Should You Write Your Own Business Plan ? Business Articles | July 31 Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale , 2004
Should You Write Your Own Business Plan?If you are just starting a company and looking for funding, or looking for ... funding for growth, you will need to develop a ... business plan.


Should You Write Your Own Business Plan?

If you are just starting a company and looking for funding,
or looking for additional funding for growth Cheap Authentic Jerseys , you will need
to develop a traditional business plan. Creating a business
plan is a business hurdle that entrepreneurs seem to dread.
Do you do it yourself? Do you hire someone to do it? How
do you get it done quickly, but without spending too much
money on it? Will what you do yourself be adequate to get
funding?

In this article I will discuss the pros and cons of
do-it-yourself business planning versus having a business
planning consultant do it for you or with you.

The Do It Yourself Business Plan

Particularly if you are seeking capital of less than
$200,000, consider creating the plan yourself after taking a
class or reading some books or getting some coaching for
someone who has written successful business plans.

Consider taking a three-hour business planning class through
SCORE or the local Small Business Development Center. Even
if you decide afterwards not to write your own plan Cheap Jerseys Online , you
will have a much better idea of what you want out of the
process and what to expect.

There are some good reasons for an entrepreneur to do the
business plan:

?First of all, because you can. If you?ve read sample
business plans and find their accounting jargon
intimidating, you are not alone. But as long as you can
clearly get your message across and have other people such
as you accountant look at the plan before it goes to lenders
or others, you can do this work yourself.

?It is in learning the business planning process that you
develop analytical thinking skills necessary to run your
business with an intimate understanding of your own business
model. Going through the planning process is an invaluable
business experience.

?You need to know the plan inside and out and really
understand the variables involved. You are the one who will
be asked the tough questions by potential investors or
lenders Cheap Jerseys Wholesale , such as ?What will you do if only half your
expected revenue comes in?? or ?What will you do if you find
out that direct mail is not working for you as your primary
marketing tool??

Outsourcing the Business Plan Process

Entrepreneurs are fire fighters. One of the most important
jobs of an entrepreneur is to manage time, and do those
things that you are best skilled to do. Many entrepreneurs
decide to hire someone else to do their business plans,
often because they have an urgent need for the funding and
can?t afford the learning curve to be able to develop a
high-quality plan that will meet the needs of lenders or
investors.

In addition, if your funding requirements are more than
$500 Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping ,000 my recommendation is to get some professional help
with this project, even if you do some of it yourself.

Some reasons to consider hiring a consultant:

?It will get done! Business planning is done much faster
with someone who knows the process. Every entrepreneur has
good intentions about getting plans completed, but months
later they still haven?t done all the work. Planning should
be high priority work, but it is hard to get to when
customer calls and employee problems require immediate
attention. The sooner the plan is completed Cheap Jerseys From China , the sooner
funding can be attained. And the price of hiring the
consultant will be small in comparison with the increases in
growth and profitability of the business.
?It will get done in a way financial professionals will
respect. Business planning is done better by someone who
knows how finance people look at plans and what they will
and won?t question. Once you?ve been through the business
plan process many times, you know what it takes to get
funding - what to emphasize and what to play down.
?The consultant?s objectivity will allow for
non-emotionally-based projections and expectations for the
business. A consultant will be much more objective in the
process and question your assumptions, making it less likely
that the business will have problems after the funding comes
in.

No matter what, don?t let a business planning consultant
talk you into putting any information into your plan that
you aren?t comfortable with. If it doesn?t look right to
you Cheap Jerseys China , it probably isn?t. It is your business, and you will
be stuck with the plan long after you?ve paid the
consultant?s bill. Make sure it is the plan that you want,
one that matches your goals and objectives, and captures the
way you look at business and the spirit of your company.

If you do decide to hire a business planning consultant Cheap Jerseys ,
here are some of the important questions to ask to make sure
you get the greatest value from your investment:

1.How many business plans have you written for my type of
business? How many of them were funded?
2.How much time will you need of mine during the planning
process?
3.When will the plan be completed, and how many drafts
should I expect to see and have the opportunity to comment
on?
4.Will you be writing the plan yourself or do you have
associates who do the work with you?
5.Will there be an opportunity for you to present the plan
or for me to present the plan to my other advisors before
the final draft is done?
6.How do you work in collaboration wit . Leonard Fournette Jersey Kirk Cousins Womens Jersey Josh Rosen Womens Jersey Josh Allen Womens Jersey J.J. Watt Womens Jersey James Conner Youth Jersey Derek Carr Raiders Jersey Dak Prescott Cowboys Jersey Christian McCaffrey Panthers Jersey Carson Wentz Eagles Jersey