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1. Not writing for the target audience.
Although the core is the
same, the plan should be written differently for banks, equity
investors, or for use inside the company by the Board or for
employees. Go as far as you can to tailor each plan to the
audience's specific interests to show you've done your homework
and know whom you are talking to.
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2. Underestimating the importance of the quality of the
management team.
The quality of your people will lend
credibility to your ideas and your financial projections. If
your management team is not as strong as it could be, join
forces with a great board of advisors.
3. Starting with a boring, unenthusiastic executive summary.
This is the first section read by investors, and if this isn't
exciting, the rest will never be read. Make it fun and be
enthusiastic. It should stand alone and generate interest for
more information. It deserves all the thought you would put into
a professionally- done promotional piece for your customers.
4. Not adequately acknowledging your competition.
Investors
know that if there is no perceived competition, there may be no
market for what you are offering. The better you can describe
your competition, the better you understand your market, and the
more likely you will dominate it.
5. Saying too much.
Keep the entire plan to a maximum of 30
pages, with an executive summary of no more than 3 pages, If
investors are interested, they will ask for any additional
information they need. Hire a professional editor to reduce the
page count, emphasize your strongest points and eliminate
spelling and grammatical errors.
About the
Author:
Jan B. King is
President and CEO of The King Group, a business planning and
strategic people management consulting firm in El Segundo,
California. See her web site at http://www.janbking.com
for more details.
From the book:
Business Plans to Game Plans Author: Jan B. King-Publisher:.
Silver Lake Publishing Publication Date: May 2000 Page Count:
362 Retail price: $29.95 ISBN: 1-563&3-701-5.
Buy
the Book!
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