Business Plan Transparency

We receive at least a couple of draft Business Plans each week, all too often completed with faulty templates that will go unnamed and have been the subject of prior Blogs. The overwhelming majority of Business Plans we receive lack transparency, namely supporting detail to back up statements. One example is stating that “we have invested in the company” without also including how much, both an itemization of cash and of time of the principals and key employees, either as an Appendix or offering said document to interested parties. A second example would be supporting documents or mentioned sources for marketing plans and therefore critical revenue assumptions in Forecasts, including specific examples, either within the Plan or as Appendixes, of sales contracts, potential contracts or other documents that suggest your ability to achieve sales as more than just talking the talk but indeed walking the walk. Confidentiality is no more than an excuse since names can be removed from documents and20still be used as Appendixes with a statement in the plan that clean copies can be provided upon expressed interest in the Business Plan.

SBA, angel investors and venture capital firms may be three extreme examples of options for funding, but they all have a couple of things in common. First, they receive lots of plans for consideration and second, if you make it easy to both understand your business and provide advanced due diligence in the form of transparency, your Business Plan has a great chance to not only get to the top of their pile but also get their approval versus the unfortunate alternative….the trash can.

We provide a free consultation on business plans and can help take your plan to the next level in transparency and detail. For more information, contact me at tim@thebusinessplanconsultants.com.