Business Plan Guru

Entering your business idea or commercial opportunity is a great way to determine the strength of your business concept. You can also team up with business students who can help your shape your business plan. In the RMIT business plan competition there is up to $100,000 in prizes available which would help kickstart any business.

On 10 March 2010, RMIT University’s Vice-Chancellor & President, Professor Margaret Gardner, today launched the 2010 RMIT Business Plan Competition. Now in its 10^th year, the Competition gives all RMIT students a fantastic opportunity to develop their innovative and creative ideas into a business plan, to start up a new business or other venture.

Professor Gardner commented that “As part of the Competition students can take part in free Business Skills Workshops run by industry professionals, join entrepreneurship and innovation networks and benefit from the opportunity to have a business mentor advise them on their business idea and business plan”.

Over 2000 students have taken part in the Competition since 2001, with many past competitors now running successful businesses both in Australia and globally. Their success has been helped along by the generous prize money on offer to successful entrants and this year is no different. Successful teams are in the running to share in cash and other prizes to the value of up to $100,000.

Professor Gardener said that “Prize money, networking and mentoring have all been key success factors in the launching of these new business ventures and the growth of the Competition. I encourage you to participate and make the most of the many opportunities it offers all RMIT students”

Competition Structure

The RMIT Business Plan Competition takes place in three rounds:

• Round 1-Online Registration and Questionnaire (Closes Monday 31 May 2010 at 4.00pm AEST). All teams register via the Competition website and complete an online questionnaire regarding their business concept. This must be completed by the specified closing date. Each questionnaire is evaluated by 3 different judges. On the strength of the questionnaire, and the judges’ marks, successful entries progress to Round 2.
• Round 2-Submission of a Business Plan (Closes Monday 2 August 2010 at 4.00pm AEST). Selected teams are offered the opportunity to work with a ‘Mentor’, and after fully developing a Business Plan, they submit their entry online for the judging of Round 2. Each fully completed Business Plan is evaluated by 3 different judges.
• Round 3-Resubmission of Business Plan (Closes Monday 30 August 2010 at 9.00am AEST). The selected finalists from Round 2 will have their Business Plan evaluated by a panel of different judges. On the Pitching Day, the teams will have the opportunity to pitch their idea/concept to the panel who decide on the winning teams. Visual presentation, quality and enthusiasm are a must in this Round!

Awards

Share in the prize pool of approximately $80,000 including the following

• RMIT University 1st Prize: $25,000
• Fuji Xerox 2nd Prize: $10,000
• RMIT University 3rd Prize: $5,000
• Award for International Trade: $5,000
• Award for Creative Industries: $5,000
• The Citipower and Powercor Energy Innovation Prize – $5,000
• The Portmans Fashion & Textile Prize – $5,000
• Lewis Holdway Lawyers provide legal services to the value of $20,000
• Award for Environmental Sustainability – Laptop and in-kind business consulting to the value of $10,000
• GrantReady Award for Excellence – in-kind business services and workshop to the value of $5,000

Teams

There must be at least two people in a team. The team leader must be a student currently enrolled at RMIT University (TAFE, undergraduate, postgraduate, full-time or part-time student, and offshore campus). Teams of between 3 and 5 people are likely to benefit from a richer diversity of skills, but the number of team members is up to you. Cross-faculty/cross-sectoral teams are encouraged as ideas and expertise from a range of people and backgrounds will usually be helpful in developing your concept and Business Plan.

RMIT Entrepreneur in Residence, Dr Marcus Powe, is part of a team creating a new and exciting business TV/WEB show. Called  DR BUSINE$$’.

They are looking for people who want to promote a business or product which will be shown during the DR BUSINE$$ series. You simply to turn up, state your name, business name, what services/products you provide and why you are passionate about your business.

There will be two filming sessions, both will be conducted at RMIT Business (building 108); all you need to do is register your interest in attending one of these sessions and turn up at the required time. Send an email to entinres@rmit.edu.au, and let them know your preferred date and we will get back to you with confirmation and venue details.

Session One: Tuesday 15 December, 2009 between the hours of 2.00pm and 5.00pm

Session Two: Date and time to be decided.

If you have any further queries about DR BUSINE$$ please contact Elizabeth Burke on 9925 1405 or Elizabeth.burke@rmit.edu.au, or Marcus Powe on 0418 583 709.

ABOUT DR BUSINE$$
A TV/WEB show about growing your business in the 21st Century with expert entrepreneur Marcus Powe.
The Global Financial Crisis is said to be a major cause of redundancy, financial ruin and more people taking less financial risks, but contrary to what you hear or see in the news, historically, an economy under pressure provides a springboard for successful businesses. The Great Depression gave birth to the formation of Hewlett Packard. During the recessions of 1954‐61, Ray Kroc opened the first McDonalds franchise and in the midst of Vietnam and the Oil Crisis in the early 70’s, Bill Gates and Paul Allen formed Microsoft. More people are starting businesses now than ever before, but how does one guarantee success, learn the art of entrepreneurship and turn a business into big bucks?

DR BUSINE$$ is a six part, half hour television/web series which demystifies the concept of business and what it means to be an entrepreneur. It takes fledgling or financially struggling businesses, shows the issues, problems and concerns they face daily and provides them with the opportunity to grow. Every episode will focus on the journey of three very different distinctive businesses, including a mix of sole traders, not‐for‐profit organizations, retailers, wholesalers or service providers which require the aid of Dr Business (Marcus). Each episode will include several short segments including:

• Some Entrepreneurial aid from the doctor
• The Wish List where a sponsor provides a specific opportunity to one of the businesses
• Interview with Ernst & Young nominee for Entrepreneur of the Year
• A Tech Tip from our resident technology experts The X‐Team
• Smart Artz which features an artist or group of artists providing a unique service or undertaking an original sustainable business idea
• Who you know where we connect a business with an individual or business to satisfy a need
• A Madvertisement where a business advertises their product in a creative original way, such as the Victorian Opera performing their product/service as a song
• Fatal Flaw where we spot the flaw in a seemingly successful business enterprise

DR BUSINE$$ offers a model for success, tips and tidbits of useful information. It’s a television/web series for the twenty‐first century about business in Australia, for Australians, showcasing a range of homegrown enterprises ‐ young, old, new, established, waning, wealthy, slipping and successful – as they face the trials and tribulations all businesses face, forced to flourish or fail, sink or swim, do or die.

Under the guidance of Red Dragon panelist, RMIT University’s Entrepreneur‐in‐Residence and an internationally renowned Business Boffin, Marcus Powe, DR BUSINE$$ is The Apprentice for ordinary Aussie business folk who put themselves on the line and under the microscope to undergo a moneymaking make‐over you don’t want to miss!

Bankrate.com has released a test to help you decided whether your entrepreneurial aspirations are the real deal: Imagine how you would react if the first 20 people who heard your idea shot it down, or if you failed at your first five attempts to make a go of it.

If those scenarios sound discouraging to you, then chances are you aren’t cut out to be an entrepreneur. On the other hand, if you didn’t scare that easily, you just might have what it takes. Here are some questions that can help you further assess your aptitude.

1. Do you believe?

It may sound corny, but it really does start with believing in yourself and your business idea. To hear researcher and author James V. Koch describe it, the classic entrepreneurial personality seems to combine the self-confidence of Muhammad Ali with the sunny-eyed optimism of Little Orphan Annie. Koch, who is a professor of economics and president emeritus at Old Dominion University, co-wrote with James L. Fisher, “Born, Not Made: The Entrepreneurial Personality,” based on a comparative study of more than 200 CEOs.

“We ran into entrepreneurs who had failed four or five times in a row, and they were absolutely convinced that this next time they were going to strike gold,” Koch says.

That confidence ties into another essential entrepreneurial trait: the willingness to take risks.

“You take someone like Thomas Edison, who had all kinds of failures, or Walt Disney, just to take two prominent names,” Koch says. “They weren’t easily discouraged. They were willing to take risks.”

2. What’s your motivation?

Even above making money, entrepreneurs are driven by the desire to do “something of significance,” says Jon Down, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Portland in Oregon.

“They don’t view what they’re doing the way a lot of people may view their jobs — as a means to a paycheck that allows them to do other things outside of their work,” Down says. For the entrepreneur, the work itself is the goal.”

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3. How do you see the world?

Bill Wagner, author of “The Entrepreneur Next Door,” says successful business owners tend to be “more strategic in their thinking … more big-picture oriented,” as opposed to being more tactical and focused on details. That wide-angle perspective comes in handy for handling the broad range of challenges that will fall squarely on their shoulders as company chiefs.

“They have to have the ability to walk into almost any environment and figure it out,” Wagner says. “They have to have an ability to strategize, to be innovative, a good troubleshooter and problem solver. They have to have the ability to see a solution before most other people even recognize that there’s a problem.”

4. Do you know what you’re getting into?

When clients come to Down with a business idea, he tries to find out whether they really understand the life of an entrepreneur.

“I advise them to go speak to some entrepreneurs … so they can hear them talk about what it’s been like in terms of putting in long hours, not drawing a regular paycheck,” Down says.

Many businesses fail because their owners didn’t adequately assess the market for their ideas. “They think it’s the best idea ever, and maybe they are able to attract funding for it, but it turns out that … there aren’t customers out there who are willing to pay for it,” Down says.

A poor match or lack of communication between business partners can also derail a startup, according to Down. Your mutual enthusiasm for the venture may not last if you don’t each have a clear understanding of what you expect from one another and the business.

5. Will you stick it out?

You must be prepared to ride out each stage of your company’s development. Once you’ve attracted seed money from investors who were impressed with your pitch, “You’ve got to deliver on what you’ve talked about,” Down says.

Whatever your business is selling, says Carol Dougal, co-president of the Women’s Business Development Center in Chicago, “You have to be able to stick with that product or service and not get bored with it.”

You might think that your passion will be enough to keep you going, but Dougal says plain, old-fashioned perseverance is more important.

“You can have a three-week passion or a one-year passion, but (for a business to succeed) it’s got to hang with you for the duration,” Dougal says.

6. Is it in your DNA?

Finally, there’s the question of whether you have to be wired with all of the right stuff to be a successful entrepreneur, or whether you can learn the necessary traits. The title of Koch’s book spells out his view that entrepreneurs are born, not made, and others interviewed for this article generally agree.

Dougal says she has seen many people faced with job layoffs begin to discover their latent entrepreneurial talents with the help of business development programs. “I think need and support can push people into identifying those qualities in themselves,” she says.

Learning accounting, how to write a business plan and how to approach investors can certainly enhance your chances for success. But as Koch says:  “It’s very difficult for an M.B.A. program or an undergraduate bachelor’s program in business to teach someone to be a risk-taker.”

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In the recent economic slowdown it can sometimes feel like a crowbar is required to pry money from investors to help you grow your aspiring business.  But during times when capital is tight, it’s time to get creative.   Companies that focus on systematically meeting their short-term goals typically discover that they also achieve long-term business success, with or without the benefit of outside investment.

So how do you quickly mobilize your current resources, capital and team to realize your goals and targets?  Prepare a plan of attack – more commonly referred to as a business plan.  But cast aside any worries you have about preparing a thick tome with fancy verbiage and financial projections.  The business plan to achieve your short-term objectives is not graded by weight or page length, but instead by the quality and clarity of the strategies you commit to paper.

In this case, we recommend you prepare a business plan that fits onto the back of a regular sized envelope.

You may have returned to the previous sentence for a moment and asked, “An envelope?  How can I prepare a business plan on the back of an envelope?”  It’s a great question and there’s a very simple answer:  If your objective is to achieve an important internal goal, rather than impress an audience of bankers, investors or strategic partners, then an informal “envelope plan” can be a perfect solution.  It enables you to quickly organize, document and communicate your business strategies to management and staff.   And in some cases, a brief document is more effective than thirty-plus pages of brilliantly bound business plan literature – particularly when the priority is to rally your team around a common cause for an upcoming month or quarter.

A quick warning before we look at the steps to prepare an “envelope plan” for your business.  If in fact, your goal is to secure financial backing from investors or lenders, then you will naturally need to develop a more robust business plan with well-supported financial statements.  A more comprehensive plan, track record and qualified team are expected if you intend to gain the attention of serious financing sources for your business.

But assuming your plan is for short-term internal purposes, you can prepare an “envelope plan” in five easy steps:

Step 1:  Clarify the Goal
Begin by preparing a very precise, quantifiable statement of no more than one or two sentences to clarify the goal your company will achieve.  For example:  “ABC Cleaning Company will increase revenue from repeat customers from 8% of total yearly sales to 20% of total yearly sales by the end of calendar year 2009.”  Your goal should be clear, measurable and tied to a specific time period or deadline.

Step 2: Outline Your Strategies
The next step is to develop a bulleted list of the primary strategies you will implement to meet your stated business goal.  In this case, “What can ABC do to increase repeat business?”  Examples might include:

- Offer a 5% discount to repeat customers
- Improve the quality of product/service offerings
- Introduce additional training and quality standard programs for entire staff
- Implement customer service follow-up process to increase satisfaction and referrals
- Commit to be on time-every time
- Develop and maintain database of customers and send weekly and monthly correspondence
- Use social media strategies to more fully engage customers

Step 3: Identify Your Tactics
The third step is to write one or two bullets with the specific actions to be taken to make each strategy outlined above a reality.  For example:

- 5% Discount – Advise Sales Manager of new pricing initiative
- Better Training – Investigate web-based training courses
- Customer Database – Locate appropriate contact management program

Step 4: Perform a Cost/Benefit Analysis
The fourth step is absolutely critical.  Prepare a two-sentence assessment of the financial costs and rewards of executing your envelope plan.  For example… “The cost of executing this plan, including the pricing discount and the cost of the other initiatives, is $37,000.  The financial reward for executing this plan, assuming that the level of new customers remains unchanged and the business from repeat customers increases to 20%, an increase in annual sales of $875,000 is expected”.  Not a bad return on your money actually!

Step 5:  Get Buy-In
Your final step is to share your “envelope plan” with other members of your team to gain input and buy-in into the advantages of implementing your strategies.  The envelope plan appears simple, but it’s concise, geared toward action and infuses financial costs and returns into your overall businesses goals.

An “envelope plan” is not the solution for capital transaction needs, but it is a quick, organized and informal method to instantly focus your team on achieving short-term business goals.  And after all, isn’t reaching your business goals what real business planning is all about?

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Where would a business be without a business plan? A business plan sets the course for the future of the business. It gives the business owner or manager a sense of direction, listing the objectives and goals of the business from the outset.

Writing a business plan requires a lot of time; a successful business plan cannot be a rush job. Once an idea for a business has been developed, researching the many facets of owning and operating a business is the next most important step. Your local county council should be able to assist you with accessing the required information of a legal nature, as should your local business enterprise center. The rest of the research will be up to you! You will need to research products for your business, at the same time as researching other enterprises that may be in direct competition to you. Furthermore, you need to research the market to determine whether there is a need for your business product or service.

With the research out of the way, sitting down to write a business plan requires focus. Your business plan will become the bible of your business for at least the next 3 to 5 years so it is important to make it clear, concise and comprehensive. Most enterprises will complete a SWOT analysis to determine their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the business. Whilst the business is in infancy, brainstorming would be the most accurate way of performing the analysis, as the business would not yet have customers and profitability would not yet have been experienced. However, it is very important to remember that a good business plan is flexible and can be changed as your business experiences growth.

After completing a SWOT analysis, you will need to determine your business name if it has not already been decided (and register it), as well as your vision and values, your business goals and long term mission and how you will achieve all of this when the business is up and running. Writing every thought down regardless of how minute you feel it is will allow you to collate everything pertinent to your business for easy reference in the future. Who knows, the thought or idea that you have today may well turn into a million dollar idea in a year’s time! Maintaining good records and following a strong business plan is the key to a successful business!

Top Ten Reasons To Create A One Page Business Plan

1. Choose opportunities more wisely and waste less time because I have my plan in place

2. A single page can contain all the elements you need to tell your employees, board of directors, potential partners or banker where you are taking your business and how you are going to get there.

3. The most important reason to have a business plan is to clarify your thinking, regardless of the size of your company

4. It facilitates creating and analytical thinking, problem solving, communication, and teamwork.

5. It creates hope and enthusiasm about the future.

6. It also brings out procrastination, frustration, differences of opinions and possibly anger.

7. Somehow writing initiates the transformation from idea to reality.

8. The written word produces a contract with yourself that results in immediate action.

9. Writing allows others to participate in your dream and give you feedback

10. Because your coach, consultant, business builder strategist, friend, relative tells you that one of the top reasons businesses fail is a lack of planning! That’s why!

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There is a reason that the Small Business Administration says that over 80% of all small startup businesses will fail within their first 2 years, and that over 90% fail within 5 years. It seems that everyone makes pretty much the same mistakes over and over.

Some things to learn so that you aren’t one of those is

1) You may believe that the 10% left surviving out of those figures are successful businesses. That’s wrong as well. About 9% are “survivors.” Survivors are those that “pay their bills” most of the time and operating somewhere close to break even. I wouldn’t say that someone at breakevne is successful. And, of those that do truly survive they still don’t typically make as much on an hourly basis as they did when they were working for someone else.

2) Less than 1% of all companies become truly successful and growth companies.

The reason I say what seems to be pretty bad numbers isn’t to scare you away from running your own business. But it is to shake you a bit so that you don’t go out there copying 90% of all other businesses.

Biggest Mistakes Almost All Small Businesses Make

Never be “at the mercy of anything or anyone” and that includes the economy. Instead always be in control of designing waht happens in your business.
Budget — allowing the budget to determine what they do instead of doing what they should do no matter what the budget.

Marketing — Trying to save money on marketing instead of marketing to generate the number of dollars and clients you want

Management of business — Being busy, too busy to get the RIGHT things done. There are about 5-8 things to do that are CRITICAL to your success. Do every one of them every week and you won’t have the 50-60 things that seem to overload you that keeps you from achieving the success you want.

Not having a business plan. A business plan isn’t a piece of paper that you need for the bank to give you a loan. It’s a place for you to discover where to make the most money you can possibly make.

Copying everyone else — When 90% of all businesses fail in 2-5 years, another 9% barely make ends meet, that means that IF you do what everyone else does, copy the other 99% you’re doomed to repeat their mistakes. But if you can discover what the 1% know, and, frankly that’s easy, then you’ll leap to the success you thought you’d have by now.

I’d say that if you get those three things right you’ll be extremely successful.
Never be at the mercy of anyone or anything

I know that some of you are saying, “Well, that’s easier said than done. What do I do when I don’t know what to do?” It’s simple, get help from someone that’s been there and succeeded to a level beyond where you are. Don’t copy all of those around you at your level, they are very likely right where you are.

Actually, by defining to yourself at the beginning that you will NEVER allow yourself to be at the mercy of anyone or anything and that you’ll fix problems quickly or get help to fix them is the key. Those that set there in a fog are doomed.

The number one key to your business success is to develop a business plan that has your answers about where you’ll be, how you’ll get there, and follow it WITHOUT fail. Identify in the business plan the “critical goals” and deliver them each and every week,and you are virtually guaranteed success.

Budget — Don’t be at the mercy of the budget

This one may surprise you. I do several workshops a month, and ask, “What do you do the the first month that your sales won’t pay your overhead?” Everyone in the room ALWAYs get’s it wrong which means that all businesses starting out will make this mistake. It’s only a matter of how fast they learn how to fix it that determines their survival, and whether they move from failure to super growth.

It’s this simple. We have all been trained wrong about how we manage a budget. When we were growing up our fathers had a fixed income. We were taught that the way ot manage a fixed budget is that even with that pile of things we’d like to do, we probably have to throw out everything, all but 1 or 2 high priority things, and even then we’re likely to cut those down to doing only 80-90% of those.

If we apply that principle to managing our business we are doomed. That’s what causes that downward spiral from month to month, and it causes us to make that first mistake, to be at the mercy of something.

Here’s a story that might clarify what I mean.

How to Turn $3,000 Into $100,000 Within 30 days

John, the owner of a small startup construction company had sold $60,000 his first year of business, but had a $250,000 overhead, a $190,000+ loss. We did a simple, quick business plan and figured that if we spent about $3,000 on marketing we should sell about $100,000 within the next 30 days. Sounds like a GOOD plan.

However, his response was, “I don’t have the $3,000.” I don’t get it, John. You have over $15,000 a month going on the door for overhead that produce NOTHING, but you won’t spend $3,000 that would produce over 33 times ROI within 30 days.

In his head, he was STUCK. He just plain didn’t have the $3,000.

Then he threw another curve at me. He said, “that marketing we’ve been doing costs way too much anyway” I’ve found that by using “word of mouth” it doesn’t cost me anything.

So, John, let me get this straight. You’d rather spend nothing on marketing while you see $15,000 flow OUT instead of spending $3,000 that would turn into $100,000 within the next 30 days, is that right?

He looked at me with a shocked look no his face. “I have never really thought of it that way. I’ve just seen those rather large marketing costs and was trying to save money. When I get a referral from a client it doesn’t cost me anything.

I told him, “It isn’t the up front cost of marketing that counts. It’s what does it cost to acquire a client.” For instance if you spend $200 to acquire a customer that spent $5,000 with you shouldn’t you be asking yourself “How many of those do I want to buy? When you say “that’s expensive” you are limiting yourself. The other just keeps delivering profits over and over. Yes, after we have a steady flow of clients we can re-evaluate that $200 to see if we can find an even cheaper way, but, for now, IF it’s profitable to buy a customer at the rate we’d better be buying as many of them as we can.

Although John didn’t have the $3,000T anywhere, he did borrow it, generated over $200,000 that month (not the $100,000 he planned), and paid back the $3,000 within 30 days. When he could see that investing in his business would generate more than it cost, then he stopped being at the mercy of his budget and found the money. That’s the difference between successful thinking, and unsuccessful thinking.

I tell clients that say, “I don’t have the money” when we’ve got a clear plan that would generate 10’s of times multipliers. Close your doors NOW. You are wasting your time and money . . . UNLESS you work on changing your mindset that “you are at the mercy of something or someone.” You can’t afford to keep your doors open. The faster you close the doors the less it’ll cost you. Look back at John. He had $15,000 a month flowing out that produced NOTHING (his overhead), and yet he couldn’t bring himself to find or spend $3,000 that would generate 33 times more.

Don’t ever be at the mercy of anybody or anything, especially your own budget.

Don’t Have a Businss Plan

i think John’s story above pretty much says it. He was SURE that he knew how to run his business, so it was “in his head.” But he lost $190,000 his first year. Once we had a business plan in place, we found that we could generate 33 times what we invest in our business on a monthly basis. But, even then, John was hesitant to do it. The answers were in the business plan, but due to John’s self limiting ways of thinking, he just couldn’t bring himself to do what the plan said.

But when we followed the plan, he actually generated double what the plan had suggested. Actually, because we were following the plan, and tweaking what we already had seen, we found additional ways to make it even better as we went along. The plan was dynamic in that, now that we could see the critical points to success we were tuning them up even more and getting even higher results.

If you need a business plan written please contact us.

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With the ongoing recession, it is critical for existing and new business owners to carefully analyze the risks prior to entering the marketplace and how they intend to overcome these challenges, or barriers to market. Not every business plan service includes a risk analysis, but as an experienced business plan writer, I argue that it is necessary to acknowledge any risk(s) associated with expanding or commencing a business. The technique of building a risk analysis may cause some business owners to cringe – especially those who are exuberant about their concept and see nothing in the way of jeopardizing their ability to thrive in the marketplace. However, that is not always the case.

Business owners need to be well-prepared to create a contingency plan in case things do not go according to plan. What do I mean? Maintaining a sustainable cash flow, unforeseen market circumstances, fierce competition, utilizing the right marketing methods, etc. To properly mitigate these market risks – the owner must carry out a plan of action based off of the contingency proposal to overcome potential risks that make their business vulnerable.

The risk analysis inserted into a business plan document should include at least three market risks specifically tailored to the business concept emphasized in the plan. It is up to the owner and/or management team to look at the more pressing risks facing their industry entrance. Commonly used risks include lean capitalization, the economic recession (slow times), competition, and the owner’s ability to successfully oversee day-to-day operations. Other risks, for such businesses like retail stores, eating places, and independently owned medical clinics entail obtaining a substantial customer/client base, slow industry traction, and how to advertise to the target audience. When speaking with a client, I ask them questions to engage then with confronting market risks, i.e. “How do you intend to rise above competition?”, “How will you draw in customers?”, and “How do you intend to obtain enough customers to sustain business and generate a strong profit?” Their answers are usually their planned action in overcoming these risks.

According to information submitted by the Small Business Administration, business plans should include a competitive overview, risk assessment (or analysis), and a contingency plan once the writer has collected enough data to possess a more thorough understanding of the business’ position and what it will need to focus on or strive for to supersede its competition in an effort to become a profitable entity.

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Where are you going to get the money to grow your business? The cash to add new products, locations, or staff? The funds to increase your advertising and marketing?

Getting money to start or grow your business is always one of the most challenging issues for entrepreneurs. In this economy, money is particularly tight. But there are still sources of funds out there. You have to develop a business plan, get your financial documents in order, and be creative and persistent.Business Plan

To help you, in my special six-week start-up series now running online at USAToday.com, I’ve devoted this week to finding the money for your new business. I’ve got a video to help you find sources of information and advice on the full range of start-up issues, including financing. And you’ll find some free financial downloadable interactive worksheets taken from my books that let you:

• Calculate your start-up costs (link to worksheet)
• Get comfortable with key financial terms (link to worksheet
• Connect with 15 sources for great business advice

So where are you likely to look for — and find — money you need to grow your small business or next entrepreneurial venture?

SALES: The absolutely best choice to finance your business: money that comes from sales. When you get your money from sales, you don’t have debt to pay back. You don’t have investors you have to answer to. Of course, financing your business from sales means your growth is likely to be slow. In many businesses, you may need money before you can even get underway. But if you’re launching a business with low start-up costs, my advice: Go out there and make sales!

YOUR SAVINGS: The next best source of money is your own money. If you’re fortunate enough to have socked cash away to help finance your business, inherited money from Aunt Anita, or been given a lay-off package, using your own cash reduces debt and headaches. Of course, this reduces your personal and family safety net. And that can make you – and your spouse – very nervous.

FRIENDS AND FAMILY: People who know you – and respect and trust you – are the next most likely source of funding. Mom or Dad may want to help you realize your dreams, or your rich Uncle Bob may be willing to make a loan when the bank isn’t. Of course, once you’re doing business with people close to you, other tensions and stresses can enter into your personal relationship. If you’re seeking financing from friends or relatives, be as professional as possible. Give them a business plan and draw up loan or investment papers.

CREDIT CARDS: Studies indicate that over half of all business owners use credit cards at some point to help fund their business. They may use credit cards to finance start-up equipment or inventory, to manage cash flow once they’ve made a sale, or they may start to rely on credit cards for handling the day-to-day expenses of their businesses. Credit cards are a fact of business life. Just handle them carefully and diligently! It’s extremely easy to get in trouble and the interest rates are almost certainly much higher on credit cards than other sources of financing.

HOME EQUITY LOANS AND LINES: A few years ago, entrepreneurs could use their homes as ATM machines to help fund their businesses. Those days are gone. It’s much harder now that the housing market has plummeted and banks have tightened up this type of credit. And it’s just as well. Risking your home for your business is a very scary prospect.

BANK LOANS AND LINES OF CREDIT: Even in good times, banks are more likely to give credit to existing businesses that are profitable rather than start-up businesses. Of course, there are exceptions, especially if you have assets and good credit. But, generally, you’ll find banks more of a partner once you’ve got your business established. And then, they typically become absolutely necessary. A bank line-of-credit is typically far cheaper, and with fewer headaches, for financing cash flow than credit cards.

SBA LOANS AND CREDIT LINES: If you don’t qualify for a loan from your bank, they may be able to steer you towards a loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration. These loans are still handled by banks for those who can’t otherwise qualify.

ANGEL INVESTORS AND VENTURE CAPITALISTS: If yours is a business that is likely to generate significant profits or grow substantially, you may be able to secure outside investors. Keep in mind that these are generally only for high-growth businesses. And it can take a long time to be able to find and secure investors. Of course, you’ll also be giving some – or perhaps most – of your ownership and control over to these investors.

Finding money can be a daunting task. So go after sales first, and then look for the most likely source for your type of business.

Are you interested in starting up your own business?  If so, you should carefully consider writing a business plan.  The thought of preparing a business plan tends to fill most business owners with dread; it can be a difficult, stressful, and time consuming process.  For this reason alone you may want to think about seeking assistance.

One of the many ways that you can seek help to write your plan is by hiring a professional, who in this case is a professional business plan writer.

What Is a Professional Business Plan Writer?

Before deciding whether or not you should hire the services of a professional business plan writer, you should first clearly understand what they are.  In most cases, you will find these individuals to be experienced, professional writers who are well versed in business terminology and who can effectively understand the needs of businesses.  It is important to understand when writing anything, even a business plan, that it is the wording which makes all the difference; the words used can be the difference between success and failure. That is why a large number of small business owners turn to professional writers for assistance.

What a Professional Business Plan Writer Can Do For You

When it comes to searching for a professional business plan writer, you will find that different writers perform different duties. For example, a large number of writers will merely take your ideas, which you have already thought out and developed, and present them in a professional matter; they will just present your plans in a more professional way than you could.

Then there are the professional business plan writers who will work with you to develop your plan from the inception of the basic ideas for your business to the finish document.  Naturally since more work and time goes into to assisting you with developing a business plan from the bottom up you will probably find that the services of these writers cost more than traditional ones.

It is important therefore that before you start your search you be very clear in your own mind as to what level of support and input you require.

Why Hire a Professional Business Plan Writer?

There are a number of different reasons why small business owners turn to professional business plan writers. One of the key reasons is of lack of experience when it comes to putting ideas on paper and not knowing what format a plan should take.  If you have never created a business plan before you can easily find yourself staring at a blank piece of paper for hours on end!

Although it is relatively easy to learn how to create your own plan, it can be a time consuming process to undertake the research and get into the appropriate mindset. With the right experience, a professional business plan writer will be able to create a detailed, professional business plan in half the time that it would take you to create the same plan.

How Do You Find Someone?

If you are interested in acquiring the services of a professional business plan writer, you have a number of different options.  One of those options is to search for someone locally.  Dealing with a local business plan writer is great, especially if you want to deal with someone face-to-face.  Your search can focus on your local government business advice centers or even asking fellow business colleagues. If there is a writing group or circle in your locality then you can approach them for potential names.

The only problem that you may find is that not all areas of your country will have professional business plan writers.  This means you may have to turn to the Internet for assistance. By conducting an online search you will find a large number of professional writers who specialize in creating or writing business plans.

What Should You Look For Before Hiring?

When choosing a professional business plan writer it is important that you don’t choose either the first person that you come across, or the cheapest. If a well written business plan is crucial to the success of your plans then you must be careful in your selection. Your business plan may not only be used for your personal guidance, but it may also be used to attract financing for your business and that is why your plan must look professional, be detailed and readable.

Before hiring a writer, you should request samples of previous work and also ask to see testimonials from business owners who have used their services.  This will help to ensure you are getting your moneys worth and that you end up with a business plan you can proud distribute.

As with any contract you enter into be very certain what you are getting for your money. Does the contract include the provision for free updates or unlimited revisions before the final version is agreed? Will you be charged per word, per page, or by the hour? Make sure you fully understand the deal.

By following these points you should be able to decide whether or not a professional business plan writer can assist you.  Whilst they can be an additional cost you may not be able to afford, in the long run it could be the best investment you ever made.

If you need a business plan written please contact us.

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