Comments on: 10 thoughts for small businesses and startups: how to write a great business plan

By: jc2ckid

jc2ckid — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:52:34 +0000

Very informative. I have been gathering information on starting my business for over three months now-and your blog has given me a lot of insight, especially your response to Derek. Also tip number five(5)-on protecting your secret. You have shown me the correct path to take in achieving my goals. Thanks a Million. Well done Mike-keep up the good work!

By: Thoughts for small businesses and startups on raising capital — crowdSPRING Blog

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:02:14 +0000

[...] you have a great idea, right? You’ve written a fantastic business plan, researched the market extensively, have a deep understanding of the competitive landscape, and [...]

By: 10 Thoughts on Financial Modeling « Dougneeper’s Blog

10 Thoughts on Financial Modeling « Dougneeper’s Blog — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:46:33 +0000

[...] Learn from your ancestors. Just as I advised last week in my post on writing business plans, you should get your hands on a template. Many others have cracked this nut before you and you can [...]

By: 10 thoughts for small businesses and startups on financial modeling — crowdSPRING Blog

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:13:23 +0000

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:00:16 +0000

Hey guys, thanks much for the comments and questions…

@Derek – examples are pretty hard to come by, as privately held companies tend to hold this info closely. One place you might check is the SCORE website – they do have a page with various templates: http://www.score.org/template_gallery.html

@ryangraves – Yea, this is something we struggle with also, but I am a believer in having a REAL business plan (old school though it may be) along with a great slideshow presentation version. I also am of the belief that the very act of writing the business plan gets it in your DNA and gives you the kind of facility with the details that potential investors, etc are looking for. The other reason to have a “real” biz plan (in addition to your presentation version) is because, inevitably, someone to whom you just presented is going to ask you for one to take home. Kinda lame to just give them a print-out of your slide deck when what they’re looking for is evidence of your thought process…

By: ryangraves

ryangraves — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:47:51 +0000

Mike- Great post, however, I’m curious what your reaction would be to the many people out there who say, business plans are a waste. A 10 deck powerpoint can give you the same direction & plan without the wasted time on the verbiage you’ll never use.

Investors don’t even look at b-plans anymore, so they say.
What say you sir?

By: Derek

Derek — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:27:03 +0000

This is great stuff, and quite timely for us at PID. I’m curious…any suggestions on a good resource for startup business plan examples? Especially in the tech/web field. I think people would get a lot of insight from something like that.

By: Derek

Derek — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:27:00 +0000

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