Write A Winning Business Plan-The Neatest Trick In The Book
"Writing a business plan" sounds really tough, and it can be.
But there are a number of things the smart entrepreneur can do
to make it easier.
For instance, justwhatkindofstuffyouthinkgetsreadlikethis?
Imagine pages full of that, with virtually no margins, no
paragraph breaks, no breathing room. Lenders, investors and
angel investors are confronted with piles of business plans like
that every day.
Take a breath. Then lure your reader into the plan with snappy
headlines and easy to read formatting.
Do you know why the Wall Street Journal and USA Today use
headlines? Because it's the only way anyone will read a story.
More to the point, it's the only way anyone will buy their
paper. (Mmmm, sounds like you may have something in common with
newspapers.)
Take a look at your favorite newspaper. Those headlines tell a
story. Sometimes they ooze with conspiracy, and once in a while
they stand majestic. Note:
Martha Jailed The War is Over The Watergate Starts to Smell
Your business plan needs to do no less. The headlines and
section heads need to draw the reader in, not with an
announcement, but with an invitation. Compare these:
The Executive Team The Audio Industry The Advisory Board
with these:
Strong Executive Team is Led by Industry Insider Audio - the
Industry that Reinvents Itself 7 Top Scientists Lead the
Advisory Board
So which set are you going to read?
Lenders of all ilk get far too many business plans - certainly
more than they can possibly fund. Simply getting your business
plan read is a big step in the right direction.
Try this trick. Imagine that you are indeed writing a newspaper,
one that competes with another strong paper in your town. What
headline would you put on that paper to encourage readers to buy
yours, and not the other?
Honesty, of course, is essential. But within that honesty there
are a thousand ways to make the same statement. How many ways
are there to say that it is spring time?