Three things to Consider for the Professional Business Plan Writer
I’ve been quite outspoken about my belief that outsourcing the creation of your business plan is a terrible idea in most cases. Developing a strategy for your company is not a one-and-done job. In a business plan, the content is king; the writing, formatting, and presentation are secondary; and the information should be updated often. Businesses that take their strategies seriously conduct regular reviews and revisions.
Watch out for typical pitfalls
The uncertainty about what constitutes a successful business plan is at the root of my warning over the idea of outsourcing the creation of your business plan. A few argue that the quality of the paper or the content of the writing is the key. These are not the deciding criteria, however.
My post “My Worst Ever Company Plan Engagement” relates the genuine tale of savvy business owners who, while having a great business plan, were unable to get funding because they couldn’t recite it from memory. Read these two pieces first, then go out and get a professional writer. Read these two articles before you hire professional business plan writers – 10 Questions to Ask and You Can’t Put Perfume on a Pig with a Business Plan.
Initially, it’s best to conduct some planning on your own.
The planning process, like all other aspects of a company, should be guided by the goal of maximizing the financial and nonfinancial returns on investment. Consider the company’s needs first before seeking outside assistance.
If the purpose of your business plan is to improve your management in areas such as setting strategy, tactics, milestones, metrics, and essential projections, as well as tracking results and revising frequently, then the secrets to success are not related to what you would typically get from having an outside party do it for you.
However, there may be a need to go beyond the essentials and formalize a plan with well-written summaries, descriptions, and so on if you encounter a business plan event, such as when a plan is required for a loan, investor, divorce settlement, strategic ally, or any other outsider. In business, aesthetics are secondary to efficiency. The first step is to determine exactly what it is you need to get the job done.
Find someone who can be a mentor, guide, and confidant.
And yet, let’s pretend for a second if you already run a company or are about to launch one and you don’t want to develop your business plan on your own but have some money set aside to pay for assistance. Am I implying that you shouldn’t seek assistance at all? No. Yes, you can do it yourself, and you already know how. A business plan may be created by anybody who can create a company. The quality of a plan is determined by its details, milestones, scalability, defendability, financial forecasts, and management team. None of the concerns related to writing style, layout, or presentation apply.
Obviously, I have an axe to grind on this subject since I’m writing this on Bplans, surrounded by advertisements for LivePlan, a service designed to streamline the process of creating your own business plan.
Nonetheless, I earned a livelihood for more than 15 years writing business plans for owners and entrepreneurs, and because I reviewed well over a hundred starting company plans annually, I am all too familiar with poor business plan writing. Therefore, I am not advocating that you never seek assistance. Like many other aspects of running a company, making accurate financial predictions requires careful planning and analysis. To be successful financially, you need accurate numbers and calculations.
