Avoid Business Plan Mistakes
"I spend a lot of my time studying business plans from entrepreneurs looking for investment. Many are impressive but some are ghastly. Among the worst offences are:
"Aggressive confidentiality clauses and an obsession with non-disclosure agreements...
"Overly technical documents...
"Lack of focus...
"Preposterous valuations...
"Biographies. These should be honest and full. They are perhaps the single most important part of the entire proposal. I really want to know the owners and individuals who will make the thing happen. Vague or overly concise CVs make me suspicious...
"The numbers. This is the critical stuff. The funding requirement, the estimated returns, the cash flow projections: these must be attractive and sufficiently ambitious to be worthwhile...
"The competition. All capable entrepreneurs know their competition well. If they say they have none, they are fooling themselves...
"Huge appendices and too many spreadsheets...
"Getting someone else to write it...
"Make sure it can be e-mailed...
"Unbelievable margins, profits and returns..."
Read more in this article by investor Luke Johnson.
