Want to know what goes into excellent business plans? What makes one business plan superior to another, or what mistakes can condemn your business plan to mediocrity? There's no one simple answer, but there is a checklist you need to follow to ensure that your business plan hits all of the key points required by most sophisticated reviewers at banks or venture capital firms. Your plan needs a concise, meaningful executive summary that outlines your objectives, a complete description of your products and services, and a detailed assessment of the market opportunity that includes a list of your customers, the market need you address, the scope of the industry, and the chief competitors you face. The business plan also has to have a marketing and implementation strategy showing how you will advertise, reach customers, and exploit your competitive advantages. The document also requires that you profile your chief executives, any advisors you will have, and all of the key employees for the organization over the coming years. Perhaps most importantly, an excellent business plan will have a detailed, assumptions-driven financial model showing 3 or 5 years of pro forma modeling including cash flow, revenue, balance sheets, and sensitivity analysis prepped for review by outside investors.
If this sounds too intimidating there are some tips to remember. Use checklists online to make sure you're addressing each significant point for the business plan. Make use of web-based resources or support at your local SCORE office to get more information or to get a handle on important metrics for your business idea. Talk to entrepreneurs and associates about your business idea and learn from their experiences as much as possible. Lastly, if what you really need is writing support, you can turn to professional writing services or independent writers and modelers experienced in business plan development. There's no better choice than MasterPlans.com. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, MasterPlans has written excellent business plans for more than 8,000 different companies and can furnish you with a sample or two of some of the best work out there. Call to speak with a consultant today by dialing toll-free 877-453-2011.
