Writing a business plan isn’t quite what you think. Many people go read web sites, buy books, or even buy software to assist them in writing business plans. The advice I’ve received from entrepreneurs is that you may as well skip the sites, toss the books and uninstall the software. Instead, concentrate on who you are writing the business plan for.
- Yourself – If you’re writing a business plan for yourself, then be sure to include a comprehensive look at your strengths and weaknesses. Decide how you’re going to fill the holes left by your weaknesses… those are the things that can really hurt your business plan. (Admittedly, the sites, books and software could come in handy for this)
- Financial Institutions – If you’re writing a business plan for a bank or credit union, first meet with the bank management to find out what the greatest business plans they’ve reviewed have included. Of course, the opposite is required reading as well – which business plans they’ve denied and why. This can change with each institution you go to, be sure to do your homework.
- Investors or Investment Firms – As with a bank, investors (private or firms) have certain criteria they are attracted to. Some groups are attracted to specific industries, some to business models, and some to simply which companies are going to get the most press.
- Private and Government Grants – Many times, these processes have no human connection, but luckily, they often publicize or publish the companies that they’ve granted funding to. The easiest way to do your homework with grant organizations is to contact those who have received previous funding to get some tips on what worked and what didn’t.
It’s not easy to get copies of great business plans. You’d also be surprised at the brevity and lack of details in business plans that have big names or previously successful leaders running them. If you’re a young entrepreneur, you’re going to have to work a lot harder at walking through the process because you haven’t provided any reputation in building a successful business. Surrounding your business with those who have is key.
As my partners and I have pursued a startup, Koi Systems, we’re working on, we’ve gotten incredible advice from Chris Baggott, Ron Brumberger, David Castor (who is now our attorney), Mike Alerding (our accountant who has worked with a number of startups), Kristian Andersen, John Harrison, Rachel King from Business Week and a number of other regional leaders and firms.
These folks have been so generous with their time and priceless advice. In upcoming weeks, I believe over a year of hard work will move our idea to reality. We’ve got many more local and national entrepreneurs on our lunch and coffee lists in upcoming weeks – but we’re so excited about the future and how this company will add to the growing number of great Software as a Service companies here in Indianapolis.
