I consider the business plan the blueprint of any business.
All of us future business owners need to do our due diligence in making sure
our business plans are detailed and include all of the necessary information to
help set up the foundation for a successful business. As with anything, it’s
important to consult and research the pros when it comes to creating a
successful business plan. Dr. Steven Gedeon and Andrea Cockerton are two industry professionals who are
experts when it comes to writing business plans.
Dr. Steven Gedeon is a professor in Entrepreneurship & Strategy at the Ted Rogers
School of Management. He has founded and/or sat on the board of several
companies and often lectures with tips on business plan writing techniques.
Dr. Steven Gedeon states that the most important aspects of a business plan are the executive summary, the description of the management
team/advisory board and the financial projections. These sections really give
people an idea of what your company is about and where you see it going. Dr.
Gedeon warns not to make business plans number and statistic heavy because
investors can get bored with that numbers that don’t readily affect their
decision. He states that investors want to understand your “go to market
strategy.” The numbers and stats included in the business plan should show how
and why your specific business is unique and how it will realistically make
money.
Andrea Cockerton runs a company called Mudhut. This company helps other companies when they are ready to start pitching to investors. Andrea states that
the pitch is extremely important. She even equates the pitch to dating in that it's your one chance to get it right. The pitch needs to be clear and
concise, yet creative, effective and be able to get the interest of investors.
These tips are essential when writing a business plan. It’s
important to think about what the investor is going to want to know when creating
the business plan. This way the plan only includes useful information.
