Finch - How to Write a Business Plan

• Dealing with Difficult People Roy Lilley

• Decision Making and Problem Solving John Adair

• Develop Your Leadership Skills John Adair

• Develop Your Presentation Skills Theo Theobald

• How to Manage People Michael Armstrong

• How to Manage Projects Paul J Fielding

• How to Organize Yourself John Caunt

• How to Write a Business Plan Brian Finch

• How to Write a Marketing Plan John Westwood

• How to Write Reports and Proposals Patrick Forsyth

• Improve Your Communication Skills Alan Barker

• Successful Time Management Patrick Forsyth

• Taking Minutes of Meetings Joanna Gutmann

The above titles are available from all good bookshops.

For further information on these and other Kogan Page titles, or to order online, visit www.koganpage.com .

Publishers note

Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and author cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or the author.

First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2001 by Kogan Page Limited

Sixth edition 2019

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses:

Brian Finch, 2001, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019

The right of Brian Finch to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

ISBNs

Hardback978 1 78966 002 9

Paperback978 0 7494 8643 3

Ebook978 0 7494 8644 0

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Control Number

Names: Finch, Brian, author.

Title: How to write a business plan : win backing and support for your ideas

and ventures / Brian Finch.

Description: Sixth edition. | London ; New York : Kogan Page, [2019] |

Series: Creating success.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019005207 (print) | LCCN 2019008788 (ebook) | ISBN

9780749486440 (Ebook) | ISBN 9780749486433 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781789660029

(hardback)

Subjects: LCSH: Business planning. | Business writing. | New business

enterprisesPlanning. | Small businessPlanning.

Classification: LCC HD30.28 (ebook) | LCC HD30.28 .F562 2019 (print) | DDC

658.4/012dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019005207

Typeset by Hong Kong FIVE Workshop

Print production managed by Jellyfish

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY

You want this book because it will help you tell your story to persuade someone who will work with you to realize your vision. A template downloaded from the internet will not do that. Many of those are very good and cover most of the issues but they do it like a robot, giving you spaces to fill in with information and that often gets in the way of telling a story. It is the difference between painting by numbers and creating your own picture.

This book is designed to lead you through writing your own business plan. While there may be some elements of the finished document that will benefit from professional input from an accountant, marketing expert, etc, you should write the main elements of this plan yourself. There are two reasons for this:

• You must be able to present it in person, which is more difficult if you have not been closely involved in preparing it.

• Writing the plan helps you perfect its content.

Sitting in front of a business partner or prospective investor is a bad time to find you are not utterly familiar with the plan or that there is a hole in the logic you hadnt thought of.

I am often approached by people who want help with the actual writing of the business plan. They may not be confident in their ability to write well and it is good to get help; but the owner of the plan, the person who must sell it and carry it out, really needs to have contributed significantly to the plan.

An example of the wrong way to use an adviser was an approach I received some years ago. I talked about the business with the entrepreneur but was horrified to find only the bare outline of an idea; whenever I asked for details it was clear he did not know. That can be OK: some people are good at producing powerful visions but delegate the detail and can still be very successful. They need a committed partner to work out those details, not a professional adviser working for a daily fee. Details matter: the vision is not enough. A great idea that does not actually work is of no use at all.

What are my credentials to advise you? I have written plans to raise money from banks, venture capitalists and private investors, have been a company director, have sat where you sit; but, more importantly, I have worked in venture capital and evaluated plans like the one you are about to write and have decided whether to invest.

I started writing these books more than 25 years ago because I saw so many plans that needed help: some were not going to raise money but some were not going to work as businesses.

You will notice, as we go through this book, that there are more points to think about and everything gets more complicated. Some people will tell you that a business plan can be encapsulated in three sentences or must be capable of explanation to a six-year-old great sentiments, just not true!

What about a one-page proposal for a great new online idea where you dont yet know how you will make money? Fortunes have been made on such proposals and fortunes have been lost too.

Three answers:

• It may work for you, but I wouldnt bet on it.

• That one-page proposal is probably the summary of a 100-page plan.

• That one page may simulate interest but the real business plan is needed to take it forward.

This book is structured to lead you through the elements that make up the typical business plan, in the order that they are likely to appear in your plan. As well as the short examples that appear within this book, you can also find extended examples online at www.koganpage.com/businessplan ; but do note these are meant for guidance and not necessarily as a template to be followed in minute detail. Your business, your environment and your needs may be different from those that lie behind my standard model or my illustrations; thats fine, just adapt my approach and set down your plan differently.