Making The Most Of Your Business Plan So It Overwhelms Investors In A Positive Way

You’ve got a business idea and the drive to make it become a reality. You’ve thoroughly researched your market and how your services will fit into it. Then you sat down and created the business plan, perfecting and polishing it until it is a sight to behold. Yet you wonder what more you can do with it? What else can you add to make it into a plan that will see you through the rough times as you strive to grow and expand the business?

Redesign The Business Plan

Many people rush through their business plans, only focusing on what they will need to do to make their business grow during the next 3 years. This strategy is fine for most small businesses. Yet if you are creating a start-up focused on a niche market, expand your business plan for a five-year outlook as it may take a little longer to reach your niche customer base.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has a free online tool to help create a better business plan. The tool saves your information for up to 6 months, so take your time and adjust your plan until it mirrors what you expect to obtain with your business.

Focus On The Important Details

Because many people look at a business plan as a way to obtain a business loan from a bank or investor, they will go out of their way to design the business plan with a marketing angle. Yet that is not what a business plan is. Your business plan should focus on the bare bones facts about the business you want to create and cut out all the extraneous stuff. Describe what products or services you are selling, who your customers will be, why customers will want to purchase from your business, who will run daily operations, and what the current market analysis is for your industry, according to Forbes.

It should describe your marketing strategies without sounding like a hard sell. Describe how you will advertise your business and how much you will spend on your marketing expenses. You should include all your necessities such as business cards, website design, promotional flyers, and a company logo. Some online design sites, such as Logo Garden, offer free logo design can help you with design tips to create a logo that is memorable to customers.

Don’t Underprice Products And Services

While you want to create the right price to attract customers, investors will be looking at the bottom line and want to see how much profit you will be taking in after paying all expenses.

Look over your sales forecasts and make a pricing sheet that doesn’t underprice products or services. Placing a low price on your goods can make customers believe they are buying a low quality product. This situation can actually cause you to lose customers who seek better quality and are willing to pay the higher price, according to Entrepreneur.