How To Write A Business Plan To Garner Real Financing

Deciding how to write a business plan depends on how comfortable you are with a pen -- or a computer -- in front of you. Let's take a look at some of the popular techniques.

Fill in the Blanks

A lot of people use a software program like Business Plan Pro. Basically the program asks you questions, and then formats your responses into an outline.

Plusses: It's easy. It's inexpensive.

Minuses: It is a cookie cutter approach.  It's not very creative. Every plan ends up looking like every other plan. And it is still a huge amount of work. The program doesn't write the business plan for you; it just takes what you write and formats it. The book that comes with Pro is all about how to use their financial projection program, and personally, I have found their financial projection program very difficult to use.

How to Write a Business Plan with a Basic Outline

Take a basic outline like one of the many on this site (look in the nav bar for links to those).

Add the information that seems right for your business.

Take a look at some of the language in similar plans, and adapt it to suit your business plan.

Put it in a binder and submit it.

Plusses: This works well for a small business that doesn't need a lot of money. There are usually enough ideas in the free business plans to inspire nearly any new business.  Also, it is very inexpensive, around $40-50.

Minuses: It takes a bit of personal creativity and discipline to create a strong plan. Fortunately, most business owners already possess these qualities.

How to Write a Business Plan with Real Punch

Those who need a strong business plan are likely to look to the ideas for a custom business plan. These are typically businesses destined for venture capital or angel investment.  This is where the strongest writing skills and strongest presentation skills are needed.

The Best of Both Worlds

Without doubt, do everything you can on your own. After all, you are the one who knows your business best.

Sometimes there are parts of a business plan that you may need assistance with, such as the financial projections. Sometimes business people benefit from an outside professional review of their business plan. That's fine. Get all the assistance you need -- just don't lose control of it. Make sure that decisions impacting the future of your company are yours.

Steps to Writing a Business Plan

Basically the process is to first decide where you want to go, then:

• Research
• Write
• Polish

... and re-do as needed until it's right.

There are a million variations on the theme, but all of them lead you to how to to essentially the same process on how write a business plan.

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