2009 Business Plan Series – Part 1 – The Art of Starting
February 11, 2009 :: Steve FisherBefore we dive deep into the how and what of a business plan, this first part of an ongoing series is focused on the why of starting a business and doing your homework and preparation properly.
You might have heard of the book “Art of the Start” by Guy Kawasaki. It is a great primer on [...]
Select the Right Plan Type – Part 2 of the 2009 Business Plan Series
February 12, 2009 :: Steve FisherI wrote my first business plan when I was 24 years old. It was 150 pages long. That’s right, 150 pages. 150 pages full of dreams, diagrams, fairy dust, spreadsheets and rainbows that told everyone how I was going to master the universe and drive a van around and install home networks and repair computers [...]
Frame the Plan – Part 3 of the 2009 Business Plan Series
February 17, 2009 :: Steve FisherIn Part 2 we talked about selecting the right type of plan to fit your needs. Now that you have decided that, let’s get into the general structure of a business plan. While the outline structure I may propose works, there are many different ways to skin the cat. Here are a few examples…
Example Outline [...]
Killer Executive Summaries. It all begins here. – Part 4 of the 2009 Business Plan Series
February 19, 2009 :: Steve FisherEveryone who begins the journey of writing a business plan usually learns about the Executive Summary section early on in the process. An Executive Summary is usually 1-2 pages long and the goal is to summarize the entire business plan into something digestible by new readers and those (read: investors) who want to get to [...]
Who are You and What has Your Team Done? – Part 5 of the 2009 Business Plan Series
February 19, 2009 :: Steve FisherMany times with a business plan it is good to have a 1-2 page section on the basics of the company. I call this the “Company Overview” and this format is good in some cases to answer what your company does and the problems it is fixing. The “Company Overview” section is also a great [...]
Identify the Problem and the Market – Part 6 of the 2009 Business Plan Series
February 20, 2009 :: Steve FisherThe core reason your business exists is to provide a product and/or service to the marketplace that solves a problem and/or meets a need. Many market analysis questions should be answered in the beginning to uncover if you actually have something that people want to buy.
Basic things you must try and answer with the problem/market [...]
Tell them How You Solve the Problem – Part 7 of the 2009 Business Plan Series
February 23, 2009 :: Steve FisherWhen you start a business you are trying to meet a market need with a certain solution. That solution is what comprises your Products and Services section.
This section covers what you provide to customers and how you deliver it. It is the reason you are in business. There is something here you decided would revolutionize [...]
Know Your Competition Better than They Do – Part 8 of the 2009 Business Plan Series
February 23, 2009 :: Steve FisherYou have been living and breathing this thing called your business for some time now. You have been writing for a while and there are so many ideas and details swimming around in your head. Now you have to think hard about how you measure up against the competition. The competitive analysis section covers how [...]
Why do some management teams win and others just suck? – Part 9 of the 2009 Business Plan Series
February 24, 2009 :: Steve FisherThere is a well known investing slogan, “Fund an A-Grade team with a B-Grade idea over a B-Grade Team with an A-Grade idea”. Did you get that tongue twister?
I am not talking pedigree or a minimum number of years of experience but it is the results that make the team. You want people that can [...]
Overall Marketing Plan – Part 10 of the 2009 Business Plan Series
February 25, 2009 :: Steve FisherWhen writing the business plan, the Marketing Plan section explains how you’re going to get your customers to buy your products and/or services. This is an OVERALL view of the Marketing Plan section of the business plan. I will be explored in depth in future posts. The Marketing Plan separated into four distinct areas and [...]
