{"id":525,"date":"2013-05-14T09:09:55","date_gmt":"2013-05-14T16:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gordonbenzie.com\/blog\/?p=525"},"modified":"2013-05-12T23:11:47","modified_gmt":"2013-05-13T06:11:47","slug":"business-plan-writing-vs-advising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gordonbenzie.com\/blog\/business-plan-writing-vs-advising\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Plan Writing vs. Advising"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"business_plan_advisor_or_writer\"<\/a>Over the years I have had the opportunity to meet quite a few people eager to start a new business with ambitions to conquer a market, introduce a new product or to just start something new. Once the idea is born, the challenge is to pick the best path through to fruition. There are many decisions to make with regards to how to spend your time, where to focus your budget dollars as well as reviewing ideas with close friends and family. As part of this decision process, the source of capital for launching or expanding the business will inevitably come up. Can I fund this idea myself and retain 100% of control, or, do I need help via a capital investment?<\/p>\n

Those that make it through these hurdles with the conclusion that outside funding is required must then face the task of best explaining their new idea in such a way that it can generate excitement without necessarily giving away all of the \u201csecret sauce\u201d of the venture. It is at this point that the topic of writing a business plan will emerge \u2013 do I need one now, or, can it wait?<\/p>\n

Given the capital markets, it is likely you will need to make a bit of a time investment to achieve success \u2026 you will need to speak with many individuals before finally finding the right match of your opportunity with the investment profile of an angel or Series 1 investor. In the interest of efficiency, it is typical to arrive at the conclusion that another \u201cvenue\u201d for telling your story is needed. In fact, you probably need a few different formats to best tell your story.<\/p>\n

To start, a 30 second elevator pitch is critical. If you can\u2019t tell your idea quickly with enthusiasm, then you venture will likely die. Add to this challenge the fact that everyone is totally overloaded today, being impacted by literally thousands of messages, images and other distractions all the time. Your communication must be crisp, unique and stand out from the crowd.<\/p>\n

Those that you \u201chook\u201d with this elevator pitch will then ask for more information. This is a good thing \u2013 you have their attention. So, the next step is what do you do? If you can arrange a future meeting in person, great. A presentation will be needed, at a minimum, to continue your conversation. I would propose that in addition, now would be an excellent time to have a business plan already prepared to send prior to your meeting. Access to a written plan can be well worth the time and investment to prepare, provided it demonstrates your commitment to the project and achieving success with your venture.<\/p>\n

The challenge is that you can\u2019t really wait for the next \u201cchance\u201d encounter to then sit down and write the plan. These documents need time and effort to be invested so they sound good, are well thought out and exciting to read. This type of writing doesn\u2019t happen overnight, nor can you really put something together in just a few hours. You want to show that you have thought through this business opportunity quite carefully, and are ready to go once finding the right partner, employees, or other resources necessary to get started.<\/p>\n

It is at this decision point when you must ask yourself: \u201cDo I just need a writer to capture my thoughts, which I am completely confident are all correct?\u201d Or, is it more accurate to consider that you have \u201cpretty much\u201d the idea for the plan in your head, but, there are definitely some of the details, competitive pressures and product \/ service differentiation that could do with some refinement? If the latter is the case, realize you need more than just a business plan writer. You need an advisor, a person who can help you with not only the writing to ensure it is understandable, but that it can withstand the scrutiny of an investor that is putting some of their own money into the venture. This type of reader will have very specific questions that must be answered before they consider proceeding further.<\/p>\n

If you come to this point in your new business process, challenge yourself to really assess if you need a person who is skilled with what business models can actually be executed, or, do you want to hire a writer that will simply replicate what you tell him or her. If it is an advisor or modeler you seek, then look to see what marketing experience in planning and execution that they have. After all, the entire discipline of marketing is focused on planning, strategizing and executing the best way to achieve business plan objectives. Once the plan has been carefully thought out, it then becomes the responsibility of sales to actually execute upon it. Of course, this may be one and the same person for a smaller organization, but, the concept still holds true.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gordon Benzie<\/i><\/strong>\u00a0is a marketing communications professional and business model adviser that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies. Gordon can be found<\/em> on\u00a0<\/em><\/i>Google+<\/i><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the years I have had the opportunity to meet quite a few people eager to start a new business with ambitions to conquer a market, introduce a new product or to just start something new. Once the idea is born, the challenge is to pick the best path through to fruition. 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