Entrepreneurs sometimes think it is great idea to claim that they have no competition. They suppose that investors will be impressed with the originality of their business idea and its potential to make money where there are no pesky competitors to take market share. Don’t ever write that in a business plan. Nothing could be […]
We have no Competition
Posted in Business Plan Tips, Entrepreneurship, strategyBy David Kaplan - August 10th, 2009 Comments Off on We have no Competition
The Planning Conundrum
Posted in Business Plan Tips, UncategorizedBy David Kaplan - May 21st, 2009 Comments Off on The Planning Conundrum
Despite obvious benefits, only the very smartest and most disciplined managers actually write and follow business plans Nearly every professional manager knows that planning is crucial to business success. Still, few people actually act on that knowledge. In over 15 years of helping businesses plan their growth, it has become increasingly clear that only a […]
Red Sneakers
Posted in Business Plan Tips, MarketingBy David Kaplan - April 14th, 2009 1 comment
Several years ago a client asked me to read a business plan he had written to raise the funds needed to take his invention to market. The plan described a kind of helper spring to improve the handling of heavily-loaded pick-up trucks. In the marketing section of the plan, he referred to the market opportunity as “within the nearly $100 billion auto […]
Writing a Business Plan is Hard
Posted in Business Plan TipsBy David Kaplan - April 3rd, 2009 Comments Off on Writing a Business Plan is Hard
No wonder most entrepreneurs and small businesses don’t have a business plan. Writing a useful business plan requires… Taking substantial time away from other responsibilities to concentrate on growth, competitiveness, planning and writing Ability to “scope” correctly so that the plan contains neither too much or too little information Substantial and relevant research into markets, customers, […]
What is “In the Ballpark?”
Posted in FinancesBy David Kaplan - March 4th, 2009 Comments Off on What is “In the Ballpark?”
New entrepreneurs often wonder, “Are my numbers in the ballpark?” How can anyone reasonably project the revenue and expense figures to complete the set of 3- to 5-year financial projections that accompany nearly every business plan? Scientists, inventors, engineers and Internet innovators who have just become entrepreneurs often have little business experience and perhaps none […]
Boston Venture Outlook 2009
Posted in Venture CapitalBy David Kaplan - January 17th, 2009 Comments Off on Boston Venture Outlook 2009
During the darkest moments of the current financial crisis last January, some Boston entrepreneurs questioned whether they need to put off start-up timetables. They wondered if venture capital firms would retrench and wait for the economy to recover before funding any new businesses.
Two Meanings of “Business Plan”
Posted in Business Plan TipsBy David Kaplan - December 19th, 2008 Comments Off on Two Meanings of “Business Plan”
The term “business plan” may be used to mean a set of ideas for starting or growing a business or the written document that describes those ideas. The two different meaning can create some confusion. “Do you have a business plan?” may not mean what you think. It is commonly assumed that entrepreneurs start with […]
Business Plan Software
Posted in Business Plan TipsBy David Kaplan - December 9th, 2008 Comments Off on Business Plan Software
Investors generally read only a fraction of the many plans that entrepreneurs send them. They tend to take less seriously plans that appear amateurish. One sure sign of an amateur business planner is that the submitted plan appears in one of the familiar formats of business plan software. Format generally does not matter much in […]