Sources of Product for Business
As much
as your plan represents your dream and is very important to you, it may not be
as high on the agendas of the people who read it. When you sit down to write
your plan, think of who will be reading it and put yourself into their shoes as
much as possible. In most cases, the people who will read your plan are going
to be potential investors, bankers, and/or potential partners. Your readers
have likely seen dozens, and perhaps even hundreds, of plans. These people do
not often have a great deal of time, so prepare your plan accordingly.
In
general you should:
Write the
plan yourself. Get help if you need it, but do not let your accountant,
bookkeeper, or other professional write your plan for you. You may let them
help you with the financial plan, for example, but you need to know your plan
inside and out-and the best way to ensure that is to write it yourself.
Back up
every claim you make with supporting evidence. Include surveys and detailed
market research as an addendum or appendix to your plan.
Write
clearly and to the point, keeping your prose to a minimum.
Avoid
hyperbole: don't overstate your case. Similarly, avoid unnecessary adjectives
such as "fantastic," "amazing," "astounding,"
"irresistible," and so on. Let the reader form his or her own
opinion.
Ensure
that your writing is error-free and edited for proper form and syntax.
Choose a
simple, common font such as Times New Roman, and stick with it throughout the
document.
Use
professionally produced drawings, photographs, and graphs. Unless you are a
professional, your own attempts at art will look amateurish. The same is true
for videos, if you're using them, or a computer-based demo.
Bind the
pages simply. Cerlox or its equivalent is likely sufficient.
Make sure
you include your contact information right on the cover. This is one of the
most common mistakes entrepreneurs make.
Section of the plan
The first
two sections should appear at the beginning of your plan. It is not as critical
that the others follow in the order given, but this sequence will likely work
well.
Executive
Summary
This is
by far the most important part of your plan. It should be no more than two
pages in length, or less. State the idea, the opportunity, how much money you
need, where you hope to get it, how it will be spent, and how you will pay it
back. Readers who are interested may then go on to read the rest of your plan.
Be warned, if your executive summary is more than three pages long, it will
likely not be read.
Your
Planned Venture
Describe
your idea as clearly as possible, with diagrams, photographs or any other
medium necessary to communicate it to the reader. Back up the idea with a
description of the target market, tell why the opportunity exists, and why your
idea will capture that market.
Market
Research
Explain
how you determined the product or service was appropriate to the market.
Include explanations of the "four P's" (price, product, promotion,
placement).
Background
and History
Tell who
you are, what experience and skills you bring to this venture, and whether or
not you've run your own businesses in the past. Describe and explain their
successes or failures. Include your own, short, biography here.
Management
Team
Provide
the names, and short bios, of the people you will use to fill the key positions
in the business.
Start-up
Plan
Tell when
and where you plan to start the business and why you chose this time frame and
location.
Operational
Plan
Describe,
in detail, how your business will operate. Include diagrams of production or
service areas if appropriate.
Marketing
Plan
Describe,
in detail, how you will attract customers or clients and how you will deliver
your product or service to them.
Financial
Plan
Provide a
detailed financial plan, including a cash-flow projection, that accounts for
the money you will need (borrow) and the repayment plan and return on
investment to investors.
Appendix
Include
your own and your team's detailed biographies here as well as additional market
research and any other information that is too detailed to be included in the
body of the plan.
Most entrepreneurs
have to come up with their own start-up money – either from their own savings
or from relatives who know and trust them. But there are other sources of
capital out there that you might tap into.
Nothing
is easy or straightforward about raising start-up capital for your venture.
Here are some typical potential sources of start-up money.
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