with an instructor to help me interpret this whole new world! I completed the program and was the proud owner of my own business plan and the world began beating a path to my door.

The Business Plan Competition

A friend suggested I enter the “Enterprising Woman Business Plan Competition” sponsored by The Business Center for Entrepreneurship & Social Enterprise so I entered the contest. It required me to re-examine and “tweak” my plan before I met the requirements of the contest, but it was worth it. There were prizes involved but more important to me than prizes were the objective opinions of my business plan. I needed to know if it was a good one after all the time and effort it took. I won 2nd place in the “Service Division” for my “Parenting Parties.”

Can you be successful without a business plan, there are those who are, but for me writing the plan gave me an education and guide in how to be successful in my business.

About the author

Bea Joyner, CEO of Busy As A Bea Productions provides seminars that help parents and teens navigate adolescence and improve their relationship by providing practical solutions to common problems. The optimum question to ask a parent is, “Would you want your child to make decisions about your health care or nursing home?” Contact her at beajoyner@aol.com, http://beajoyner.com/

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How To Write A Business Plan?

Vinil Ramdev — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:37:15 +0000

I meet so many people who are looking to raise capital for their business or they just want to write a business plan so that they can get their thoughts in place, so I decided to write a brief article about how to write a business plan.

If you are not convinced that you need a business plan then you need to read this article “6 Reasons Why You Need A Business Plan.”

If you are convinced you need one, let’s go out there and write a business plan real quick.

Step 1: Prepare a table of contents

Your table of contents is a template that will give your writing some direction.

You can research the internet for your table of contents or you can use the table of contents listed below. This will vary depending on your business. And, also feel free to customize it according to your needs.

Executive Summary
Products and Services
Company Description
Mission
Objectives
Business Model
Operations
Marketing
SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
Management Team
Future Products
Industry Analysis
Competitors
Exit Strategy
Financials
Capital Required
Uses of funds
Projected Income Statement
Projected Cash Flow Statement
Projected Balance Sheet
Exit Strategy
Entity Structure
Contact information

Step 2: Add information to your table of contents

Once you have your table of contents, all you need to do is add information into your table of contents.

This is only a basic process of writing a business plan. For a more detailed process of writing a business plan, read my book “How To Write A Business Plan For Astonishing Results. In Just 3 Days!”

About the author

Vinil Ramdev is an entrepreneur, business coach and author of the ebook “How To Write A Business Plan For Astonishing Results. In Just 3 Days!”

”Learn How to Write a Professional Business Plan

in JUST 3 days”

A step-by-step no non-sense guide to writing a business plan in 3 days or less!

Click here

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6 reasons why you need a business plan

Vinil Ramdev — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:39:41 +0000

To show to investors. This is a very common reason and most people think about writing a business plan only when they need outside financing.
To get clarity about the direction in which your business is heading. Your business plan acts as a blueprint for your future actions and inactions.
To evaluate every aspect of your business in an organized manner. The various aspects of your business that include marketing, sales, accounting, customer service all need to be evaluated and decisions need to be taken upfront so you don’t have to make them at the heat of the moment.
To communicate to your team members the exact direction in which your business is heading so that all of you are on the same page.
To forecast future needs. If you forecast that you may need $ 100,000 6 months from now, then you may start preparing for raising capital right away because raising capital can take a lot of time.
Identifying loopholes and weaknesses in your business. It’s better to look for loopholes in your business on a constant basis rather than wait for something to go wrong and you go into damage control mode.

These are just some of my reasons to write a business plan. What are your reasons to write a business plan? Post your reasons in the comments.

Vinil Ramdev is a business coach and an entrepreneur who helps business owners increase revenues, cut costs and maximize profitability. He is author of the ebook “How to write a business plan for astonishing results? In just 3 days!”

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Companies with business plans outclass companies without business plans

Vinil Ramdev — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:49:48 +0000

Most people start looking for a business plan the night before they need funding.

You don’t prepare a business plan the night before you need funding, you prepare a business plan before you even start a business or at least within the first six months of starting a business.

Lot of successful entrepreneurs may have started without a business plan, but they did not stay that way. They eventually realized they required a business plan not just for outside funding but to give them direction.

A business plan may be a document you may not refer to at all over the course of the year. But you definitely need it. It will haunt you if you don’t have one. You will be less organized if you don’t have one.

You would leave many areas of your business unresolved. And these unresolved areas will come back to haunt you when it is too late. Don’t do that to yourself. Get yourself a business plan and get on to the success track.

Research has time and again proven that companies with business plans have always outclassed companies without business plans. It is the irony of nature that something well thought out always has higher potential to succeed.

When you prepare a business plan you get to know every detail about your industry, who the major players are and what they are doing to stay successful. It’s about knowing everything that is happening around you, staying focused, being aware of yourself, the market, where you need to promote, where you do not need to promote, the areas where you can make money and loose money.

A business plan checks for leaks in your system.

Another reason you want a business plan is if you are seeking outside investment. Investors want to know whether you have done your homework, if you know what you are talking about and whether you have a strong vision.

Vinil Ramdev is a success coach and an entrepreneur who helps business owners achieve their goals. This is an excerpt from his book “How to write a business plan for astonishing results? In just 3 days!” (www.writeabusinessplannow.com)

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The Essential Contents of a Marketing Plan

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:21:33 +0000

Excerpt from On Target: The Book on Marketing Plans by Tim Berry and Doug Wilson

Every marketing plan has to fit the needs and situation. Even so, there are standard components you just can’t do without. A marketing plan should always have a situation analysis, marketing strategy, sales forecast, and expense budget.

Situation Analysis: Normally this will include a market analysis, a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats), and a competitive analysis. The market analysis will include market forecast, segmentation, customer information, and market needs analysis.
Marketing Strategy: This should include at least a mission statement, objectives, and focused strategy including market segment focus and product positioning.
Sales Forecast: This would include enough detail to track sales month by month and follow up on plan-vs.-actual analysis. Normally a plan will also include specific sales by product, by region or market segment, by channels, by manager responsibilities, and other elements. The forecast alone is a bare minimum.
Expense Budget: This ought to include enough detail to track expenses month by month and follow up on plan-vs.-actual analysis. Normally a plan will also include specific sales tactics, programs, management responsibilities, promotion, and other elements. The expense budget is a bare minimum.

Are They Enough?
These minimum requirements above are not the ideal, just the minimum. In most cases you’ll begin a marketing plan with an Executive Summary, and you’ll also follow those essentials just described with a review of organizational impact, risks and contingencies, and pending issues.

Include a Specific Action Plan
You should also remember that planning is about the results, not the plan itself. A marketing plan must be measured by the results it produces. The implementation of your plan is much more important than its brilliant ideas or massive market research. You can influence implementation by building a plan full of specific, measurable and concrete plans that can be tracked and followed up. Plan-vs.-actual analysis is critical to the eventual results, and you should build it into your plan.

Source: bplans.com

Do I need a business plan?

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:20:02 +0000

By Palo Alto Software, Inc.

Not everyone who starts and runs a business begins with a business plan, but it certainly helps to have one. If you are seeking funding from a venture capitalist, you will certainly need a comprehensive business plan that is well thought out and demonstrates sound business reasoning.

If you are approaching a banker for a loan for a start-up business, your loan officer may suggest a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, which will require a business plan. If you have an existing business and are approaching a bank for capital to expand the business, they often will not require a business plan, but they may look more favorably on your application if you have one.

Reasons for writing a business plan include:

Support a loan application
Raise equity funding
Define objectives and describe programs to achieve those objectives
Create a regular business review and course correction process
Define a new business
Define agreements between partners
Set a value on a business for sale or legal purposes
Evaluate a new product line, promotion, or expansion

What’s in a business plan?

A business plan should prove that your business will generate enough revenue to cover your expenses, but a business plan may vary depending upon whom your audience is. If you are writing a plan for your colleagues and partners, for example, to expand an existing business, then the focus of that plan may be more operational than financial. Yes, you are going to show your partners how this expansion will mean more revenues, but they are going to want to know the nuts and bolts of how this new venture is going to be implemented.

If you are writing a business plan for a bank, your bank manager will want to see that your ideas are well thought out, but the most important aspect to him or her will be your financials. Are your assumptions realistic? And will the cash flow of the business be enough to ensure that you can make the monthly payments for the loan that you have requested? If your business is making $1,000 a month and your payments are $1,200 a month, the bank is likely to turn you away.

When considering an investment opportunity, most venture capitalists look at the obvious trends and market niches. Transcending the business elements, however, the most important factor in a decision to invest in a company is the quality of the people. In real estate, the three biggest criteria are “location, location and location.” The venture capital axiom is “people, people and people.” VCs will ask, how experienced are the people that are going to run this business? Do they have knowledge of the industry? Have they started successful ventures in the past?

What makes a successful business plan?

Presents a well thought out idea
Contains clear and concise writing
Has a clear and logical structure
Illustrates management’s ability to make the business a success
Shows profitability

Bringing it all together…

Your business plan is like your calling card, it will get you in the door where you’ll have to convince investors and loan officers that you can put your plan into action. You want your calling card to look impressive, so make sure your business plan is printed out on good quality paper, you have checked the spelling and grammar and that your numbers add up. Anyone who sees errors while reading your plan will wonder whether you are going to make similar errors in running your business.

A great business plan is the best way to show bankers, venture capitalists, and angel investors that you are worthy of financial support. Make sure that your plan is clear, focused and realistic. Then show them that you have the tools, talent and team to make it happen.

Source: bplans.com

Design Your Plan to Fit Your Business

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:16:31 +0000

By Palo Alto Software, Inc.

Business planning is about results. For every business plan, you need to make the contents of your plan match your purpose. Don’t accept a standard outline just because it’s there.

In the United States business market there is a standardization about business plans. You can find dozens of books on the subject, about as many Web sites, two or three serious software products, and courses in hundreds of business schools, night schools, and community colleges. Although there are many variations on the theme, a lot of it still falls into the same standard.

What is a Business Plan?
A business plan is any plan that works for a business to look ahead, allocate resources, focus on key points, and prepare for problems and opportunities. Business existed long before computers, spreadsheets, and detailed projections. So did business plans.

Unfortunately, people think of business plans first for starting a new business or applying for business loans. But they are also vital for running a business, whether or not the business needs new loans or new investments. Businesses need plans to optimize growth and development according to priorities.

What’s a Start-up Plan?
A very simple start-up plan includes a summary, mission statement, keys to success, market analysis, and break-even analysis. This kind of plan is good for deciding whether or not to proceed with a plan, to tell if there is a business worth pursuing, but it is not enough to run a business with.

Is There a Standard Business Plan?
A normal business plan, one that follows the advice of business experts, includes a standard set of elements. Plan formats and outlines vary, of course, but generally, a plan will include standard components such as descriptions of the company, product or service, market, forecasts, management team, and financial analysis.
Your plan depends on your specific situation. For example, if you’re developing a plan for internal use only (not for sending out to banks or investors), you may not need to include all the background details that you already know. Description of the management team is very important for investors, while financial history is most important for banks. Make your plan match its purpose.
What’s Most Important in a Plan?
It depends on the case, but usually it’s the cash flow analysis and specific implementation details.

Cash flow is both vital to a company and hard to follow. Cash is usually misunderstood as profits, and they are different. Profits don’t guarantee cash in the bank. Lots of profitable companies go under because of cash flow problems. It just isn’t intuitive.
Implementation details are what make things happen. Your brilliant strategies and beautifully formatted planning documents are just theory unless you assign responsibilities, with dates and budgets, follow up with those responsible, and track results. Business plans are really about getting results and improving your company.

Can you Suggest a Standard Outline?
If you have the main components, the order doesn’t matter that much, but here’s the outline order we suggest in Business Plan Pro software:

Executive Summary: Write this last. It’s just a page or two of highlights.
Company Description: Legal establishment, history, start-up plans, etc.
Product or Service: Describe what you’re selling. Focus on customer benefits.
Market Analysis: You need to know your market, customer needs, where they are, how to reach them, etc.
Strategy and Implementation: Be specific. Include management responsibilities with dates and budget.
Management Team: Include backgrounds of key members of the team, personnel strategy, and details.
Financial Plan: Include profit and loss, cash flow, balance sheet, break-even analysis, assumptions, business ratios, etc.

We don’t recommend developing the plan in the same order you present it as a finished document. For example, although the Executive Summary comes as the first section of a business plan, we recommend writing it after everything else is done. It will appear first, but you write it last.

Source: Articles on bplans.com

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Business Plan Mistakes

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:11:39 +0000

By Palo Alto Software, Inc.

Often you may hear about what a business plan consists of. While including the necessary items is very important, you also want to make sure you don’t commit any of the following common business plan mistakes:

1. Putting it off.
Don’t wait to write a plan until you absolutely have to. Too many businesses make business plans only when they have no choice in the matter. Unless the bank or the investors want a plan, there is no plan.
Don’t wait to write your plan until you think you’ll have enough time. “There’s not enough time for a plan,” business people say. “I can’t plan. I’m too busy getting things done.” The busier you are, the more you need to plan. If you are always putting out fires, you should build firebreaks or a sprinkler system. You can lose the whole forest for paying too much attention to the individual burning trees.
2. Cash flow casualness.
Cash flow is more important than sales, profits, or anything else in the business plan, but most people think in terms of profits instead of cash. When you and your friends imagine a new business, you think of what it would cost to make the product, what you could sell it for, and what the profits per unit might be. We are trained to think of business as sales minus costs and expenses, which equal profits. Unfortunately, we don’t spend the profits in a business. We spend cash. So understanding cash flow is critical. If you have only one table in your business plan, make it the cash flow table.

3. Idea inflation.
Plans don’t sell new business ideas to investors. People do. The plan, though necessary, is only a way to present information. Investors invest in people, not ideas.

Don’t overestimate the importance of the idea, particularly the importance of the uniqueness of the idea. You don’t need a great idea to start a business; you need time, money, perseverance, common sense, and so forth. Very few successful businesses are based entirely on new ideas. A new idea is much harder to sell than an existing one, because people don’t understand a new idea and they are often unsure if it will work.
4. Fear and dread.
Doing a business plan isn’t as hard as you think. You don’t have to write a doctoral thesis or a novel. There are good books to help, many advisors among the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), business schools, and there is software available to help you (such as Business Plan Pro, and others).
5. Spongy, vague goals.
Leave out the vague and the meaningless babble of business phrases (such as “being the best”) because they are simply hype. Remember that the objective of a plan is its results, and for results, you need tracking and follow up. You need specific dates, management responsibilities, budgets, and milestones. Then you can follow up. No matter how well thought out or brilliantly presented, it means nothing unless it produces results.

6. One size fits all
Tailor your business plan to its real business purpose. Business plans can be different things: they are often just sales documents to sell an idea for a new business. They can be detailed action plans, financial plans, marketing plans, and even personnel plans. They can be used to start a business, or just run a business better.
7. Diluted priorities.
Remember, strategy is focus. A priority list with 3-4 items is focus. A priority list with 20 items is something else, certainly not strategic, and rarely if ever effective. The more items on the list, the less the importance of each.
8. Hockey-stick shaped growth projections.
Have projections that are conservative so you can defend them. When in doubt, be less optimistic.

Source: Palo Alto Software, Inc.

3. Idea inflation.
Plans don’t sell new business ideas to investors. People do. The plan, though necessary, is only a way to present information. Investors invest in people, not ideas.

Source: bplans.com

Business Plan Maintenance

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:07:28 +0000

By Palo Alto Software, Inc.

A business plan is not a one-time document, at least it shouldn’t be. Most businesses put together a business plan during their start-up phase to organize, attract partners and employees, and to try and get a loan or financial investment. This is a great use of a business plan, however far too often once the company has started up the plan isn’t touched again.

Ultimately, a business plan is about results, about making your business better. If you don’t think doing a business plan will improve your business, then don’t do one. Planning for planning’s sake is a waste of time.

Where a plan is most likely to make your business better is by allowing you to:

Set priorities properly
Track plan vs. actual results and make course corrections
Plan and manage the critical numbers that aren’t intuitive: not just profit and loss, but the relationship to cash flow, balance sheet, and ratios
Communicate your plan to others: partners, employees, lenders, and investors. You may have a great plan in your head, but as soon as you need to explain it to others, you need to write it down

Reviewing Your Plan

So how do you maintain your business plan? We have to first establish that without regular review — monthly or at least quarterly review of your planned vs. actual results, with practical analysis of the reasons for variance — planning is likely to be a waste of time.

Real planning requires regular reviews just as much as navigation requires knowing where you are as well as where you were and where you wanted to go.

Every real plan needs to be full of specific dates, budgets, forecasts, and management responsibilities. People involved have to know there will be tracking and following up on specifics. Then that plan must be reviewed against results, and those reviews should produce course corrections and fine tuning.

Generally a business hopes for a consistent long-term strategy built on short-step incremental changes, not major revisions. Consistency is important to strategy, and the business should avoid the temptation to jump around from one strategy to another so quickly that no strategy is ever really implemented. Remember that even a mediocre strategy well and consistently implemented is much better than a brilliant strategy that wasn’t implemented.

However, businesses do come to crossroads demanding major revisions in their business plan. These are some signs that indicate its time to review your plan:

Major changes in market situation. Look especially for changing market factors and changing market behavior.
- Have your underlying business assumptions changed? As an example, the Internet has changed the business landscape so enormously that in some industries almost any plan that was developed without a view of the Internet may need revisions. That may not be true for a landscape architect or restaurant, but for a travel agent, graphic artist, or market researcher it’s obvious.
- Do you have new competition? Have new competitors emerged, or existing competitors changed the business landscape so much that you need to review and revise?
- Has the product or service picture changed? For example a new technology may have emerged, changing the market perception of what you sell. There may be new products or services offering related solutions to the same user needs you satisfy.
Major changes in internal situation. The most obvious major changes are changes in ownership, which are frequently the result of changing partnerships, divorces, deaths, and investment. The company takes on new partners, or sells out to a larger company. On a more ominous note, the company suffers significant declines in sales, profits, and financial health.

Always keep the revision in perspective. While you do want to review and correct constantly, you don’t want to change a strategy unless you are sure it isn’t working or you see real changes in the underlying assumptions that formed the foundations of strategy.

Maintaining Your Plan

The purpose of maintaining your plan is to use business results to guide your future decisions. The plan itself has no value if it doesn’t help you improve business. That’s regardless of how good or bad, how brilliant the ideas, writing, or how elaborate the tables and charts. Its value is the decisions it leads to.

That means, of course, that to make a plan worth the effort of developing it, you’ll want to follow it up. Whether that’s every month or every quarter, you need to track results, analyze the difference between plan and actual results, and manage. Change things that need to be changed. Compare what you planned to what happened in reality. Ask yourself the following questions:

What went wrong, and how can we fix it?
What went right, and how can we take advantage of it?
What changes took place in the competitive landscape that could be updated in the plan?
What changes took place affecting our market that could be updated in the plan?
What changes took place internally in our organization that could be updated in the plan?

After you’ve answered these questions, update your plan accordingly, set new budgets and milestones, adjust your financials, and repeat the process with another review of your plan again next month or next quarter. Update your plan accordingly again, and keep repeating. You’ll find that maintaining your business plan gives you a better grasp on your business, your market, and everything else that happens with your company.

Source: Articles on bplans.com