People ask me if they really need ANY business plan, unless they are looking for an outside investor. In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Explain the business model. For a family business, don’t project an exit. MORE >>

If you want people to invest in your idea, then my best advice is first write a business plan, and keep it simple. Don't confuse your business plan with a doctoral thesis or the back of a napkin. Keep the wording and formatting straightforward, and keep the plan short. entrepreneur startup simplicity business pla MORE >>

Modern investors love to first read a two-page summary of your business plan, formatted like a glossy marketing collateral sheet, with text well laid out in columns and sidebars, and a couple of relevant graphics. Most likely, the investor has already seen multiple plans with similar solutions. Business model. MORE >>

I’ve started my business plan marathon season again. Between now and the end of May I’ll read several hundred business plans: some for my angel investment group ( Willamette Angel Conference ), and others for judging business plan contests at the Universities of Oregon, Texas, Rice, Princeton, and Notre Dame. MORE >>

Tweet This has been bugging me for a long time now: It turns out that the phrase “business plan” is a homonym, exactly as in these examples from yourdictionary.com : Just like the different meanings for crane and date, there are at least two completely different meanings for the two-word phrase “business plan:”. MORE >>