Writing a Business Plan - 8 Ways to Catch the New Wave

Writing a business plan can be pretty tedious. There's the cover, the table of contents, some 20-25 pages of content and the back cover.

The innards are typically long paragraphs punctuated with bold font sprinkled hither and yon.

And it's all a big bore.

There's a reason for this. The "how to write business plans" books are classics. That means they are old. They were all written pre-internet. And that's an important consideration in capturing and holding an audience.

The writing style of the internet has changed the way people think. And the way they read.

For instance, glance through this web site, or most any other successful web site, and you will see some real differences in style and layout, such as:

1. Short Paragraphs. Computer monitors don't have the tight resolution of a printed page, so our eyes get tired. To help us focus, good writers use shorter paragraphs.

2. Bulleted Lists. But sometimes there is still a great deal to be communicated, so bulleted lists have become quite popular (or indented lists).

3. Block Indents. Block indents give visual variety, so your eyes don't get so tired and I can hold your attention a bit longer.

4. Left Align. In the old days, nearly all paragraphs were indented five spaces. No more.

5. Judicious Use of Color. A bit of color is nice. Splashes of color all over is yucky.

6. Style that Reflects the Topic. Your business plan layout, like your web site, is going to pick up on the style of your business. A presentation for stylish clothes for teenage girls will look a lot different than one for biotech research. Other than that, your business plan layout is pretty much up to you. Make sure that all the pertinent parts are there, but put them in any order that makes sense for your business.

7. The Tiny Font Stuff. And when you've got a glump of stuff that really needs to be included, but it is in tiny print and long paragraphs, put it as an attachment, either in hard copy form or on a disk, or both. That way, the information is still there for those who want it, but you wont' lose your reader before you get started.

8. How to Use Your Logo. Incorporating your logo is important too. I very small logo in a corner of the page, or on the first page of each section is fine. A big, intrusive logo splashed over every page is not fine.

As straightforward as this advice seems, I am continually astounded by how poorly written most business plan area. Many follow the rather dorky outline of business plan software. Most haven't a clue how to include a chart or an image.

My "Bad Example". I have one business plan that I got a couple of years ago that I hold onto as a "bad example". The business was actually pretty good. It was for an online business incorporating a particular ethnic style of art. The owner was from that ethnic group, so it was a nice fit. But the business plan was 100+ pages of tight, tight paragraphs. And not a single solitary image of the art. Not one. I just couldn't believe it.

Just as an entrepreneur can't plunk down three pages and shout, "Here I am! Drop your money in the bucket!", neither can he expect a serious lender or investor to overlook a lousy business plan. This business plan represents you and your company.

Make it professional.

Make it real.

Make it reflect your energy and your style.

The money will follow.

Small Business Growth - 7 Tips to Manage Your Growth Successfully

Fast growth can be seductive; but challenging to manage. All small business owners want growth; and fast growth sounds like it should be a good thing - something to strive for. However, it is important to control your small business growth or risk your business' future.

One of the most exciting times for small business owners is when they see their sales grow; even more exciting when those sales grow quickly. Sales are often used as a measure of business success. In reality, all business owners should use profit as a key measure of the business' success because sales growth can require a high price.

Rapid sales growth can be achieved either organically (that is, through activities internal to the business) or inorganically (that is, through activities external to the business). Organic growth typically occurs through the launch of new products or services; by expanding the geographic market; and by starting up a new business - although growth in this case can start slow and then speed up. Inorganic growth typically occurs through mergers or acquisitions.

While inorganic growth is often very fast growth - if you buy a company that's bigger than you, you've more than doubled your size - it is often expensive growth in terms of money, time and resources. Buying growth by buying a company means that you will often purchase the bad along with the good. For example, the bad can be the total cost of the acquisition; purchasing old equipment and/or inventory along with new; acquiring unhappy or high priced labor; a bad reputation; and more. The good can be acquiring the sales book, which is the company's list of customers; additional services; a larger territory; more staff, taking out a competitor; and more.

The additional considerations for buying or not to buying growth should be how challenging is it to merge the two companies and the two cultures; what synergies can be gained - if any; if the acquisition results in an over-staffing who will be laid off, how will the lay-offs be decided, who will do the lay-offs, what will be the outcome and the environment after lay-offs. Do you have enough in-house human resources support for this type of growth? If not, can you outsource to a competent individual or firm?

The difference between acquiring a company and merging with another company is usually related to either a win-lose proposition (one company is the winner, the other the loser) or a win-win proposition (both companies are motivated to merge successfully for a number of business reasons). Mergers can consume a different resource focus: ensuring that both companies, their staff, their customers and all stakeholders feel that the end result was a win-win.

In either of these inorganic growth strategies, create a checklist approach to ensure that you carefully review all the pros and the cons and weigh the rationale carefully before you move forward on the merger or acquisition path.

Organic growth is typically a slower and more manageable type of growth. However, if your business is growing through a period of fast growth, you need to manage that growth before it overtakes you.

7 Tips for Managing your Growth:

• have a comprehensive human resources plan to handle fast growth and peaks and valleys in business activity;
• have job descriptions and a structure for your company;
• have developed standard operating procedures for your business;
• have a strong customer service program - so that customers are not negatively impacted by your fast growth;
• have a strong quality and continuous improvement program;
• ensure that you have the operating structure (whether that means increased inventories, longer hours of work - moving from a one shift operation to a two shift operation; adding more productive equipment); and
• have the cash flow to sustain growth (you will need to pay for more supplies and materials, for labor, for transportation, etc.) - unplanned and/or fast growth can have a big, negative impact on liquidity.

Whether you grow organically or inorganically, you need to plan for sustainable growth. Your plan needs to include how you will manage fast growth.