Your Roadmap to Success

Think of your business plan as your roadmap to get to where you’re going – what you envision your business will look like in three-to-five years. The best business plans are living documents that allow you to change course along the way if needed.

A good business plan focuses on areas that are critical to achieving success. Investors will look for evidence of increased demand and opportunities for growth, which means your business plan must be actionable. A credible, actionable plan that lays out all of the steps necessary to achieve significant growth will catch the attention of investors. However, you should not be overly optimistic about your predictions and be sure to include the significant market risks facing your company and the likelihood of overcoming them. Investors will be turned off if you present them with farfetched numbers or if you fail to acknowledge market realities. Meeting or exceeding your annual revenue projections reinforces investor confidence, so make these as realistic and achievable as possible while still demonstrating the pathway to growth.

Communicate your vision articulately and appealingly. You need to state and prove your competitive advantage in your chosen area and explain why your particular approach will succeed. Are you solving a genuine problem, filling a real customer need, or tapping into a proven trend?

Potential investors receive many business plans and want a quick overall view of what your plan is all about, so your executive summary is typically the first thing they look at. Your executive summary is a snapshot of your business. You should grab their interest right away.

It’s best to keep your executive summary to two pages or less. You should include everything that you would cover in a five-minute interview. Explain the fundamentals of the business and provide a brief sentence or two to answer these nine important questions.

9 Important Questions To Answer

1. What problem do you solve?
2. What is your product or service solution?
3. How does your company make money?
4. Who are your customers?
5. Who are your competitors?
6. Who are the owners?
7. What key milestones have you achieved?
8. How has your company been funded in the past?
9. What do you anticipate the future looks like for your business and your industry?

Answer these nine important questions and include the answers in your business plan.

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