Three Things Every Entrepreneur Should Integrate into their Business Plan

Writing a business plan is difficult. Communicating your vision for your new venture in a way that tells the story of your passion, excitement, and potential to the world can seem nearly impossible at times. Once you have the basic plan in place and on paper, it’s easy to declare it “done” and walk away.

Before you move on to your next business building task, take another look at your business plan and make sure these three things are covered.

Is your roadmap as specific as possible?

It’s important to plan milestones that indicate your progress and success. But can the person reading your plan clearly see how you plan to get from one step to the next? Explain your plans to reach your goals. Take potential investors and clients on a journey through your vision that gets them as excited as you are. According to Kevin Hiser, author of this article recently published in Young Entrepreneur.

in almost every case, the entrepreneurs I meet have a business plan. But very few have a roadmap of how to achieve their goals or to monitor their progress along the way. That’s what I call the ‘missing link’ among most startups.

Address competition and risk

It’s important to communicate your enthusiasm and optimism, but a business plan that pretends you have no competition won’t come off as viable. Spend time researching risk and competition and then paint a realistic picture of how your business will overcome those challenges.

Focus on how you’ll minimize risk. Address risk quickly and honestly and then move on to how you plan to compete in the marketplace. How do you see the market changing as you achieve the success you are projecting? How do you plan to overcome future challenges?

Keep your assumptions realistic and well researched

The essence of a business plan is hope. It requires assumptions at every turn. Search your completed business plan for assumptions and add another layer to your story by backing them up with research.  Make it clear that your assumptions are rooted in fact by noting your research findings.

If your business is viable, your business plan needs to reflect that clearly. By reviewing it with these three ideas in mind, you’ll move yourself and your business closer to success.

UFOstart is now inviting startups with a focus on crowd-sourced business models into the private beta. Contact us for further information!

- bmt

Mentors with 'time and inclination'

 Many would-be startups don’t get too far beyond their ideas simply because they lack the tools to make it happen.

Now that can run the gamut from not having the right technology at hand, to not knowing the right people help you formulate a business plan; that’s why it’s important for entrepreneurs to align themselves with a Mentor, according to a Rieva Lesonsky’s post “Why Every Startup Founder Needs a Mentor - And How to Find One.” (http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2012/05/why-every-startup-founder-needs-a-mentor-and-how-to-find-one.php)

 Often times, we’re asking the wrong people---family or friends--- for their opinion, forgetting that whatever advice they offer comes with a bit of bias that can cloud your overall vision for the company. Maybe it’s experience, or good intuition, but in time of need we turn to individuals that have gone through similar situations and who can bring a lot of wisdom to any company founder. You simply do not have enough time and ressources to make all the mistakes you need to make - mistakes your mentor might have experienced and learned from. 

With the popularity of the crowdsourcing concept, finding an expert to help you with advice has become easier than ever. The Small Business Administration’s non-profit, SCORE, for example, manages thousands (13,000) of retired business professions who work in a mentoring capacity that a startup founder can tap into. UFOstart is building a community of experts in order to connect them with startups. We believe in the importance of mentors: They don't only help you reduce mistakes, they help you eliminate your weaknesses to bring out your strenghts.  

Getting that different viewpoint comes from asking all the right questions to the right people. Sounds like an obvious one, for sure, but it’s crucial. Largen your network, get a sense of whose expertise your startup could truly benefit from and communicate your needs. 

It comes down to hooking up with mentors who not only have the time to help, but also the inclination to do so.

Contact us if you're looking for mentorship and want to learn about the benefits of crowdsourcing ideas and advice.

--bmt