Writing a Killer Business Plan Does Not Start With A Software Template!
A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It is designed to take the entrepreneur's vision and crystallize it in a step-by-step written document.
The intent is to put the entrepreneur's vision in a tangible and distributable format. Once captured in this format, it can be shared with internal and external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders for a business plan include key management, partners and employees. External stakeholders include banks, investors, suppliers and even customers.
The most important step to ensuring the development of a good business plan is to first identify the purpose for which it is being written. The entrepreneur must ask this very important starting question..."Why am I writing a business plan". There are several possible answers to this question.
1. To present my business model to potential external stakeholders (lenders, investors, donors, suppliers, customers)
2. To give my internal stakeholders (employees, partners, key management) a road map to achieve my vision
3. To serve as an operational guide for my business startup
Based on the answer to the "why" question, the entrepreneur can proceed to the next step of writing a business plan. It is now time to identify the target audience. For example, let's assume the plan is being written to present to potential external stakeholders. In this case, a good business plan will further target itself to the specific audience of stakeholders. Some examples would be:
1. VC funding
2. Bank loans
3. Friends and family
4. Angel Investors
5. Suppliers and/or customers
Each of the audiences above has a totally different set of needs, goals and desires. Therefore, "who" the entrepreneur plans to present their plan to has everything to do with the format, content and offering of the business plan.
A typical business plan has twelve sections. However, in today's high paced market, some audiences prefer a shorter powerpoint investor presentation.
En Corpus does not recommend the use of business plan templates when building a document for external stakeholders. However, business plan templates and software can be a very handy tool when writing an effective plan for internal stakeholders.
Business plan software can also be a good tool when it comes time to build a financial proforma. The pre-built spreadsheets allow the entrepreneur to save a tremendous amount of time and avoid common spreadsheet errors.
If you are considering writing a business plan for internal or external stakeholders, contact En Corpus for a brief consultation and advisory session. We can give you personalized guidance and support as you embark on this very important journey of business startup.