Writing A Business Plan:  Your Business Plan Layout -- Turn Heads With A Bit Of Punch

A business plan layout is typically pretty mundane. There's the cover, the table of contents, some 20-25 pages of content and the back cover.

The innards of a business plan are typically long paragraphs punctuated with bold font sprinkled hither and yon.

And it's all a big bore.

There's a reason for this. The "how to write business plans" books are classics. That means they are old. They were all written pre-internet. And that's an important consideration in capturing and holding an audience.

The writing style of the internet has changed the way people think. And the way they read.

For instance, glance through this web site, or most any other successful web site, and you will see some real differences in style and layout, such as:

Short Paragraphs. Computer monitors don't have the tight resolution of a printed page, so our eyes get tired. To help us focus, good writers use shorter paragraphs.

Bulleted Lists. But sometimes there is still a great deal to be communicated, so bulleted lists have become quite popular (or indented lists, like this one).

Block Indents. This is a block indented section. It gives visual variety, so your eyes don't get so tired and I can hold your attention a bit longer.

Left Align. In the old days, nearly all paragraphs were indented five spaces. No more.

Judicious Use of Color.  A bit of color is nice. Splashes of color all over is yucky. Style that Reflects the Topic. Your business plan layout, like your web site, is going to pick up on the style of your business. A presentation for stylish clothes for teenage girls will look a lot different than one for biotech research.

Other than that, your business plan layout is pretty much up to you. Make sure that all the pertinent parts are there, but put them in any order that makes sense for your business.

And when you've got a glump of stuff that really needs to be included, but it is in tiny print and long paragraphs, put it as an attachment, either in hard copy form or on a disk, or both. That way, the information is still there for those who want it, but you wont' lose your reader before you get started.

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