DocSnaps has made it into the finals of the Pan IIT Business Plan competition to be held in Chicago in October. In writing a business plan for investment it is always good to access the most recent and pertinent resources for your industry. Here are 5 great resources to help you get started.
1. Guy’s business plan advice – Why write a business plan? It is important to answer this question first before putting pen to paper.
2. Sequoia Capital’s business plan outline – This provides an outline of what makes a business sustainable and the company fundable. It also includes an outline of what to include in the business plan.
3. Market research – A general idea of the size of the market is essential to get started. This is a great starting point with statistics and numbers to give you a general idea of the market. Other resources for qualitative research – BizShark, Crunchbase.
4. Competitive Strategy – A viable business is all about competing. If the idea is good then it safe to assume that somebody is already working on it. And to be successful a strategy has to be devised that makes you more successful than the other. Micheal Porter a university professor at Harward Business School helps you to analyze competition and create a successful strategy. Without a great strategy even the best business idea will fail.
5. Financials Basics – It is important to understand the basics of startup finance and take into account all startup expenses. A business might be profitable but for investors to be interested they would want a healthy return on investment for their risk. Your financial plan should provide general trends and ratios which helps answer these questions.
Biz plan competitions are always wrong – According to Seth Godin pundits are always wrong at predicting the future. So do not worry if your biz plan does not win any competitions.
