A requisite to the funding process at Lauton Funding is also essential to business in general. Your business plan is a pivotal component of your undertaking and is necessary, not only for putting together a profitable business but, as your company evolves, to help you benchmark the achievement of pre-established goals. This “road map”, as it were, will be continually used throughout the life of your business. As such, it is vital that it truly reads as a detailed landscape of where you are and where you want to go.
Naturally, there are questions as to how to start writing a proper business plan and how much information you should include. Although this topic can be looked at in its most minuscule detail, today we’ll limit our discussion to 5 items that are essential to a well written business plan. We’ll cover additional aspects in future posts.
The logical starting point to any series of questions is who, what, how, why, and when. Because they’re a great beginning they’ll work very well as our outline for the 5 common features found in outstanding business plans. To start, it’s fairly obvious that any potential investor or partner will want to know who you are before they decide to invest in your enterprise. Your experience as it relates to the business you’re establishing or operating, who you will be bringing on board and their relevant expertise will set the ground work for how you fit within your industry.
While your “who” may be a little lengthy, your “what” will encapsulate the pure essence of your venture. What does it aim to do and what purpose will it serve? Your Executive Summary should express this in a few sentences as this is where investors will go to find an quick snapshot of your proposal. The rest of your business plan will elaborate how your experience and your overall goals make your project or business a bankable idea. Here’s your opportunity to highlight all of the research you’ve conducted on your competition, market base, revenue projections and the amount of funding required. Investors expect you to explain these aspects in complete detail.
The next section you’ll include is “why”. “Why” entails an honest assessment of the risks associated with your venture. No matter how excited and passionate you may be about your project, playing devil’s advocate allows you to think outside of yourself and see what a potential partner or investor may think of your concept. This is something you definitely want to bounce off a few seasoned people. There’s no better way to identify and strengthen weaknesses you may have overlooked or underestimated. While this acid test is in no way a pleasant experience (no one likes it when they rain on their parade), mature and accomplished business people understand that it is an absolute necessity when trying to identify the potential pitfalls and failings of any undertaking. You want to always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
Now, “when” is also essential to the overall scope of your venture. Be sure this section answers the following questions: When are you prepared to take your idea from the initial planning stages into full scale development? By when do you need the required funding? Ideally, your answers should be represented in the form of a timetable which displays critical deadlines and milestones that need to be reached.
A final word of advice. Don’t jump the gun. You don’t want to risk souring investors and funding sources by putting something in front of them that’s still raw. Take your time and refine your business plan so that it accurately reflects the breadth, scope, reach, meticulous planning and brilliance of your project. Remember as well to run your spell-check a couple of times and to verify that your grammar is spot on. This is your chance to tell your story. Don’t blow it with poor spelling or grammar (you laugh but you have no idea of how many poorly written business plans we have to suffer through).
That should cover it. In the next few weeks, we will continue to look at the business plan and other aspects of your project package. Of course, if you think you would benefit from the assistance of a professional firm to put your package together properly we’d be more than happy to refer you to highly respected firms in our network that”ll handle everything from writing your business plan to preparing feasibility studies to drawing up your PPM. We look forward to getting your feedback on other topics you would like to learn more about so please don’t hesitate to drop us a line.
