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.

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.

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.

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?"

Business Plan Software, Templates and Samples---A Huge Trap for Most!

Samples are often helpful, as a guide to what you may need in much of your business plan...if it was developed for the same type of business, a start-up like you with a similar market, team and investment. Software helps so many draft and design a good plan...just not one that is most likely to be funded. Templates more often result in a business plan that looks like a template..not a custom plan that is more likely to attract interest...and capital.

Google "Business Plan" and related phrases and you as a principal seeking a business plan will be flooded with these often bait and switch options। You know bait and switch, the huge red sale tags for stuff only 5% off or maybe much more off...except you don't need it! You don't need software or templates...or a company or Web site that will do the Plan for you after leading/baiting with a template. Plans of substance like a new or better product, service or idea need a custom plan that does not reinvent format or a minority of content but has only what is needed to be both comprehensive and concise.

So, if you think your life, business and business plan all fits neatly in a box, then software or a template may be for you. If you think the opposite, that investors reward out of the box thinking when they recognize such forethought in a professional presentation, then let's chat. (Tim@thebusinessplanconsultants.com)

Connecting the Business Plan Dots

Synergy and interconnectivity very much apply to components of your Business Plan. Does your Operations Plan have synergy with your Finance or Marketing Plans? Does your Marketing Analysis support the Market Share and Penetration Analysis, and therefore support the forecasted assumptions of revenue? Does your senior staff and planned mid-level management support your ability to run or grow your Company, and generate the revenue you forecasted? Does your Business Plan provide enough details on the key job descriptions that again relate to assumptions of staffing forecasted to reach that bottom line profit you are telling investors you will attain?

Do your numbers (projections or forecasts) and words (business plan and marketing plan) have synergies, or do you expect the reader to know your business and plan as well as you and connect the dots between a number without a detailed explanation and something mentioned on Page 18 of your business plan that they may or may not recall?

There are so many other questions that need to be asked, but the bottom line is that each section of your Plan needs to stand alone and connect on varied levels to other sections, i.e., synergies in a combination of concise and detailed data, with cross references that connect your Business Plan dots.

The Balance of Steak and Sizzle

Most of us have heard the phrase of "Sizzle and Steak," more like the balance of marketing/sales versus the needed Joe Friday "just the facts" in a business plan. It is critically important for a business plan to be nearly all a combination of high quality Porterhouse or Filet Mignon (depending on our tastes) and tidbits of sizzle. The Marketing Plan within the Business Plan or attached as appendix should be also all steak as well. The true sizzle should be in your sample ad copies to attract customers (which hopefully has the steak too!) and your ability to market your services or products with even high temperature sizzle to cook a Morton's steak should included with your plan.

Superlatives belong in conversations to some degree and in your ad copy and should limited in business plans. Assurances must include a caveat unless your statement or plan has to do with something like weather and you assure someone in will either be rainy or sunny today.
Words and statements fall into many categories, and when to use a certain kind of emphasis in a business plan is best served by a team or rare individual who can think like a financial analyst, marketing guru, attorney or respected author all rolled into one and from one moment to next. It's all about balance, like having enough sizzle to be sure the greatest steak is a lead part of a perfect meal…my apologies to all vegetarians!