Adapting Pro Business Plan Techniques

After learning more about business plan writers, Sumnar Douglas, Karlee Patton, and Christie Karis from my last post a few weeks ago, I started thinking about how I could incorporate what they see as strong points in a business plan into my own. Karis is very big on making sure the business plan meets the interests of the intended viewer. As of right now, I am just simply organizing each section of my plan individually so I have the overall work finished. However, once I choose my intended viewers, I will reorganize the structure to make sure the overall look is of simplicity and interest to the audience, mine most likely being for bank loans and investments to cover start up costs and technology upgrades.

Something the VC Plans group, Douglas and Patton, focus on is incorporating social media into their plans. I truly believe that social media has taken on such an impact on today’s society that it’s not only seen as a “friend-finder,” but can be seen as a networking device. Social media has progressed into this medium for professionals to network with each other and also is a way of marketing. In my case, I will use social media to market myself into the industry. By keeping up a blog site, I can show industry professionals that not only do I keep myself updated with current things in the industry, but I also like to interact and encourage communication from readers. Having my own site and possibly a social media site like Facebook or MySpace and allow me to share samples of my work for potential employers to listen to or view.

One more thing I really liked about the VC Plans pair was their view on simple cleanliness and clarity. I have always been a huge fan of keeping things very simple and to the point. A clean look of a plan makes a reader less confused and more willing to read further. Avoiding jargon and simply stating the point and what they would be interested in is the quickest way to tell them what the want to know and not waste their time while still getting your message across. For these reasons, I plan on utilizing that tactic in my own business plan development.

As a sole proprietor, I intend on pushing my business plan toward bank investors for loans. These people are most likely interested in the financials and how well the returns will be, as well as how fast they will see that happen. This will also tie in with competition and market in the area. If there is high competition, they could shy away from investing in a large market. If the area is really good, they may be more willing to invest in my business. If I get all the facts and statistics properly prepared and place them toward the beginning of my plan, the structure should work well and benefit the bankers.