Business Plans
All business loan and venture capital deals begin with the clear communication of the facts, which influence a Funding Source to consider the transaction. This communication comes in the form of a business plan.
Great insight into the Client's company comes from the business plan. Therefore, a plan needs clear and concise data stating the Client's product, or service, who they are, their track record, the funding request, financial statements, and other informative information. Clients must use the plan to effectively communicate their strategies, and their commitment to the success of the project.
An effective plan will always start with a one page Executive Summary. This one page will be written with facts, no fluff, so that the reader has a clear understanding about the company and what they do. Statements made in the Summary are supported by the documentation within the body of the plan. It is the summary that encourages the reader to spend valuable time digesting the rest of the business plan.
It is advisable for the Client to have a good understanding of all the elements necessary to make a successful plan. There are always Clients who spend too much time trying to market projects to funding sources, when the project has no chance of being funded due to the poor quality of the business plan. The business cannot be funded if no one is willing to read their plan and accept the information as being of sound business and financial reasoning.
There are a number of books and sources available to assist the Client develop a better understanding of writing and presenting a business plan. One source that provides free business information is the web site www.StartingAndExpandingABusiness.com. Along with other information on this site there is a list of books, which focus on the development of business plans.
books were the ones recommended by professionals who participated in a national survey concerning books on business plans.
When approaching a Funding Source, Clients should take into consideration: if a person is job hunting, does a quality resume, or a sloppy one have the greatest possibility of landing the job? The answer, of course is A quality. When seeking capital for projects, the same is true concerning business plans.
Currently, there are a tremendous number of deals already in the marketplace, and there are many more people looking to expand their business. Many of these deals submitted for financing are turned down due to the fact the A Plan is not adequate and will never be successfully accepted by a Funder.
Clients need to understand the chances of successfully funding a project, diminishes greatly when they are unable to present a quality business plan. Submitting an inadequate plan, or completing a plan with partial effort, will not get successful results.
When a Client submits an ineffective business plan to a Consultant who will then in turn submit the plan to multiple funding sources, the Consultant has choices: one, trash the deal and move onto the next deal, two, the Consultant can waste time and money calling other Consultants and Funding Sources in a fruitless attempt to find Funding, or three, determine whether the project is at least viable then discuss with the Client the facts of submitting a quality package.
Until next time,
Brad MacLiver
Copyright Business Funding Secrets 2005
For more information on obtaining funds from the capital marketplace, you can: 1. Receive the monthly newsletter, Business Funding Secrets, which provides tips and information concerning business funding. http://www.businessfundingsecrets.com 2. Review information from The Project Corporation, a professional consulting firm with expertise in business funding. http://www.theprojectcorp.com, & http://www.businessloansandventurecapital.com
Sunday, 8 July 2007
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