Business Plan Development

Both Andrea Cockerton and Dr. Steven Gedeon have some good points on how to write a successful business plan.    Andrea feels that it is important to have a good executive summary and a fantastic pitch, while Steven is more focused on refining your business concept and your management team.  Some other important aspects discussed between the two of them were: having a point of pain, ensuring that your idea is groundbreaking, and continuously refining and changing your plan.

A few ways that I intend to incorporate what I have learned from my research on these experts into my own plan are: to start, I am going to ensure that my executive summary clearly details and outlines exactly what my company is about in a way that I get both my concept explained and get my audience excited about it at the same time.  Another way I intend to incorporate what I’ve learned is by constantly refining my pitch until I can easily and expediently convey my concept to an investor.

Based on the information provided by the experts, I have already made a couple changes to my business plan.  One change I have made is I have gone back through my financials and done additional research on the costs to ensure I had the best numbers in my financials section.  Steven mentioned that you need to continuously refine and change your plan, so I already started doing that.  Another change I made was looking at my point of pain and making sure that there was really a market for it.  I had to do extensive research to be able to prove that my business has a point of pain, but I did and it has helped me tremendously.

           I noticed that both Andrea and Steven agreed that the investors are mainly focused on your financials and that is the section that really interests them.  So, based off of their advice and my own knowledge of business plan development, I would have to say that investors are most interested in financials, but your concept and your pitch are also very important to them as well.  

Experts in Business Plan Development

Andrea Cockerton is the first expert I examined.  Andrea is a “pitch for funding” expert and the founder of Mudhut Consulting, which is a venture market consultancy.  In regards to what investors are looking for, Andrea gives a few tips on the matter.  She talks about how you need an excellent executive summary, well thought out financials, and a fantastic pitch.  Also, with regards to the pitch, she said that it should be delivered in the form of an elevator pitch or in a full presentation detailing the business opportunity being presented.  Also, the pitch should include: the targeting of a growing market with a “point of pain”, a team that is capable of carrying out the business plan, and that your idea is “groundbreaking”.  She goes on to discuss the sources of financing that are available for entrepreneurs, but the main point that she wants the audience to walk away with is that the investors are            mainly concerned with how the business is going to make money, so focus on that.

Dr. Steven Gedeon is the next expert I examined.  Steven has both a PhD and a MBA from Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management.  He is an expert in both entrepreneurship and venture capitalism.  He gives a few tips on writing a successful business plan.  He discusses the importance of figuring out what your idea is, who you are targeting, and who your competition is.  He also mentions the importance of continuous refining and changing of your plan.  With regards to what investors and venture capitalists are looking for, they are looking for three main elements.  They are looking at your business concept, your management team, and most importantly, your financials.  Steven leaves us with a quote to remember: “Writing the business plan itself is not nearly as important as the process by which you think through what is a successful business.”

Now, courtesy of Expert Enough, I would like to leave you with 14 quick tips for a great business plan:

1.     Cover the important stuff and get moving

2.     Include all essential parts

3.     Do your research and digest it

4.     Learn from experience

5.     Laser focus

6.     Learn your industry

7.     Know who else is serving your customers

8.     Be specific in your action plan

9.     Highlight your progress

10. Update the plan as you go

11. Polish it

12. Breathe some life into it

13. List your assumptions

14. Make smart projections

Thanks for reading and I hope you learned a lot about business plans!