The second business plan secret I will reveal is that your business plan does not have to be complex to gain grants, loans or funding. Many people writing a business plan think the plan has to be a complex series of tables, graphs and flow charts, which is not true.

 

This image of a business plan has been strengthened by what we see on films, television shows and companies who sell business plans. It’s in these companies interest to make business plans look complicated, otherwise you would not need them to write one for you.

 

You need to think what your business plan is for. If it’s a tool to guide you through the first few years of business then the only person that needs to understand it is you. If it’s for a grant, loan or funding from an organisation or charity, then they will need to understand it. The likely hood of this sort of organisations understanding a complex business plan is very small and may harm your chance of getting funding.

 

So who is impressed by a huge business plan? The bank manager? In my experience the image of a nervous entrepreneur going to their bank manager with a business plan in hand, the manager interrogating them and then refusing a loan is simply not true. This only happens in the movies and dodgy sit coms, in reality the bank manager will have no business planning experience and will not understand your business plan. He will then type your financial details into a computer, such as, if you are a home owner, your salary and how much you owe on credit cards and personal loans. The PC will make the decision if you get a loan, not the manager.

 

If you want to get a cheap loan for business start up, then you are better off going on a comparison website for a personal loan.

 

So, in summary when you’re writing your business plan, write it for you and no one else. If the person offering you money wants it to look complex, then you will need to adjust it. Believe me these people are few and far between and probably won’t understand the plan anyway.

Many people wanting to start up there own business have problems writing a business plan as the just don’t know where to start. Most people get a free business plan template from a bank or download one from the internet, read the headings like cash flow forecast, business structure and legal requirements and give up before they start.     When helping clients to write a business plan I often send them a completed plan first to show them what one looks like. After reading the plan they have a better understating of what each heading means and how it applies to they own business plan.     Intimidating headings like “legal structure” become less daunting when they see another persons business plan which reads     I will operate as a sole-trader from my home address, located at Any street, Any town, Any place. The business will trade under the name of "Big Bang Electrics”     This paragraph is completely adequate for a small business to obtain a grant, loan or funding. It does not need to be complex or wordy, just straight forward and to the point.     There is some sample free business plans on my website www.businessplancollege.com also a step by step tutorial with many more help paragraphs to enable you to write your own business plan.