Business Plans – How it Can Help You Get Funding

The primary function of any business plan is to test if your idea is viable. It’s an exercise in proving your idea to yourself and others. But it also has another key dimension. It can provide you with a way to acquire funding.

Most business plans written today are based on templates, typically downloaded from the Internet. Lenders are familiar with these all too predictable packages – too wordy, badly structured, generic and inexact in their treatment of financial forecasting – and reject them as amateurish, which most of them are.

The result? An often-promising new business idea self-destructs because it lacks credibility when presented to those who can potentially provide the very financing the idea needs to take off. That’s called shooting yourself in the foot.

There are several reasons why Plan2Profit has raised over $200 million in funding in the past 12 months. Seasoned professionals with business experience write our plans. They are built from the ground up, around your idea. To the point, concise and relevant, they appeal directly to lenders – who are people we know and therefore know what they’re looking for. We’ll even coach you about how to present your plan to them.

Let me tell you what lenders are looking for today in a business plan, and it’s more than a big idea. It is important to have a compelling introduction to your business, one that details the differentiating strategies that will provide you with a competitive advantage over your expected competition.

Another issue is financial forecasting. Nothing kills a new business idea faster than wishy-washy numbers. Business plan financials have to be realistic and robust. Have you ever heard of the 2 by 1 rule? Most new businesses are twice as costly to launch and half as profitable as even the best financial forecasting predicts. If your idea can meet that test, you might have a winner on your hands.

Of course, we’re only scratching the surface with these two issues. There’s a lot more to it than that. Which is how and why Plan2Profit can help. With over 1,000 plans written at a 92% funding success rate, we’re completely confident that we can help you. One final point. We tell the truth. So if your idea is not viable, you’ll be the first to know about it. We’re not in the business of helping entrepreneurs throw their money down the drain. And you can take that promise to the bank.