subject: Four Tips To Writing A Successful Business Plan [print this page] Writing a business plan can be an unsettling experience, especially if you're never attempted one before. There's nothing mysterious about the process. It will take some time and research. Here are three tips for writing a killer business plan.
Take the plan "Off Broadway" and wait for the reviews to come in.
Have some people whose business knowledge you trust, read the plan and ask them: Would you invest in this company, based on the information in the plan? If not, what questions do you have about the business that we did not adequately answer?
You are so close to the plan that you will have a difficult time deciding whether it is ready to send out. Two problems occur: spending time making needless revisions when the plan is finished, or not recognizing shortcomings or omissions you may have made, or things that are unclear.
Style Points Count, Too.
The visual aspects of the document should not be overlooked. Color charts, tables of data to break up the text, paragraph headings, varying the typestyles--all of these contribute to making the plan
easier to read, and to more clearly explain the business opportunity.
It's Time For Reality . Com
Because of the fascination with Internet stocks on Wall Street, entrepreneurs are creating e-commerce companies by the thousands, in order to get a piece of this seemingly large, rich pie for themselves. The result of this rush to market has been in many cases a lot of hastily conceived, sloppily planned ventures that have little or no competitive advantage are not going to grow very fast, if at all. Even when the surfing is great, you still have to have skill and experience to ride the waves. They say it hurts to get hit in the head with one of those heavy boards.
The fundamentals of business success have not changed whatsoever; greed is simply warping people's perceptions of what it takes to succeed.
It's funny, but computer software comes with spell check and grammar check, but never with reality check. Hey, Microsoft, get working on it.
To Write A Plan, Read A Plan
People who write novels are generally those who have read many, many, stories. The learn their craft by studying the works of their favorite authors. You need to do the same thing. Look at examples of Business Plans to get in your mind the writing style, the sequence in which the ideas are presented, and the parts to a plan. After reading several plans, you will have a feel for how a Business Plan flows and how it is organized. By putting that pattern in your mind, it will be much easier for you to begin writing with confidence. Sample plans are available on the Internet at sites devoted to assisting entrepreneurs.
