Writing A Business Plan:
Your Online Business Plan is Your Secret Weapon -- and A Hidden Dagger For The Unwary

Taking your online business plan to the next level requires vision and creativity -- just the characteristics that most lenders look for.

Simply put, putting business plans on the web effectively takes guts. Few know how to do it right. But it is precisely this skill that will set your business plan head and shoulders above the rest.

When most companies "put their business plans online", they stick them on someone else's website, pay a fee (usually a pretty good size fee) and wait for the investor to call. What they end up getting is some sleaze bag calling to sell them more web sites and more hope for an investor to call [See our article "7 Online Business Plan Scams -- and 1 Real Deal."]
Well, the investor doesn't call. The only people who call are those who want to sell you something.

I've been online for nearly ten years, interacting with thousands of entrepreneurs, and never once have I met a company that got funded by paying to post its business plan online.
If you've been a victim of this scheme, you're in good company -- thousands of others got caught too.

Now let me tell you about an online business plan approach that works.

1. Identify your lender/investors (i.e., the people you are trying to impress)

Most importantly, locate your investor or lender yourself. Be very proactive. See Business Financing for the steps to take to identify the best prospects for your business. Then, when you send your business plan, invite the investor to take a look at the company in action, your web site.

2. Create the best web based business plan you possibly can.

This could be your "public website" or your business plan website. If you prefer, the online business plan can be a private access one completely.

3. Password protect your web based business plan.

Then, make at least one page a password protected page "For Investors Only." On that page (or several pages, as the case may be), present those things that you didn't have room to present in your business plan, or things that simply show better in full color large scale format, such as:

	Patents that have been filed.
	A Power Point presentation demonstrating the development of your company from a glint in the founder's eye.
	Architectural or interior designs of your store/facility.
	Articles that key players, including your Advisory Baord, have written.
	Videos of your product, your service, your people, your future.
	Photos of your product, your office, or your staff -- photos that won't fit into a business plan.
	Testimonials from clients or suppliers or even your banker -- whoever can make your company look good.
	Articles from industry or local publications that have featured your company.
	Drill down financials for critical aspects of your firm's development; and
	...Whatever else will knock their socks off.

This is the place to be creative. Business plans that are put online are not simply a re-hash of your printed plan. Your printed business plan may be included if you like, but don't stop there. The investor already has your printed business plan in hand, so give him something more.

When put online, your business plan can give your company the personality that your printed business plan alone couldn't do. This is still part of your promotion. Keep the warts off the screen -- there's plenty of time for those later.

Watch the structure of the site. make sure the information flows logically and is easy to locate.

Be very aware that a web page is not 8 1/2 x 11 inches. The information and the graphics flow differently than on a hard copy page.

Make Online Business Plans Sing

With a bit of ingenuity and planning, your online business plan will work wonders.
Content is King (or Queen, as the case may be). Not graphics. Not flashing pictures. Not rotating images that boggle the mind.

Unless teenagers are your primary target, assume that your visitor is looking for quality information. Then give it to him.

This is such a basic idea, and one that is so widely missed.

The smart entrepreneur will, of course, stylistically coordinate the business plan and the web site and will use the online business plan to demonstrate that the company is headed for success.

With a strong hard copy business plan, and a strong online business plan, your business will truly stand out as an exceptional company-- one that will impress any number of potential lenders/investors.

What Comes Next?

Most likely, the reaction to your online business plan will be impressive. Since you check your web logs, you will know who has looked at those pages. With real power in your position, call the lender and ask for a face to face meeting.