The Rules of a Business Plan
    •1. Keep it short and concise.
     •A. you want your business plan to 
     be read.
     •B. your business plan should be 
     accessible, something you continue 
     to use and refine over time.
     The Rules of a Business Plan
     •2. Know your audience
     •A. Should be written in language that 
      your audience will understand.
     •Ex. If your company is developing a 
      complex scientific process, but your 
      prospective investors aren’t scientists 
      (and don’t understand the language, you 
      need to adapt.
    The Rules of a Business Plan
    •2. Know your audience
    •B. Accommodate your investors, 
     and keep explanations of your 
     product simple and direct, using 
     terms that everyone can 
     understand.
    The Rules of a Business Plan
    •3. Don’t be intimidated
     •A. Vast majority of business owners and 
     entrepreneurs aren’t business experts.
     •B. If you know your business and are 
     passionate about it, writing a business 
     plan and then leveraging your plan for 
     growth will be easy.
    Quick Overview of a Business 
    Plan
    •1. Executive Summary: an overview of 
     your business and your plans. It comes 
     first in your plan and is ideally only 1-2 
     pages.
    •2. Company Overview: The company 
     provides a quick review of the 
     company’s legal structure and location, 
     as well as some background on the 
     company’s history if you’re writing the 
     plan for an existing business.