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Before the Business Plan Gets Written

06.08.2009 No comments

A few steps before you write your next business plan

computer_keyboardThe other day a friend asked me if I had any business plan templates.  Of course I have many plans that could be used as a template and there some good websites with information on how to build a business plan.  Instead, however,  I invited him for a coffee to learn more about why he wanted to make a plan.  It turns out that my friend was entertaining the idea of starting a business.  Like many good entrepreneurs, he had several good ideas, he was not sure how they fit together, he was excited, and he was scared.  He had a potential partner, also good, and most of his business ideas could be done without external investment– perfect.

I then outlined a template to help form his ideas that looked like this for each idea:

  • What is the business need in the market that needs solving?
  • How are you (and your company) uniquely qualified to solve this?
  • How will you identify such customers and how will you make contact with them? Read more…