Is Your Business Plan Ready?

Writing a business plan is a process. It starts with an idea, which is followed by research, which is then turned into a draft, and refined, and so on. The whole process of writing a business plan can take months from start to finish, but the question most would be entrepreneurs have is: when do you know it is ready?

 

That is a tricky question. How do you know that you’ve written the best possible plan for your business idea, and that it will do what it’s meant to do – whether that’s help you to grow your business, or to secure funding.

 

Don’t Look At It for a While

 

When you finish your business plan, the urge will be to send it out immediately. Don’t. In fact, take a few days, and don’t look at it at all. The reason for this is simple: if you give yourself distance, and some space, between you and the plan, when you return to it you’ll have ‘fresh eyes’ and be much more likely to pick up any mistakes or omissions.

 

Have a Colleague or Friend Read It

 

Most of us have at least one colleague or friend who knows about business, and who we trust. Once you’re sure that your plan is about ready to go out there into the world and act as the ambassador for your idea, you should have them read it. Letting someone who knows nothing about business read your plan won’t help, but having someone with experience and hands on knowledge take a look can help you to identify problems you may need to address.

 

Ask Your Accountant to Read It

 

Another great way to test how ready your business plan is to go out into the world is to have your accountant read it. Not many people know the business of business better than they do, and they’ll be able to advise you about any legal or financial issues in your plan that might need to be addressed.

 

Find a Business Incubator

 

Most areas have at least one ‘business incubator.’ These are usually programs that are run by the government in your area, or by banks or financial services organisations. These incubators are designed to help entrepreneurs to take the leap from idea to enterprise, and very often, they employ business plan experts to assess business plans and advise entrepreneurs.

 

If In Doubt, Get an NDA

 

Reading all of this, you may be worried that sending your business plan out into the world could lead to your idea being stolen by someone with fewer scruples than you thought they had. That’s a very real worry, but you can get around it.

 

Speak to an attorney about drawing up an NDA or Non Disclosure Agreement. This is a document that you can have people who read your plan sign, which legally binds them not to share your idea with anyone else. If you also have a patented product, or another form of intellectual property, you should have no worries.

 

Don’t Try To Do It Alone

 

The important thing to remember is that most of us feel a little lost when we’re writing our first (or second or third) business plan, and you don’t have to do it alone. Speak to the people mentioned in this article, or to a mentor or even your bank manager. There are people and companies out there who CAN help to make your business plan perfect, but you have to ask first!