Business Plan Writing Tips

Filed in archive management on April 18, 2007

Writing a home business plan may not be an immediate requirement since many startups can be started without having any business plan document at all. But for those who can't start on anything without a well-written or just a business plan draft, Michelle Goodman, Anti-9-to-5 Guide's author, got some business planning do's and don't's for you:

Business Planning Do's:

Flesh out everything but the executive summary of your plan first: the numbers, the competition, the industry trends. If you write the executive summary first, you wind up with a vaguer, weaker document.

Toot your own horn. Don't be afraid to promote yourself. It's not bragging. Leaders list their achievements - plain and simple. Investors will want to see this.

Be clear and concise. Ensure each section of your plan stays on topic. You want to make it easy for an investor or advisor who's just skimming it to find the information they need.
Obliterate all industry jargon from your plan. Likewise, nix all superlatives and adjectives. Prove you're unique without having to come right out and say so.

Business Planning Don'ts:

Say that you have no competition. Customers and investors won't buy it. If there is nothing else like it out there, there probably isn't a market for it, say the experts.

Fudge the numbers or present only best-case financial scenarios. Use reliable numbers that are as recent as possible. Investors will challenge your numbers anyway, so you need to be able to defend them.

Try to hide your weaknesses. Instead, include a "challenges that keep me awake at night" section in your plan to address the bigger hurdles - and your ideas for resolving them.

Write a tome. If you're writing a business plan for yourself (as opposed to investors), it can be as short as 10 pages. If you're writing a plan for investors, keep it under 35 pages.

via Anti-9-to-5 Guide