1. Democrat and Chronicle Sunday, December 23, 2012
PIECING TOGETHER
SUCCESS
Banks won’t lend and
investors won’t buy in
without a strong
business plan
FIVE TIPS FOR WRITING A Bennett J. Loudon This definitely helped focus my attention in
BUSINESS PLAN Staff writer the right direction and gave us something
that makes us stand out,” she said.
» Begin with a statement of purpose. Explain When Stephanie Mills first got the idea to Experts say writing a business plan is the
your business in 25 words or less. open a dog day care she imagined a first, and possibly most important, step in
» Tell how your business will work and why it will huge12,000-square-foot facility with a large creating a company. It can bring ideas into
be successful. List the owners. staff caring for all kinds of dogs. focus and help others understand why they
» Fill in the details. Describe products or services, But when A Dog’s Dream opened in April should support you financially.
the customers, the market and the competition. 2010, Mills catered only to small dogs in a co- In a 2010 study, University of Oregon re-
List the managers and their credentials. zier 2,500-square-foot space in Pittsford searchers found evidence that a business
» Supply three years of projected financial state- with just six employees. plan increases the chances of success. They
ments. Include income, loss, and cash-flow projec- Fortunately for Mills, she recognized po- surveyed 2,887 business owners. For the 996
tions. tential problems with her original idea when who created a business plan, 36 percent
» Provide supporting documents, such as refer- she developed a business plan and modified obtained a loan, 36 percent got investment
ences from creditors and potential clients and it, long before ever opening a shop.
suppliers, and evidence of insurance. “Doing that research gave me my niche. See PLAN, Page 5E
Source: Greater Rochester SCORE
Time to say goodbye to a resilient community
This is my final column for the ty who always responded quickly to my
Democrat and Chronicle. Having
reached the golden milestone last
Steve QUESTIONS ABOUT requests for a few minutes of their
time. I want to thank my colleagues,
COVERAGE?
month that Social Security calls “full Sink If you have questions about business cov-
present and past, who make newsrooms
retirement age,” I am doing precisely BUSINESS EDITOR the most fascinating place in the world
that — retiring. erage or have a story suggestion, please to work.
SSINK@DemocratandChronicle.com contact Exclusive Enterprise Editor Len
This wasn’t a sudden decision. When Most of all I want to thank you, the
I came to Rochester in 2003 from Long taking a chance on a 57-year-old who LaCara at LLACARA@Democratand readers, for supporting the journalism
Island, 2012 was penciled in as the year insisted he still had plenty of gas left in Chronicle.com or 585-258-2416. — this “first draft of history” — that we
I might hang up the green visor. But the tank. at the Democrat and Chronicle pursue
then that little difficulty of 2008-09 I started writing this column in May making complex subjects understand- for the enlightenment and betterment
ensued, and my retirement savings did 2007, at Karen’s urging, so there have able, even interesting, and I can’t tell of the region.
the same thing as yours. I stayed the been roughly 300 of them. you how good that makes me feel be- For a parting thought, I want to re-
course and eventually recovered, mak- Your emails and calls and letters cause that’s exactly what I’ve tried to turn to a point I have made in several
ing this move possible. (yes, some people still write letters, do. My approach has been simple — past columns: Rochester is a gem. For
I have lost none of my love for daily God bless ’em) have made doing the find people smarter than I am (not those of us who have lived elsewhere,
journalism. It’s a love that started when column a pleasure. A reader in Hem- difficult), get them talking about their who can make comparisons, the beauty,
I was 10 years old. lock, Livingston County, wrote to me field of expertise, and relay what I warmth, intelligence and resilience of
After active journalistic pursuits in recently that she appreciated my “in- learn to you. this region are remarkable.
high school and college, my passion for telligence, broad mindedness and open- But it’s time to go. I have a wife of 37 Problems? Of course. Huge chal-
the craft led to 12 years as a reporter ness to varied views.” I think she want- years with whom I look forward to lenges face us.
and then an editor at The Miami Her- ed to change my mind about hydro- spending more time, and we have a But Rochester has the ability to take
ald, 21 years as an editor at Newsday fracking, but hey, I’ll accept the kind 1-year-old grandson. Enough said. a knockdown punch, get up again and
and these past nine at the D&C. I’m words with gratitude. I want to thank the many sources in keep fighting. I have no doubt it will
grateful to Editor Karen Magnuson for Others have said I do a good job of the Rochester-area business communi- continue to do so.