Creating a Business Plan

This month I have started a focus on business plans. In my case, I am looking more at a focus on small businesses even though I have no interest in actually starting or owning a business. However, this is the closest thing I could find to being relevant to a sole proprietor. In my research I found two professionals that write business plans and read about what their views and missions are for their work.

­­Christie Karis, a business plan writer based in Washington, specializes in writing up plans for small businesses. Her site boasts 30 years experience of working with clients like coffee shops and marketing consultants to professional services and venues for special events. What I really like about her is that she “develops business plans that are market specific” and “assures that your market intelligence, communication strategies, and financial performance are fully developed, integrated, and projected with clarity.” Just like with legal papers, if there is jargon or other words they don’t understand, you will lose their interest and possibly risk insulting the individual’s intelligence. Clarity is extremely important in these matters.

I really think that it is important to focus on who will be reading your plan and form it around their interests. As Karis avoids, you do not want to write a plan that is extremely template-based and is obvious you simply plugged in some key words like your name and a few numbers, etc. You really have to research not only the industry, but also the individual you’re aiming the plan toward. If you know they’re more financially driven, you probably want to feature these number sections toward the beginning and bullet point your successes to make them stand out and ensure they’re not passed over.

Another business plan writer I found is actually a business called VC Plans. They offer services for investor plans, startup plans, bank plans, and even presentations. The company consists of Sumner Douglas and Karlee Patton. According to their site, Douglas “has worked with Zions Bank, University Venture Funds, and recently has been the lead consultant for high-profile clients.” He has a “professional background as a CEO, international investor, analyst, and venture capital associate.” Patton has a background of journalism that she has applied to business planning through a business consulting company. She “specializes in business plan writing, market research, marketing strategy, and design.”

Something I really liked about their site is that they applied social media into their services through a blog site so that potential, and current, clients can get a better feel for whom they are and if they believe they would be a good fit. Another is the option for site visitors to visually see what their plans generally look like through an interactive, click-through model. They have strong views on creating quality plans by the deadlines agreed upon. VC Plans believes that a clear image and concept to avoid confusion is important to get across to the reader. For that reason, they use comprehensible communication throughout their designed plans for which they also provide the market research necessary to execute it properly. According to their site, “[VC Plans] business plans communicate the concept to potential investors by providing market statistics, concept illustrations, management qualifications, profitability forecasts, and multiple scenario analyses including milestone trees.”

If you are looking to make your own business plan without paying for the services, you want to make sure you include the staple of a business plan. As mapped out by Entrepreneur, the business plan should include an Executive Summary, Business Description, Market Strategies, Competitive Analysis, Design and Development Plan, Operations and Management Plans, and Financial Components.

Investors mainly want to know the financials, your executive summary, and the market strategies you have. If you can’t get them to read past the executive summary, there’s a good chance they’re not interested. Other than that, they want to know that there is a market out there looking for your service or product that are willing to pay for it, and know that your business can survive. Finally, they’re going to look at how much you want from them, your history of financials, and where your money will be spent as well as where you predict your profit will be coming from and how much. No one wants to put money into a business that no one is looking for and/or has a horrible financial background or plan. This is what makes these sections extremely key in your plan and why you should put a lot of work and research into perfecting these.