Planning & Implementation
Never underestimate the Value of a Plan, now Implement your Plan
Business Solutions
Thanks to you...
"Thanks to you we were able to raise the capital we needed - I thought our Business Plan was pretty good, but when you re-crafted it, I hardly knew it was the same company - looks like we're going to be working together a lot in the next few months...."
- Andy Lasco
Planning & Implementation
Do you know what kind of plan you need? Is the plan for
you, your partners or to raise capital? After you have the plan, what are you going to do with it?
The MOST important part of the plan is implementing it.
Too often people spend weeks and months putting together a 30-50 page business plan with full financials that no one ever looks at again. Save your time and your money. Before you do anything, ask yourself a few questions.
What is the purpose in writing this plan?
Who will see this plan?
What will I do with it when it's finished?
How will this benefit me?
With more than 30 years experience reading & writing business plans, I've found the most important reason to write a plan is the discipline it takes to gather all the facts and put them on paper.
You're forced to consider the details that might make the difference between success and failure. However, you can accomplish this with a lot less time and effort AND spend your energy on implementing that plan.
Plan Overview
Types of Plans
Our One Pager serves many purposes - it provides a great deal of information in a small package and takes nearly as much thought and planning as a complete business plan.
It's a summary of the Executive Summary and is most frequently used when you need to share the core essence of your business. This is the first document we send to potential investors - short enough so they will actually read it and just enough information to peak their interest.
An Executive Summary is the "reduction, clarification, and simplification of a highly technical document for the non-specialist reader." The Executive Summary is generally 8-10 pages not including financials or appendices.
We find this is the most useful plan to provide investors, lenders or potential business partners. It should have enough detail that it provides a clear cut description of your business and strategic plan.
A Business Plan is generally 30-50 pages and includes full financials (past, present & future). It includes detail about every facet of your business, including research and market analysis.
While lenders and investors may ask to see your business plan, generally a good Executive Summary will do, however be prepared to provide one, especially if you are seeking a significant capital raise.
Be sure you know your audience before you spend the time or the money to complete it. A Business Plan is not to be confused with a Strategic Plan.
A Strategic Plan focuses on the details of implementing the plans to start and/or grow your business.
Generally, the Strategic Plan includes a more specific time frame and responsibilities of the partners/owners. It really is a work in progress and should include frequent reassessments of the current strategies. It encourages the discipline to analyze existing situations and to determine future decisions.
The Marketing Plan describes in detail how you plan to promote your business, as well as research and analysis of your existing market.
Many feel this is the most important plan your business can have - it doesn't matter how good your product/service is unless people are aware of it and have an interest in purchasing it. The stage of your business will generally determine the detail which you include.
The best description of an Operations Plan is the plan that you need when the Owner/Manager is unavailable.
Details to include are the simple day to day operations, processes and responsibilities, as well as location of important documentation.
It is the Go To document when no one else knows the answer. You may also have a separate document for new employees which explains their responsibilities and includes business policies and procedures. This can be an invaluable document.
Your Action Plan is just that - it details what actions you plan to take and in what order.
Generally your Action Plan focuses on a specific purpose or special event. It does not need to be long or complicated, but should be very detailed.
Process
Review
Before you send us the document, we ask you to complete a brief questionnaire which includes the purpose of your document, who will see the plan and the details of your business. Depending on the document, we should complete the review process within 5 business days or less, frequently within 48 hours.
Critique
The Critique is a detailed Review of your document. We ask you to complete a brief questionnaire which includes the purpose of your document, who will see the plan and the details of your business. We will provide recommendations on content, style, formatting and copywriting.
Our Critique will consider if the style and focus of the document suit the goals and interests of the target audience.
Example: An investor is more interested in the company's profitability, the potential return on their investment and exit strategy. Those details need to be provided before the details of the viability of the product or service. More details on Investor Interests, Strategies & Presentations can be found here.
Creation
We ask you to complete a detailed questionnaire which includes the purpose of your document, who will see the plan and the details of your business. Upon review, we will schedule a consultation to discuss any questions and request additional information if necessary. We will schedule a consultation with each draft until you are satisfied with the finished document.
Features & Benefits
Experience
The majority of our team are entrepreneurs who have personal experience with Startups, Small Business Growth & Sales as well as Raising Capital. We have written, read and reviewed more Business and Marketing Plans than we can count
Specialty
Most companies who write and/or review Business & Marketing Plans fail to consider the audience and the true purpose behind the plan. Because we’ve been on both sides of the table, we understand the key points which an investor, a banker and/or a partner need to see AND they are not the same, although they have a majority of the same ingredients.
Benefit
We believe that a 30-50 page Business Plan with full Financials is rarely needed or read. By determining the purpose and audience behind the document, we can help you decide which is the most appropriate. Not only does this save you time and money, you now have a document which is more useful to its audience.
FAQ
Will you write everything for us?
We can, however, that is neither the most cost effective nor productive. You will still need to provide us the majority of the information. Generally it’s best if you can manage a rough draft – you don’t need to be a gifted writer, we can smooth out the rough edges and be sure it provides the right focus and information for your purpose.
How long will it take?
That is totally dependent on the information you provide us. We will give you a timeline and estimate after our initial consultation. Our turnaround time is usually pretty impressive.
What about a Marketing Plan – will you do all the research?
We can, however doing your own research is a great way to gain a better understanding of your market. Because research can be so time consuming, it can be rather costly. However, we are happy to help you do whatever you need.
Pricing
These are Pricing Guidelines - we do offer significant savings when you purchase one of our many package options. Please contact us for a customized quote.
| Type of Plan | Review | Rewrite | Create | Template |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Pager | ||||
| Executive Summary | ||||
| Business Plan | ||||
| Strategic Plan | ||||
| Marketing Plan | ||||
| Operations Plan | ||||
| Action Plan |
Please Note: This pricing is just a guideline and will depend on the length and depth of the plan you need assistance with. Take advantage of your initial consultation and understand that the more information you give us, the less time we will have to spend and therefore the lower the cost. The reverse is also true.
Satisfaction is guaranteed on all of our products and services - your success if very important to us!
