What Investors Want to Know… (Cont’d)

When you’re writing your business plan, you want to make sure to highlight what sets you apart from other businesses.  A good way to do this was put forward by Scott Miller, co-founder of Core Strategy Group, small business coach and co-author of the books ‘The Underdog Advantage’ and ‘Building Brandwidth.’  When writing your plan,…

What Investors Want to Know…

by Burke Franklin, Founder and CEO, Business Power Tools For a moment, put yourself in an investor’s position (actually, do this throughout the plan writing process). What would YOU want to know about a business before you invested in it? Think about investing money in a friend’s business to get the mental, physical, emotional and…

Sales Leadership: Selling the Truth, Part 2

Continued from Selling the Truth, Part 1… Excerpted from the book, Business Black Belt Like a said before, I can tell in a heartbeat now if a salesperson is coming to pitch me because he or she wants the deal or if he or she thinks they have something I could really use. Sometimes it…

Business planning: Tips for Writing a Mission Statement for your Business Plan

A while back I was shopping for a new car. In the show room one dealer had a plaque over their door that read,”Our mission is to become the most profitable [brand] dealer in Northern California.”  Uh oh! What does that tell you? ( I wonder if they are charging too much.)  That ‘mission statement’…

Your business plan presentation to investors

Much has been said and written about investor presentations. The “PowerPoint presentation” may seem like the all-important (and sometimes, harrowing) opportunity to make your pitch for capital, but it shouldn’t be a surprise introduction for investors. Investors will often request a copy of your PowerPoint deck prior to meeting with you. Send it to them.…