Business Plan Killers and How to Avoid "em
Why pay thousands of dollars for a professional to write your business plan? Well the answer is simple.
You don't have (or feel you have) the skill to write your own plan.
The solution? Develop the skills you need yourself! You know the ins and outs of your venture so you are the best to write the plan for its creation and operation.
In this article, I am going to cover the mistakes most entrepreneurs put in their plans.
A Google search will show you that there are many great sites online that will show you the proper format your business plan should follow so I have decided to focus on content (what you should and should NOT write) rather than format (the plan's overall structure).
So let's begin! Make Your Competition Look Good...
Kinda If you paint the picture in your competitive analysis that there aren't a lot of successful companies in the market your product/service falls in then you are creating a bigger problem that investors will ask: What makes you think you will be different? That can be problematic to counter.
Solution? Simple: Include examples of successful companies in your competitive analysis.
What you want to do is paint a picture of a flourishing market, alive with healthy competition that still (sadly) is not fulfilling their customer's need..
..
and that's where your business comes in! You don't want the competition to outshine your idea, just demonstrate that there is healthy demand for what you have to offer.
First Mover? Who Cares? When outlining your strategies, don't make the mistake of centering on any first mover advantage you may have.
What is first-mover advantage While it is good to have, in today's climate relying on that solely can cause the competition to quickly counter whatever advantage you had and leave you in the dust.
Your strategy must focus on a long-term vision of how your company will retain customers using CRM (customer relationship management) tools, branding, value-added services, etc.
Padding is Bad.
Don't do it.
Don't feel that you must pad your business plan to make it an "acceptable length.
" While a 10-page business plan is VERY LIKELY leaving out many essential details, forcing investors to read a 165-page plan that essentially repeats the first 60 pages is not going to win you their affection...
or money.
Save the Buzz Words for the Advertisements Customer-driven, first-to-market, synergy, win-win..
...
do you very, very best to not use "buzz words" in the regular text of your plan.
Use them in the ad samples (maybe) but not in the body of your plan.
You don't have (or feel you have) the skill to write your own plan.
The solution? Develop the skills you need yourself! You know the ins and outs of your venture so you are the best to write the plan for its creation and operation.
In this article, I am going to cover the mistakes most entrepreneurs put in their plans.
A Google search will show you that there are many great sites online that will show you the proper format your business plan should follow so I have decided to focus on content (what you should and should NOT write) rather than format (the plan's overall structure).
So let's begin! Make Your Competition Look Good...
Kinda If you paint the picture in your competitive analysis that there aren't a lot of successful companies in the market your product/service falls in then you are creating a bigger problem that investors will ask: What makes you think you will be different? That can be problematic to counter.
Solution? Simple: Include examples of successful companies in your competitive analysis.
What you want to do is paint a picture of a flourishing market, alive with healthy competition that still (sadly) is not fulfilling their customer's need..
..
and that's where your business comes in! You don't want the competition to outshine your idea, just demonstrate that there is healthy demand for what you have to offer.
First Mover? Who Cares? When outlining your strategies, don't make the mistake of centering on any first mover advantage you may have.
What is first-mover advantage While it is good to have, in today's climate relying on that solely can cause the competition to quickly counter whatever advantage you had and leave you in the dust.
Your strategy must focus on a long-term vision of how your company will retain customers using CRM (customer relationship management) tools, branding, value-added services, etc.
Padding is Bad.
Don't do it.
Don't feel that you must pad your business plan to make it an "acceptable length.
" While a 10-page business plan is VERY LIKELY leaving out many essential details, forcing investors to read a 165-page plan that essentially repeats the first 60 pages is not going to win you their affection...
or money.
Save the Buzz Words for the Advertisements Customer-driven, first-to-market, synergy, win-win..
...
do you very, very best to not use "buzz words" in the regular text of your plan.
Use them in the ad samples (maybe) but not in the body of your plan.
Source...