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Business Plan InformationWhen Do I Need To Hire A Business Plan Consultant
by:
Howard Schwartz
Every new business owner knows that a business plan is critical – it is trained
into them by potential investors and every banking officer they meet. So why is thing
that is so important to the launch of a new venture so difficult to write? Nice question! In this article I wish try to address once
you should go out and hire a business plan writer versus taking on the task yourself. 1st time entrepreneurs often cringe once
sitting down to write their business plan. Several spend 6 months agonising over each period and comma, and even as worse others spend 6 months procrastinating and do nothing. So lets break it down and see wherever
/ once
a business planning institution should be brought in:
Who wish see your business plan and why?
First you need to actually understand the intention of your business plan and who your audience (reader) wish be. This is an important point as a business plan being written for a $100,000 loan is Really some than a document needful for a $10 million round of venture capital! Since this article is focused on first-time small business owners, I wish focus on preparing business plans raising less then $1 million in capital. For this “startup” or “seed” business plan 30-35 pages are perfect. You are not expected to deliver a thick book (and no one wish see it anyway!). Once you have this down, you can honestly assess which sections you are qualified / comfortable writing and which may need consulting help.
Here is what you should write on your own
It is important for you to write a basic draft / outline of your business plan. Without this direction you are probably asking too more of your consultant. Once you have your thoughts organized on paper you can see what you are comfortable completing. Here are a few suggestions:
Executive Summary: Draft the opening of your business plan – then hire a pro to move in and re-write it. Your executive summary wish be see 1st and 1st impressions are critical!
Marketing: You need to write your own definition of your target client / audience. For the market research on industry growth and fancy charts go ahead and hire a consultant.
Competitive Analysis: You should put together the 1st draft of this section, as it is about as important to understand your competitors, as it is your customers. If you find a adviser that is an expert in your field, then you can activity together and add to your initial list.
The Awful Financials
This is the most difficult part of a startup business plan, as you are devising projections and assumptions on products / services that you have not even as make or oversubscribed yet! If you are stuck on this section you can hire a business plan adviser to simply assist you with complemental your projections (income statement, cash flow, and balance sheet). Calculation out the cost of goods, delivery costs, and return rates can be simplified by breaking them down into a “light” spreadsheet. Next you need to understand your startup and operational price – items like electricity, travel, phone expenses, etc. Once again simply organize these and your adviser can do all the fancy charts and graphs. Simply do sure you understand all of the assumptions – for example if you are opening a retail business, you should not look towards your adviser to “guess” your rent – go out and meet with a real estate broker and move back with real data. If you activity closely with your consultant, the financials are a great section to bring in professional help.
Managing Expectations
Now that you cognize a bit more simply about once
to hire a business plan writer you besides need to manage your expectations. You can’t expect a $1,000 business plan to have 20 pages of competitive analysis and a full-blown marketing strategy! If you cautiously activity through which sections of your business plan need outside help and then manage your adviser closely, your final document wish be a success! My next two articles wish focus on “How to Find / Hire a Business Plan Consultant” and more significantly
“When to Fire your Business Plan Consultant!”
Simply simply about the author:
Howard Schwartz is a partner in some business strategy groups, including HJ Ventures International, Inc. Howard has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs global with a focus on writing business plans for companies interested in raising capital from Venture Funds and Angel Investors. Howard’s business plans have secured some million dollars in funding.
For more information: http://www.hjventures.com
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