The Truth Behind Business Plans

The Truth Behind Business Plans TO P SEC R ET Feargal Byrne

UR YO SS INE BUS N PLA Many believe that the ﬁrst thing that you should do when starting a business is to write a Business Plan.

After all, this is what they teach in Business School. Picture: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/m00by/2539347606/

Executive Summary Business Overview Founders’ Background Market Research Operations Plan Competitive Analysis Suppliers SWOT Analysis Marketing Plan Financial Projections querf aqoeii ...................... .................. ........... ....... Layout your Executive Summary and follow it with 50+ pages of congested text.

When your plan is completed, after about two full months of keyboard bashing. Picture: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/splorp/6866327/

You should send your Business Plan to Investors who will be overjoyed at receiving a thesis on why your idea will make them... Picture: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/caveman_92223/3346906435/

...hundreds of millions of dollars. Picture: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/villes/2693551009/

Of course, once they have read your 20 times proof read and immaculately formatted document they will immediately pick up the phone and agree to invest. Picture: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/nedrichards/18589608/

Here’s the problem. Nobody invests in ideas and a business plan is just one big idea. This is the core mistake that many ﬁrst time entrepreneurs make. Picture: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/caveman_92223/3346906435/

UR YO SS B US INE P LAN They assume that a Business Plan is the key to getting investment. So, as a result, they spend far too much time writing one. Keys Picture: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/crazyneighborlady/355232758/ Vault Picture: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/mbrand/3289161324/

The reality is that Business Angels and Venture Capitalists only invest in actual businesses. That’s right, they invest in businesses. Logic would suggest that if you are looking for investment you should spend most of your time building a business and very little time writing a business plan. Picture: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/crawﬁshpie/489771072/

Sales & Profits You do need a plan for building a business but it should be laser focused on getting traction. Sales and profits are the highest level of traction. Picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/afcool83/113097810/

Most entrepreneurs can write this initial plan on an A4 piece of paper. It should look more like a scorecard than a deﬁnite plan of action which must be followed no matter what. Each item should be tested and measured in real time. Picture: http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/randomcuriosity/3446389178/

External Investment Your Business Your Your Business Business When you start to generate proﬁt and you believe that additional funding will help to scale your business. At this point, you should consider writing a business plan for investors.

ge + 0 Pa SS 10 - 15 Slide Deck - 5 US INE B P LAN Printed Out or PDF However, this plan should not be in the form of a 50+ page document. A 10 - 15 slide deck printed out or in PDF is enough.

“Once upon a time my business did.............” This deck is the story of your business so far and...

“My projections are based on the actual conversion rates that I am currently achieving” ... future projections based on actual conversion rates and proﬁt margins. The quicker it can be read and understood the better.

Check out this Sample Business Plan Template and Video

Brought to you by: LostJobStartBusiness.com

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The Truth Behind Business Plans

by Feargal Byrne on Sep 29, 2009

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