Components of a Business Plan (Part 1)

Written by Burke Franklin, CEO and founder, JIAN “The plan is nothing. The planning is everything.”      – Dwight D. Eisenhower There may have been a day when people read business plans cover to cover. Not anymore. When they get close to giving you money, they might, but first you have to grab their interest and…

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…

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a written document used to describe your business. The sections of a business plan are fairly standard, so you can find lots of help from those that have gone before you. Each section in a business plan has a specific purpose.  Certain sections can be as short as one page.  For…

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.…