Entrepreneur - Business Plan Tips

Business Plan Tips

What Investors Are Looking For In A Plan

Investors, whether angels or VC's, are looking for the same things when reading a business plan. They want to know how big the opportunity is, whether this is the right team to exploit the opportunity, who the competition is, what the risks are, and why they can expect this team to implement successfully. Your job in writing the business plan is to address these questions convincingly and clearly.

Emphasize Your Real Strengths

Highlight what your team brings to the table. If your business hinges on a particular competency (for example, understanding the procurement process), your plan will be more persuasive if one of your team members knows something about it and that is brought out in your plan. Rather than including generic resumes of team members, tailor the resumes to draw out the experience each member has that will make him or her a valuable contributor.

Get To The Point And Make It Clear And Comprehensive

Investors see many business plans. A 20-page plan which clearly lays out your business is far more likely to be read than a 100 page plan. Today, some entrepreneurs are using a 15 slide Powerpoint presentation. If your text is short and punchy, you won't need to repeat yourself, because the reader won't be bogged down keeping ten chapters in their head. Reading the same thing over and over, even if it's in different words, can get really tiring. The more you use brevity and give each concept a single home in your document, the more people will want to read it.

Write In Plain English

If you can't explain your idea in English, either you don't understand what you're talking about (What is a transaction enabled atomic journaling database server, anyway?) or you haven't simplified the idea enough. Think, revise, and try again.

Get Rid Of The Hype

Yes, we know you will be the "premier insert product category here of the Internet, achieving 99% market penetration with 60% customer retention in 3 months". Your product will reach "new heights in customer experience through the use of personalization and one-to-one profiling and customization". It will be "user friendly" because you will be creating a truly "ecstatic customer experience". It is a "quantum leap forward" in the marketplace for product category here. Um, yeah. Believe me, we've read it before. About a dozen times today, in fact. (And by the way, the phrase "quantum leap" really doesn't mean anything.) Stick to a tight, simple explanation of your idea. Convince your reader you'll be the best because your idea is the best, not because you can string a dozen buzzwords together.

Use Quantifiable Information

In each section, back up your assertions with solid facts. Even if you are a new venture and cannot give specific figures on the performance of your business, quote figures for the industry or your competitors. These real figures carry more weight than your assumed projections and give more reality to your plan.

Choose A Huge Market

Especially in the internet world, investors are looking more at the market than at the detailed specifics of your financials. Choose a market that is big enough to be an obvious good opportunity. A business which targets teenage girls who listen to music and has a reasonable chance of capturing 90% of the girls that are online is a huge opportunity. A business which targets net-savvy SAAB mechanics who need prosthetic limbs is not.

Local Investors

United States > Florida

I am a FINANCIAL CONSULTANT that has direct lenders that are looking to loan for ASSET BASED SITUATIONS. There LTV depends on the situations, must have paper work, no dreamers. I DO NOT REQUIRE ANY RETAINERS.

$5,000,000 to $20,000,000

United States > Florida

CORPORATE FINANCE Through Project Finance disciplines, we offer clients highly experienced teams in Corporate Finance and Infrastructure financing. A wide range of interest rate and hedging strategies are available Our competitive edge lies in excellent knowledge of all major industrial sectors and the technical and investment banking skills required to bring complex transactions to a timely close. Arrangement, structuring, placement and syndication of loan facilities across a broad spectrum of clients and sectors, including: General Corporate Finance Merger and Acquisition Finance Leveraged Finance Real Estate development projects Expansion Funding Management buyouts or buyins Asset based manufacturing situations Oil, gas, and mineral recovery situations Petrochemicals, power High Tech startup situations Leasing Finance Bridge Finance Guarantee Finance Project Finance Structured Finance Transport Finance Aircraft Financing.

$1,000,000 to $10,000,000

United States > Georgia

We have funded over 15,000 businesses since 1998. Our funding ranges from $3,000 up to $150,000. Funding can be used for anything purpose, there are no strings attached. You can use our funding to upgrade equipment, remodel, open a new location, advertisement, purchase inventor and more. We provide funding to small to medium- sized businesses based on the following factors: -Must be in business for 4 months or longer -Earn $2,500 or more in monthly credit card sales volume -No previous bankruptcies There are no application fees or any hidden fees. If you need funding for your business, we can help you receive the funding your company deserves.

$300,000 to $15,000,000

United States > New York

I have been in banking for 26 years project manager of lend america mortgage bank within these two months........ we have over 2 billion dollars in joint venure

$350,000 to $5,000,000

United States > California

I am an investor with 16 years of commercial and investment banking experience including; mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, securitization, risk management, portfolio management, turnarounds and restructurings, valuations, warehouse financing, credit evaluation, lending operations, loan servicing and investor relations. I was a Vice President with View Capital Corporation, where I was responsible for the issuance of over $1.5 billion in asset backed securities and for institutional sales of more than $500 million in whole loans and leases secured by franchise operations and equipment. I was also engaged in the sale of the Equipment Leasing Division and various related mergers and acquisitions. Prior to that, I worked as a Vice President of Secondary Marketing for Cole Taylor Bank in Chicago, IL, managing all aspects of operational risks for their mortgage division. I am a graduate of the University of Arizona with a degree in finance and real estate.

$100,000 to $10,000,000

United States > Pennsylvania

I have never invested this way and am thinking about investing at this time. I am the executive Director of a non-profit organization.

$7,500,000 to $10,000,000

United States > New York

Hi, My name is Valerio Auguste. I am a private investor. I have been investing for three years in online Marketing Businesses. My main goal is to find the opportunity to invest in new businesses with minimal development done. I am a Math and Science teacher, and I own an online marketing business and its own online stores. My recent projet is the online distribution branch of an enterprise that distributes high quality products both online and offline.

$100 to $100,000