Monday, April 28, 2008

Business Plan Focus 101 and Beyond

Many executives involved with running the day-to-day operations of their businesses and hands-on fostering of growth in marketing, human and product development, often lose weeks and sometimes months at a time in completing a new business plan, let alone implementing the Plan with fundraising or team development. The same is true for marketing plans, as management and staff get busy and plans do not get implemented, and then a few months go by and people are scratching their heads wondering why things are slow.

Outsourcing is the answer. Bring in those who are experts at business plan development and implementation, marketing or operational support to maintain positive momentum or to seize the day. Time is money, and wasted time, because executives can't possibly focus on too many directives, is growth and money down the drain. Great teams are flexible, and interim support bridges the gap for many champions of sport and business.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Business Plan Balancing Act - Concise or Detailed, Long or Short?

The Small Business Administration agrees with the consensus of experts that a typical business plan should be 30-50 pages in length, and I tend to agree...in a "perfect world." First of all, no matter the length of a plan, be concise and lengthy items of a couple pages or more should almost always be in an appendix. As for plan length, time constraints and smart budgeting often suggest a two-phased plan approach is wise, where a plan of 10 or 15 pages, with a financial forecast and Phase I market analysis, is often sufficient to gain the lender/investor's conditional commitment. Thereafter, the complete plan can be finalized. There are many other factors that dictate the length of a business plan, such as expanding an existing business or developing new products or markets.

The Executive Summary should always be concise yet still tell the whole story, and we suggest one page in length for every ten pages of a business plan for a rough guide. There are many components to Business Plans, and balancing length and time will dictate costs and success. Balance...don't over do it, but do enough, and do that for each component of your plan. A truly expert team can guide that process, and saving time will almost always save money along the way.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Market Share and Market Penetration

“Market share” and “market penetration” are sections or appendices of business plans; they are typically more important in plans of mid to large scope and are critical components of a plan to support revenue assumptions within the business plan and related forecasts. They are related yet distinct from a needed competitive analysis.

At www.thebusinessplanconsultants.com, we have completed many plans that involve new technology, Web-based businesses, or are national or global in scope. Many of these plans also target different market segments or groups of consumers. Therefore, the amount of time required to research and prepare Market Research and Market Penetration appendices can vary substantially with time an unknown factor for some plans such as emerging technologies. The opposite is true when analyzing a plan such as a retail business where there are a defined number of competitors and market penetration and share within a defined smaller region is easier to deduce.

In conclusion, be sure your business plan has significant details on competitive analysis, market share and market penetration. These are areas where the vast majority of business plans we receive that were completed by astute business owners, often using specialized software or templates, fall dramatically short of investors’ expectations.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Time Management

At least 60-70% of our work is from clients that tried software (Business Plan Pro common software) templates or a business plan consultant that was cheap and then they came to us. The saying you get what you pay for is usually true, and often you get less. Ask yourself if you expect your lender or investor to react positively to your professional and well thought out business ideas when you try a short cut to a professional and concise plan that has what is needed and nothing more. Time is money, so don't waste time with plans that have to be rewritten after they are not well received, deemed incomplete, or contain so much unneeded info that a busy banker sets them aside to the bottom of the pile...or the trash.

Then there is your time. You have your business to run, or maybe a job for those with start-ups and a business to get started on the side. You are an expert in what you do, but not a business consultant, analyst or writer that thinks like an investor or banker, and with distractions, it can take you months and months. A professional team like ours can turn around a plan, forecasts, cash flow analysis and market study in 30 days or less. Ask yourself, " Is the best use of your time the use of our (Tim@thebusinessplanconsultants.com) time?"