I believe it wouldn’t be a little far fetched to say that
there has been a boost in entrepreneurial spirit lately, more and more I
stumble across young entrepreneurs opting to take a chance on their idea and
passion in hopes to turn it into a money making machine while on the quest for
financial independence. Within the music industry the entrepreneurial spirit is
well alive, established artists are finding new ways to build off their brand
and venture out into businesses other than music such as selling perfume or
starting a new clothing or shoe line. For the independent artist, we are seeing
them rise to fame on their own by creating successful campaigns to help boost
their notoriety. The common link between these scenarios is that before a
perfume, shoe line, or artist campaign could ever take place, one must realize
the importance of planning for the business.
From an experts point of view, business plan writer Tim Berry explains which components in a business plan that can kill its
credibility. Tim Berry started his career as a journalist and continued on to publish
books such as Business Plan Pro, Three Weeks to Start-up, and Sales and Market
Forecasting just to name a few. He is also a successful business owner of Palo
Alto Software now a multi-million dollar company. From Tim’s standpoint, business plans are a
critical component to the success of a company, he believes that it is not
beneficial for anyone but the entrepreneur themselves to write their own
business plans.
According to Tim, a
key component in a business plan investors look for that can kill its
credibility are: Unbelievable profits, Ignoring sales on credit, and expenses
vs. assets. He says this holds true because most startups are not profitable,
rarely do they make 10% on profits therefore it would be unreasonable for a
plan to project their business will make 30% or more in profits. Waiting to get
paid is a reality within businesses which is why Tim stresses sales on credit
in business plan projections are key, without them included in a plan can kill
its credibility. Lastly Tim says every business plan should accurately list its
assets and expenses accurately.
Another Business plan expert Mark Zwilling is the CEO and
Founder of Start Up Professionals Inc., his work has been published in Harvard
Business Review and Business Insider. According to business plan expert
reviews like Berry, Zwilling shares some basic tips that should never be
excluded in a business plan. He states
the executive summary is a key component in a business plan, investors will not
look at a plan without an executive summary. Making sure the plan is free of
typos is key and making sure the plan is an actual plan. Lastly, lengthy plans
are not ideal, keeping the plan roughly around 20 pages will work.
To learn how to write a business plan Tim Berry offers advice on his website http://www.bplans.com/.
References
Berry, T. (2012 July 31). 3 incredibly common credibility
killers in business plan numbers. Retrieved from http://timberry.bplans.com/. August 5,
2012
Berry, T. (2012). How to write a start up. Retrieved from http://www.bplans.com/. August 5 2012.
(2011 March 31). Mark Zwilling. R. Expert views on business
plans. Retrieved from http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/.
August 5, 2012
