Generating a business plan that can be used to... - grow the company. - sign up Investors. - sell the company. - sign up Distributors (a qualified version of the plan). - reach interested Investors & Distributors overseas. A web version (secured) can allow an instant presentation to anyone in the world. The difference between the plans we generate and those others produce is that they are highly graphical and designed to get the message across quickly.

The profile of a typical investor - the people who sign the big cheques ..... (a) usually someone 40 plus whose eyes aren't the best and they don't like reading small fonts (that's why the fonts used here are large). (b) have short attention spans - that's why we like to keep it short and work the old saying 'a picture is a thousand words'. A business plan can be time consuming and expensive, but it can be a very effective way of improving your operation or attracting investment if it is kept brief and focused on the key issues. It can also be a prerequisite for selling a business, or attracting investors. Above all - Keep it Simple - don't get lost in unnecessary detail

The Purpose of your Plan The first issue to to decide what is the real purpose of producing this plan ? and who are you pitching it at ? Note the concept - different document for a different purpose ! You may have several versions of the same plan. (a) New business (or Product) with no history of sales ? - to attract Investors or sell the business or Product. (b) A relatively new business, with historical cash flow ? - to attract Investors or sell the business or Product. (c) Selling an existing business and attracting investors ? We set up a pitch document with the plan included. (d) A plan to grow and improve an existing business ? Think carefully about the above before spending a lot of time, money and energy. There will be no shortage of people who will help you spend money on this project - probably help you inspect your navel as well. We believe a large proportion of business plans are of very limited value because they are poorly executed.

We can work with you to generate a great business plan that can get your message across - plans that actually are likely to absorbed fully by the target person - and with a good chance that the 'deal may be done !’ If you are an inventor or product developer we can help you with your project.

(a) A New Business (or Product) no history of sales - to attract Investors or sell the business or Product The aim should be about a 20 page document max. You can also create the one page summary plan. As soon as you get beyond 20 pages there is a danger of losing the plot, especially when it comes to involving others. It can take time to 'boil down' a lot of data, but we are used to doing this and the old saying 'less-is-more' applies. Investors tend have short attention spans. If it doesn't 'grab' - they're gone ! Pages of financials for new projects ,with no history of sales, that get into great detail out to year 5 are usually only wild guesses anyway and can obscure the real issues. A quarter by quarter summary for 5 years is usually a lot of nonsense, in this case. It also obscures the general thrust of the document ('more-is-less'). Get rid of the decimal places - when you see people that are estimating with entries like "power $1423.23" - you know they have lost the plot. Nobody has a crystal ball that good - wankers or fools. Down to the nearest $100 is fine (for a small company). We pay special attention to the income and its validity. A good set of marketing data is essential. Painting a bit of 'blue sky' is fine so long as you do not overdo it. When the investor gets into the next layer of detail and starts to get the message that you have been 'bulldusting' your credibility is going to fall apart.

b) A relatively new business, with historical cash flow ? As above, but you can get into a little more financial detail. Usually suggest two 5 year plans (annual figures only). An achievable plan and a goal budget (with extra expenditure included to achieve the results). (d) A plan to grow and improve an existing business ? This can be a valuable exercise if it is kept simple (ask us about Forward Planning). Simple, because it gets your mind focused on key issues and not derailed by excessive detail, where you can lose the plot. Here we want to work through - Product - Process - Market - Money to make genuine improvements in the operation of the company. It is absolutely essential that the employees take 'ownership' of the plan otherwise the whole thing can become a waste of time

The Team You will be judged by the team you have to 'drive' your operation. Businesses need balanced skills to succeed. Technical - Sales/marketing - Financial - Manufacturing as an example - if it is only a small concern you can have outside advisers/mentors BUT you must address the key areas of the business. If you have not got those skills - do something about it. Investors will be very hesitant about lack of skills/advice in key areas. Forcing you to look at these issues is a key positive of having a business plan.