Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Common Mistakes In Business Plans

Your business plan is naturally the first thought possible lenders of investors get about your business scheme. Even with enormous product, team, and customers, and you are unable to express to appropriately convey your image, it could be the last intuition if your plan has several of the following, common mistakes. Lenders and investors study hundreds of business plan every year and with every plan, lenders and investors grow to be more skeptical because the similar mistakes pop up with regular frequency. With so much competition for a partial amount of capital, it is crucial to not make these mistakes. 1. Financials Financial projections unrealistic - it is enough to say that they intend $ 100000 revenue is not sufficient, it can not simply say there's no way out. Everybody knows that there is no way to the development of accurate financial projections in the next three years, especially in a start-up. But what is required in the plan that the assumptions are, and supported by Wikipedia. The detailed list of assumptions and how you are with your number, the lender or an investor can judge your analysis and decision-making. If you are projected to generate sales outside of high standards of the industry, which explains how you reached this conclusion is unavoidable. Lenders and investors have seen much, many plans, which claim that the sales through the roof, funding and are therefore very tired in such statements. The financial data that is not in line with the average for the sector and the sales figures to aggressively raises flags. Describe in every issue. Are the gains in cash - the recipes are not always the same in cash. For example, suppose that you have a sale this month for $ 100, cost $ 50 to produce. On the assumption that your customer is not paying for 30-60 and even 90 days, if the state or federal level, the sources (and in the assumption they pay all), the impact on your liquidity considerably. Suppliers and employees have yet to be paid for their work while you wait for the payment of the buyer. Even if you are not a large part of its sales from claims, the staggering cash flow is crucial for the development of a strategy, the financial situation of the liquidity situation is far more important than profits. The benefits are a concept that everything in the accounts flow is money in the bank. If you do not believe me try your change in the profit zone. An adjustment for seasonal - All businesses are seasonal to a certain degree, some more important than others. Seasonality corresponds to the percentage of sales are made in a month. For instance, most retailers have huge sales in November and December, January and February lousy sales. Do you have enough money in the course of the month for good cover the slowness of the month for salaries, rents and the lights? If You Build and they will come - Be careful in the adoption as soon as the doors opened people streaming to buy. They have new, relatively unknown companies. It is a time when your company is particularly vulnerable because most new owners of the cash flow were normally used to the business to open. If the forecasts of sales in the first couple months and you do not have enough operating capital to the lights burn, you can quickly bankrupt. Lack of financial projections - the basis of financial projections consists of four components: declarations, the income, profit and loss account, balance sheet and cash flow. For most companies a projection of three years is sufficient but if you own a high intensity of capital and more time to profitability with five. The latest figures are a must if you are to receive in any number in the projections are in the business plan description. If you have a pre-existing company data, the historical financial information for your support to show the sales figures. No courses - all high costs should an offer in the annex, especially for the construction or reconstruction, which is an area in which most entrepreneurs consider how they themselves and underestimate the costs considerably. 2. Marketing In the absence of alleviating the pain of the customer - the companies are rewarded to the consumer to do, the pain disappear. The pain, my car no longer works; my SissyZmorge sick or my statements of income are difficult to plan. If your business plan can show how the pain of the customer, then the chances of success on the market is very limited. Do you remember the pain of the opportunity in the market? The greater is the pain, the largest number of customers with this pain and better can alleviate the pain longer corresponds to the potential of the market. One billion customers served - Right whole world needs your product / service is a strong message to the analysts, you do not know your market and remove all credibility in the plan. In the old days, the shotgun in the marketing concept is work, because there was very little advertising for the station. Today, with the unlimited number of sales outlets and closely defined, the markets, this approach are not fly. If it is true that everyone eats, the world is not at your restaurant meal, or you could effectively advertising in the world. When looking at the segments, the most for the use of your products / services and show how your message ultimately to make their efforts to ensure your success. Having clearly defined target markets show that your homework done, and are a cornerstone of a marketing strategy that can succeed. We have no competition - Use this message, if you want your plan is rejected. Each company has competition. Although there are no direct competitors, namely the offer, the product is equal or similar, there is always a competitor indirectly. Explain that there is no competition, the analyst says that you did, is not a market analysis or there is no market for your products. 3. Organization Writing for The Wrong Audience - A plan for a lender should be written differently to the other for an investor. The banks are interested to see the likelihood that the debt will be repaid, and the investors are interested in the potential for rising profits can be. Check whether your card to write your audience. In both cases, the facts, keep it clear and simple. If you do not believe that you have the ability, the editors of your glamour, then. Poor spelling and grammar - departure from the spelling and grammar mistakes in your plan analysts says only that you will not attention to detail, and they may not pay enough attention to the company. With the examiner spelling and grammar and to the others of your plan to ensure that no errors occur. For repetitive - Several times, the plans refer to the same issues and more. A piece of well-written plan should be the main points that twice: once in the summary, then again in more detail in the description of this plan. Take jargon - use a simple language is important that the technology, the financing of enterprises. Do you think that by saying the complex lenders and investors are so impressed that they know your whip open the cheques? The companies that can not be understood are not funded. If you are not able to explain your business sixth bulldozer your chances for funding are at risk. Investors are very interested in your technology only if it solves a problem that people pay, which is better than the competition, are protected by patents and can be reasonably the market, without much money. Keep the technical details on the business plan and the white books. Appearance issues - Make sure your plan for professional appearance. Professional Printing, binding, for the maintenance of the fonts compatible and easy to read. The subject of the request for more money, invest more time to ensure that your plan will stand out from the crowd. Be careful not to, and the impression that the plan is not quite in style and substance. Length - A long business plan is not the best plan. Throughout industry and research in the marketing is not a bad plan. Too many projects have been immediately rejected because they are too long. The lenders and investors are the entrepreneurs who can prove the ability to effectively receive, effective at the top. A summary should be no longer than 1-3 pages. Ideally, it should not be a site, but some plans require much more complex. A business plan is ideal, 20-30 pages, including financial services. Remember, less is more! With the plans, white papers and marketing plans for the analysis of details. Plush animal - When using expressions such as "without equal in the industry", "narrow window of opportunity" or "ground floor" are phrases Drench. If anything, the cynical auditor will be disabled by the threshing and trash in the plan. Persevere, on the facts - what the problem is, how you want to solve the problem, how big is the market, how it is that consumers buy, and what your competitive advantage is. If the opportunity, there is the lender / investor will be able, the decision to sign. The over-valuation business idea - What is the value of a company is not the idea, but the realization of this idea. A very good idea is a start, but almost everyone had a brilliant idea for a certain time in their lives. As you run, this idea is what a real company of dreamers. 4. Execution Mistakes Waiting time is too long - the financing of a business takes time. Wait for at least three months after the end of the company's plan for financing. Unless you have enough capital other sources of income and financed, the internally in the bank, that figure can be reduced. Bank for the financing of companies that have less than two years in the history of operating finances are generally guaranteed by the SBA, which require more time, patience and paperwork. The funding from investors is usually a process any longer, because they have a lot of people competing for their money, and they tend to take care important to their investment. Wait until you need the money, is a safe way of your business in motion. The disproportionate - Many companies underestimate the deadlines for the completion of the stadium. It is human nature to think that we do things as soon as possible. If a company started, there are some tasks that you could not have foreseen, and the few tasks that you think is easy to begin to take a lot of time. It is better to overestimate, and in the early, as they encode and run opening bad. Without looking outside the test - When developing your plan, you have to find at least a small number of people to check before you send. People Prefers looking for your industry or with a specialization in marketing, sales, distribution, etc., for a new series of eye and find the error in the map. The proximity of the action to prevent it his goal, and that additional control can save you countless headaches and money on the street. Perfecting - It is easy, of countless hours in your system and ultimately the perfect introduction ever. Do not forget that your system is never perfect, and in practice are constantly updated to find out more about the company, the market and their customers. Let not your practice, university and finish in the first position of investors and lenders. Use this feedback to check whether your plan for the reality of the additional demand perfection.

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