Everybody says you have to have a business plan to start a business successfully. But not many people actually know how to put a business plan together. The basics of any business plan are the same — the summary – the product – the market – the competition and the financials. It’s how these elements get put together that transforms bits of information into a plan that can actually attract investors.
Whether the business is selling services to the Department of Defense or reproducing works of art for the Vatican, all it took was a phone interview or a face to face meeting to get the basic information together and get started writing. These business plans got funding in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for entrepreneurs that I have worked with.
The first plan was for a group of Native Americans who also happened to be Disabled Veterans. These two factors opened up a wide range of opportunities in the defense contracting business but also added several levels of complexity to a business plan that had to be written in under 4 weeks.
Writing a business review and recommendation for a growing business in the home theater industry was an interesting challenge but one that I enjoyed. After a single meeting with the owner and several hours of research, I was able to put together a custom plan that was less about financials and more about organizational design and growth.
A similar business review and recommendation was done for a small, artisan business that was struggling to balance the demands of business with the demands of home and family. This review resulted in a complete revamp in the business and helped the husband-wife owners change where they worked and how and provided a roadmap that balanced work, art and life.
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One business plan was written for a one-person computer graphics operation that wanted to move into the world of art reproductions. The plan was so well received that the owner was able to buy one of only three Cruse scanners in the world and open his doors to international trade in giclee reproduction. Unfortunately, the final format for this plan is PDF so if you want to see it, please email me.
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