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What Makes up a Perfect Business Plan

Doing business plan

Whether you have a small business or a large one, you have to have a business plan in order to set a path for it. A business plan is more like a manual or guide that lists your goals in an order, and how and when you will achieve them. It is even better to have a plan B if things do not work out the way you expect them to. But an important question you should ask yourself is “what makes up a perfect business plan?” What are the important factors that you have to take into consideration to create the perfect business plan?

Of course, you can’t make a plan randomly because business matters are a game of numbers—you have to be precise and accurate.

Describing Business and Writing a Summary

The first and foremost part of any business plan is the executive summary. It is a summary of what’s included in your business plan. You have to keep in mind the word “summary” i.e. you are supposed to summarize everything. You will face two challenges when you do that. First, you will have to find the most selling and appealing parts of your reports to grab the attention of the readers of your business plan instantly. Secondly, you have to find a way to shorten all the descriptions. Bear in mind that the details are in the plan itself, so you have to efficiently summarize all the points.

Furthermore, you have to explain the industry and your business. At this point, you want to talk about what industry your business serves, what the industry looks like and how much potential of growth your business (and the industry) has in the future.

Market and Competitor Analysis

At this point, you will have to put in some work to gather the details that will fill this section of your business plan. You have to know the market that you are about to target. For this, you will have to analyze the market and the sub-markets within it. By doing this, you are trying to paint a clear picture of your target audience. Without this type of analysis, you could end up selling the right product to the wrong people, which means your business will not survive. As you are describing your target audience and how you will approach them in the most effective way possible, you will have to do some analysis of your competitors.

It is just another level of market analysis. You want to get a good idea of what your competitors are doing to run their similar businesses and how much they are succeeding with their strategies. You should also pinpoint their weaknesses and why certain strategies are not working. When you have a business with many competitors, your investors will always ask you several questions about your competitors. They do this not only to know how knowledgeable you are about your target market but also to figure out if what you are about to do is going to work at all.

Development and Design

This is the section where you will define not only the design of the product but how the development takes place. Are you creating the product in your garage or do you have manufacturing plant working for you? How do you get the materials for creating the product? Are you producing your product within the country or outsourcing the production? In case of either of the options, you will have to explain why you have chosen that path. Investors will also ask you how much it costs you to design your product and make it available on the shelf.

What they don’t want you to do is pay more for the production and design of your product than you should. If there are other options available but you are sticking to the expensive ones, it will show them either the stubborn side of your personality or the less knowledgeable.

Costs of Operation and Management Planning

The ongoing processes of the business are the most important ones to pay attention to. How have you planned to take care of the daily matters? How have you assigned the roles and why have you assigned them to certain individuals? At this stage, you also have to talk about the costs of operations. You have to keep your costs realistic and justify that what you intend to spend is not an excessive by any means. In the costs of operations, you will also have to have an estimate of how much you will be spending in salaries. You can include this particular piece of information under the financial planning section as well.

Financial Planning

In this section you have to describe how you intend to finance the business. Are you using your own money to start the business or have you borrowed it from a family member? What kind of debts are there on your business. Debt is deadly for a business, so you want to have a very strong plan on how you will handle the initial debt when starting the business. You also have to show your management of the financial resources and knowledge to prove that any loans that you are taking for the business will be paid off in time and with ease.

If you have given a detail of various loans that you intend to use for your business, you will also have to state how you will use the money. Your usage of the money should be precise. At no point should the investors get a hint that you are going to use the money for something personal or something that will not benefit your business in any way.

Conclusion

Last but not least, make projections a part of your business plan as well. You will need to ready balance sheets and income statements for the coming years. It is imperative to know here that business plans are just assumptions, not facts. You should always expect things to go a bit away from how you planned them. However, such minor setbacks should not stop you from going forward and turning your small business into a large one.

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Automation: The Risk to Financial Jobs

Automation

Suppose it is 2030, and you’re teaching in a business school. What will be your reaction to seeing just a handful of learners attending your class? It must be disappointing, but it has nothing to do with your pedagogical skill, nor it’s about the subject matter you’re teaching or your school’s ranking. Students do not enroll simply because the finance sector has no jobs for them. And automation is one of the main reasons behind this phenomenon.

You might find it hard to believe because management, economics, finance, and accounting are some popular subjects at the graduate level in most universities. Students opt for these subjects as they are associated with high employability; however, changing due to advances in technology and automation.

According to Opimas- a renowned consulting firm, the future will be harder for many universities in terms of selling business-related degrees. Another latest research showed that by 2050, nearly 230,000 financial jobs would be lost to artificial intelligence agents and bots.

To put it simply, when a vehicle manufacturer finds aluminum or any other material lighter, more accessible, and cheaper to make cars with than steel, they stop using it. They replace it to gain functional and financial advantage. It is the same when it comes to evaluating the future of the finance sector.

The current situation raises a few questions:

Our current and prospective financial jobs under threat? Are robotic advisers/employees the future of finance?

Let’s find out.

Artificial Intelligence- A New Generation

A survey from Aite Group –a research firm evaluated that businesses have started investing in automated portfolios. The investment rate increased to 210% in 2015. Many recent reports by market analysts found that robotics-advisers have taken over already in some giant corporations. Wall Street is just one of the examples that have replaced hundreds of its financial analysts with Robo advisors and high-tech software.

Oxford academics in its 2013’s paper claims that approximately 74% of professions are at high risk of becoming automated in the next 10 to 20 years; 54% of jobs among them will be in the finance industry, which is alarming. The phenomenon not just confined to the United States. Indian banks, for example, have also reported a decline of 9% in headcount in the last two consecutive quarters due to the hiring of robots at the workplace, which shows how automation is taking over in the finance sector.

Perhaps, it’s not surprising in finance, particularly as the banking industry is all about processing information. And most of its critical operations, like passbook update and cash deposits, have been digitized. This is one reason why financial institutions and banks are adopting advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.

This new generation of technology has enabled institutes to automate their financial tasks that were traditionally performed by humans. That includes risk management, operations, algorithmic trading, and wealth management.

For instance, the COIN program and Contract Intelligence that run on a specific machine learning system, help banks shorten the time taken to review loans. Plus, the software is excellent at providing impeccable loan servicing to customers. Considering AI’s growing dominance, Accenture predicts that the banking sector will make AI a’ primary way of interaction with the customers within three years. It is because AI enables a simple and easy user interface to help banks provide a human-like client experience.

Luvo, in this regard, is a virtual chatbot that uses IBM Watson technology to learn and understand from human interaction, making manual workforce redundant.

Fintech Grads- A Traditional Threat to Banking

This might sound surprising to you, but universities are revising and reviewing their traditional education blueprints to adapt to new technological disruption in the financial job market. Like Georgetown and Stanford University, business schools are planning to include “fintech” in their MBA programs. This inclusion aims to make students learn, understand, and master financial technology.

One reason why Fintech firms are considered an existential threat to traditional banks is that they work differently from conventional banks. Plus, not only do fintech firms understand consumer issues, but also solve them in a fraction of time. They have become a reliable funding option for customers to look to invest in various businesses.

The critical weakness of the banking system lies in its technical debt. Banks are lagging due to their antiqued IT setups that date back to the last century. Fintech, on the other hand, is in a winning position with its fast-moving and technology-led services, particularly in investment and loan systems for e-commerce businesses.

Kabbage is a perfect example that gives technology-led loans to e-commerce businesses for which traditional banking is not only slow but also inflexible when it comes to lending finances.

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) is another financial innovation that enables Fintech providers to create applications on data of bank accounts. APIs will be a long-term solution for data providers as it takes away the crucial information (that only traditional banking employees have). Fintech providers will have the same quantity and quality of data without having any physical branches.

Is Dependence on Robotics Advisors Safe?

There is no denying that robot advisers, AI, and Fintech are changing traditional banking. Many financial analysts consider them the most significant drivers in the financial sector.

However, for many analysts, it’s still unclear to what extent automation and AI will prove to be advantageous for the financial sector. They believe that relying entirely on artificial intelligence could backfire if there are no humans to supervise everything.

Undoubtedly, robotics advisors are inexpensive and save a lot of time and effort when it comes to creating investment portfolios. But there is no guarantee that they will not struggle when it is about taking correct precautionary measures if the market becomes volatile. Thousands of machines are trying to operate the same thing at high speed.

In 2012, Knight Capital Group- a robotics stock trader lost $450 million in just 40 minutes when it went on a spending spree. That means these well programmed and high-tech robotics-traders can cause chaos and fatal errors in the financial markets.

Final Thoughts

Overall, there is no denying that rapidly growing dependence on automated devices and robotics-technologies is raising many concerns for commercial jobs. From banking systems to other financial institutes, automated technologies, like Fintech, APIs, and AI, are considered an integral part of the operations. They are slowly taking over and making employees redundant.

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Calculating Startups Costs before Approaching Investors

Startup

If you have a unique idea that you think can turn into a business startup, you should get ready to do some preparation before you take it to investors. When you present your idea, which might just be in a prototype form, to an investor, you have to be well-prepared to be scrutinized. Quite understandably, investors are always keen to know where their money is going.

They want to have full details of where you will use their money and what return their investment will generate. In order to answer their piercing questions, you have to be on top of your game, know the costs that are associated with your startup, and create ways to justify them.

Getting into the Depths of Startup Costs

You have to create a list of everything that’s going to require money to start your business. How much money you ask for from the investors also depends on what stage your startup is at. Sometimes, your business is running on a micro-level and you need money to expand it. At other times, all you have is a unique idea and possibly a prototype that proves the practical application of the concept but no money to go into production. In either case, your knowledge of the many startup costs helps you get the right investment and decides the fate of your startup.

Here is a list of the major startup costs.

Office Space, Furniture and Supplies

If you are going to have a physical location, you will need cash to arrange an office and everything that goes inside it. You can buy or rent office space. It is a pure expense when you rent it, unless you prepay a lump sum lease. Office furniture will include desks, cabinets, wooden cabins, paper, pencils, etc. These are all expenses and while some of them become your asset too, they are not the best assets you can rely on to get loans.

Professional Fees

Hiring professionals has its benefits, but you have to pay their fees and count them as expense. You will need lawyers and accountants to help you with various tax laws, zoning laws, business structuring, and any other legal matters that can arise when starting a business. If there is one thing that you can be sure of, it is that these professionals are not cheap.

Marketing, Advertising and Promotion

Marketing and advertising are the processes that don’t stop for as long as the business lives. More importantly, they start well before a business even comes into existence. Your marketing and advertising expenses will include the following and much more.

  • Brochures, leaflets, flyers, flexes, etc.
  • Cable advertisements, infomercials, etc.
  • Digital marketing e.g. SEO, PPC, email marketing, etc.
  • Giveaways, gifts for customers, special discounts for first timers, etc.
  • Your website, blog, social media pages and campaigns, etc.

In the beginning, you have to consider taking advantage of the marketing methods that are affordable yet highly productive.

Equipment

Your office furniture and supplies aren’t necessarily business equipment. Business equipment means anything that’s an integral part of your business. For example, if you are opening a restaurant then a fryer, boiler, smoke machine, microwave, etc. will be your equipment. If you are starting a gymnasium, the bench in the waiting area is not your equipment, but the elliptical machines, treadmills, rowing machines, etc. are part of your equipment.

Inventory Costs

If you are a product-selling business, you need inventory right from day one. You will have to do a lot of calculation and forecasting to come up with the right size of inventory that you will start with. You don’t want to commit too much and have excessive inventory due to the fear of spoilage. On the other hand, having too little means you will have to send your customers home or to your competitors. Investors love to ask inventory-related questions. You will always have to prove to the investors why you are producing as much inventory as you have planned to produce.

Salaries

You need workers right from the first day of your business. You cannot afford to pay your employees too much right from the beginning even if they are specialists in their fields. Your investors will not like the fact that you are paying your employees generously when your business has not even lifted off the ground. Hire your talent sensibly and after proper scrutiny to get the most out of every employee.

Taxes and Insurance

Not everything you earn can go right in your pocket. You have to pay taxes on your business property, sales, and income. Furthermore, you need proper protection for your business against lawsuits. The most important insurance covers for businesses include product liability insurance, property insurance, vehicle insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, etc.

Traveling

If the nature of your business requires you or your employees to travel, you have to factor in those costs as well. However, you should be happy to know that most of the business-related traveling expenses can be claimed as deductions. But because that money goes out of your business account, you have to calculate it among expenses too.

Cash Reserve

In addition to all the expenses stated above, you need the right size of cash reserve. Cash reserve is the money you set aside to finance your business without getting loans from banks. You take this money out of your net profit and set it aside for business expansion or to fulfill large orders. Additionally, you have to have at least six months of backup for your business to run smoothly when sales are low and profit margins are thin at the initial startup phase.

Approaching Your Investors

Now that you have a list of every expense that will come in your way at the time of starting your business, it is time you come up with a number and approach your investors. You have to be good with numbers when you stand in front of your investors. If math is not your strength, hire someone to be with you to help you answer cost-related questions from investors. Your accurate calculation and cost analysis increase your chances of impressing investors and compelling them to invest.

Calculate your startup costs and note them down because doing so will help you win over the investors and also show the transparency of your business plan. Also, it is important that you trust your calculations and avoid going back and forth on your investment demands. Asking for more or less than what you have calculated will get you in trouble down the road. Having too much will lure you into overspending, and bury you under a mountain of debt. Having too little will shrink your cash flow, which will choke your business as a result.

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How Much Equity Will Win an Investor’s Interest?

Entrepreneurs know the difficulty of starting out and getting your idea off the ground. Many teams spend years in the development stage, trying to perfect their idea and bringing it to life while ensuring consistent financing through crowdfunding campaigns and efforts.

Why You Need Seed Investors

However, what comes after can be described as even more challenging as it involves releasing the idea to the world. This means that your team would need to implement other crucial business-related aspects, such as marketing strategies, website optimization, and social media activity.

What was once done from a single room would now require an entire office because that’s how a business transforms. However, it’s not all easy; your team has little to no money left from crowdfunding campaigns and no cash flow, to begin with.

Since you’re officially entering the market, meager funding won’t do the trick- this calls for seed and angel investors. They invest larger amounts of capital than the average investor and are given company equity in return. Now there are a good number of seed and angel investors around, but how do you know how much equity you’re supposed to give each one?

Calculating How Much Equity to Give

It’s tricky to calculate how much of a share you’ll be giving to each and every investor, especially since you’ve just started your business venture. There’s less of an objective formula or rule that is applied, and it actually depends on a number of extraneous elements that can impact the final percentage.

Your Investor

The nature of your investor is a factor that can influence how much equity you end up giving. Angel investors are active and looking around for projects and startups to invest in. Some of them have more money and want to make a safe bet; so, they invest in numerous projects, hoping to get back a hundred times what they originally invested. If you have such an investor, you won’t have to give up much equity but remember that they will hang on to their share until it earns them a hundred times what they invested.

On the other hand, there are people with not as much money to finance various startups, so they stick to making a few investments as possible. They have to be cautious about the company they fund since they don’t have the capacity to finance many others. As a result, they’re bound to become closely involved with your company and its operations. Consequently, they may demand more equity than other investors who are betting on numerous startups.

The Market you’re Entering

The next thing to consider is the current state of your market; is it big? If not, does it have the potential to be? Look at comparable companies for an answer. In the case that your market is huge and is capable of growing further, you can better value your company at a price that’s higher than what you originally thought. In a big market, your company will get better returns, meaning you won’t have to give more equity.

How much you’re getting?

In most scenarios, investors end up with twenty to forty percent equity of the company they invest in, but this is just an estimate. Your investor will demand a portion of company ownership based on how much it will be valued at after their money is added to the value. If the company’s overall value grows exponentially after the addition of investment, the investor will demand a larger portion of equity.

It actually doesn’t depend on the amount they invest but how much of a percentage it makes up of your current value. Think of two situations; your company is valued at $1 million in one, and $2 million in the other. In both scenarios, your investor gives, say, $500,000.

Even though he’s giving the same amount of money, the impact will be different. In the first example, your company’s value grows by half, but only by a fourth in the other. This means that he’s likely to demand higher equity in the first case than in the second.

Your Potential for Success

While you may have the motivation and drive that’s required, investors are taking a risk and prefer to make a decision based on objective and tangible factors. Essentially, they’ll be looking at your company’s potential for turning out successful.

This involves thoroughly analyzing the people who helped build it and your idea. If you’re a first-time entrepreneur, it’s possible that investors will take hold of a bigger share than if you had experience. If the people you’re contracting with have in-depth experience in the investment department, they’ll make a guess as to whether your idea will work out or not.

Things to Remember

These were just a few things you could keep in mind while negotiating how much equity you’ll be giving to an investor. Nonetheless, you’re in for a surprise if you think that handing over a percentage of equity is all there is to it. The truth is that many investors, especially the ones who make one major investment rather than a number of smaller ones, will attempt to safeguard their funding i.e. ensure that it is spent wisely and results in success.

Even though it’s true that experienced investors bring a lot of knowledge to the table, they’re not exactly that rich with ideas. Due to their ventures with startup companies into various markets, they know what to watch out for but this comes at the cost of innovation and experimenting with new ideas. That’s why you should be prepared to negotiate their involvement in your company before you seal the deal.

The most crucial piece of advice that experienced and savvy entrepreneurs can give is that you should never stop at the first investor. There are hundreds of them out there, and you may actually find someone who’s actively searching to invest in your market. All you need to do is to sell them on the promising aspects of your company, but without leaking out ideas. This helps create an understanding with your investor and they’re more likely to appreciate creativity rather than stifle it.

 

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Loans Or Investors: Which Is The Way To Go?

Getting funding for your business is the top priority to getting it going. As you consider your options to procure funding, heading to the bank for a small business loan may seem like an easy solution. While banks can be helpful in their attempts to provide funding for a small business to start or even to grow, it may be remiss in providing the same level of benefits that you can receive from an angel investment.

The Business Of Banking

With a small business loan, sure you may be able to start your business quickly, but you will be missing out on the valuable advice, guidance, and experience that a private investor offers. A bank loan is cut and dry. You are on the hook to pay back the loan, plus interest, without any support backing you.

A bank has no involvement in your day-to-day operations. Their main concern is timely payments, so there is no sounding board for your ideas or help to make those big decisions that affect your operations. You are on your own without anyone to lean on when times get tough.

The Advice Of An Investor

An angel investor offers you more. For starters, they will direct their current customer base directly to your business startup, giving you an instant boost in revenue just through your partnership with them. In addition, you’ll gain the expertise of your seed investor as they offer words of wisdom and can help direct you on making those hard decisions that every business owner faces.

Your angel investor has a vested interest in seeing your business startup succeed and will do what it takes to help guide the operations in a positive way. Together as partners, you and your private investor will be able to find solutions, implement new ideas, and find ways to continually increase your customer base as well as your revenue.

Why go it alone when an angel investor can give help your business get the successful start it needs. Banks may seem like a doable option, and for some they are, but the added benefits that come from joining forces with an investor can be more beneficial to make sure your business startup is a resounding success.

More detailed information and useful advice can be found at Funded.com. If you need to access our network of angel investors or a business plan for start-up funding visit  Funded.com

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Dealing with investors: What to do before and after close II?

Private equity investors are considered as one of the most important people for those who want start or expand their respective businesses. After all, the amount capital that they provide and the way these are handled are among the factors that make or break a startup.

Unfortunately, a number of entrepreneurs think that dealing with private equity investors are limited to the period when the company or business is raising funds. Some believe that once the funding round has closed, the money will fall any time regardless of how they transact with the partners that signed a deal with them.

The reality is far from this misconception. Instead of forgetting about the investors who pledged to provide funds for the business once the money had been transferred, entrepreneurs must keep in mind the significance of giving importance to these people. After all, entrepreneurs would not want the investors pulling out the money in a middle of a crucial project.

Here are some tips on how entrepreneurs should deal with investors before and after the close of the funding round:

Before the close:

Once of the most crucial things that the entrepreneur must do during the funding round is to find the appropriate investor for the company. This would depend on the type of business that he or she is into. There are investors who prefer medical-related companies, while others want information technology startups, among others.

Regardless of the type of business, entrepreneurs must find a private equity investor or those who understand the risks of investing in the nature of the business. This would mean that the investor is willing to let go of his or her money for seven years, and put it in a rather risky and illiquid asset.

To counter the risks, the entrepreneur must explain to the potential investor the positive side of the investment – for instance the high rate of return for the successful ones.

Perhaps the most important advice for the entrepreneur is to find an investor who shares the vision of the company. This is highly relevant as it would help in the growth of the business.

After the close:

Once the agreement between the entrepreneur and the investor has been signed, the former must continue to look after the latter. This is necessary as it increases the possibility of future contributions from the said investor.

“Taking care” of the private equity investor does not take much. The business owner just has to provide regular updates – whether monthly or quarterly – to keep the investor on the loop. Likewise, requests must be kept reasonable and thoroughly explained. This will surely get the business owner on the good books of the investors.

Dealing with partners, especially private equity investors is not an easy task. However, doing this the right way will ensure the continuous flow of support for the business.

More detailed information and useful advice can be found at Funded.com. it offers expertise and assistance with developing and funding your concept. If you need to access a network of angel investors or business plans for start-up funding visit  Funded.com

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Mistakes That an Entrepreneur Must Avoid When Pitching to Investors

Very few entrepreneurs are given a chance to pitch their businesses to investors. Unfortunately, not everyone who gets a chance to talk with potential source of financial support receives positive response. The reason: they often commit mistakes when pitching their business startups.

Here are some of the most common mistakes that business owners do when pitching their companies to potential investors.

Long elevator pitches

Elevator pitches are called as such because they are expected to be short – around a minute, which is the average length of a person’s ride in an elevator. And despite being called the “elevator pitch,” there are other instances when business owners are required to be brief when introducing their companies to possible investors. These include chance meetings in cocktail parties, meetings, or even introductions between common friends.

Such cases, which often happen in informal settings, are not boardroom meetings. And while investors may be interested in the pitch, talking about it for more than a minute or two is not appropriate. Doing so may put a bad impression on the part of the investor, therefore losing a possible deal.

Business owners must keep in mind that they should save the talk during an actual pitch.

Long presentations

During the actual presentation of the business, PowerPoint presentations are often considered as God-send tools. It provides the people around the room some visual information that could pique their interest on the topic being presented.

However, business owners must keep in mind that PowerPoint presentations are used as support and are not meant to be the star of the show. Therefore, entrepreneurs must be able to limit the length of the PowerPoint presentation so as not to bore potential investors.

These people want business owners to talk about their business startups and not just read from a prepared presentation.

Made-up proposals

Business owners want to impress potential investors. However, putting wrong information on the investment proposal, for instance blowing up the exit figures to impossible proportions, often raise eyebrows of investors.

Entrepreneurs must remember that investors value business owners who present them with the reality more than those who make-up information just to impress them.

Early discussion on valuation

Investors often turn their backs on business owners who start they pitches with valuation. Before doing so, business owners are expected to introduce first the business and its operations. Investors are there to provide money, but they would rather hear about the business first before getting information on the valuation which is, technically, their expertise. There is no need to walk them through on this process.

These are just some of the things that business owners must avoid when pitching their businesses to their potential investors. Following this would make them one step closer to getting some financial support.

More detailed information and useful advice can be found at Funded.com. it offers expertise and assistance with developing and funding your concept. If you need to access a network of angel investors or business plans for start-up funding visit  Funded.com

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Mistakes That Entrepreneurs Must Avoid When Pitching to Investors

Very few entrepreneurs are given a chance to pitch their businesses to investors. Unfortunately, not everyone who gets a chance to talk with potential source of financial support receives positive response. The reason: they often commit mistakes when pitching their business startups.

Here are some of the most common mistakes that business owners do when pitching their companies to potential investors.

Long elevator pitches

Elevator pitches are called as such because they are expected to be short – around a minute, which is the average length of a person’s ride in an elevator. And despite being called the “elevator pitch,” there are other instances when business owners are required to be brief when introducing their companies to possible investors. These include chance meetings in cocktail parties, meetings, or even introductions between common friends.

Such cases, which often happen in informal settings, are not boardroom meetings. And while investors may be interested in the pitch, talking about it for more than a minute or two is not appropriate. Doing so may put a bad impression on the part of the investor, therefore losing a possible deal.

Business owners must keep in mind that they should save the talk during an actual pitch.

Long presentations

During the actual presentation of the business, PowerPoint presentations are often considered as God-send tools. It provides the people around the room some visual information that could pique their interest on the topic being presented.

However, business owners must keep in mind that PowerPoint presentations are used as support and are not meant to be the star of the show. Therefore, entrepreneurs must be able to limit the length of the PowerPoint presentation so as not to bore potential investors.

These people want business owners to talk about their business startups and not just read from a prepared presentation.

Made-up proposals

Business owners want to impress potential investors. However, putting wrong information on the investment proposal, for instance blowing up the exit figures to impossible proportions, often raise eyebrows of investors.

Entrepreneurs must remember that investors value business owners who present them with the reality more than those who make-up information just to impress them.

Early discussion on valuation

Investors often turn their backs on business owners who start they pitches with valuation. Before doing so, business owners are expected to introduce first the business and its operations. Investors are there to provide money, but they would rather hear about the business first before getting information on the valuation which is, technically, their expertise. There is no need to walk them through on this process.

These are just some of the things that business owners must avoid when pitching their businesses to their potential investors. Following this would make them one step closer to getting some financial support.

 

More detailed information and useful advice can be found at Funded.com Created by Mark Favre, it offers expertise and assistance with developing and funding your concept, including a private forum for queries and discussions. If you need access to investors and funding providers, please do check our website.Funded.com

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Educate Your Investors: Effective Ways to Secure Business Funding

Educate Your Investors Effective Ways to Secure Business FundingSecuring the nod of potential investors such as angel investors or venture capitalists is not an easy job. Most of the time, they have the money but they are not familiar with the industry that your working for. Prior to pitching your startup, it is important that you have some idea on how you will respond to the queries of your potential investors.

Be ready to answer questions such as: What is the scope of your industry? Why should I invest in your company? How much will I get when I fund your business? What is your edge over other companies?

Being prepared to answer such questions will greatly improve your chances of securing business funding. The key is simply to make the investors understand your industry and where you are coming from. If you do that, there is no doubt that you will be able to get the venture capital that you really need.

Aside from being able to respond to the questions thrown at you, you should also try to observe the following tips on how to effectively educate your potential investors about your industry:

1. Explain your industry in a familiar manner – It is important that your potential investor understands your industry. And you can only do that by explaining it to him or her using a familiar context. For instance, if your industry is something that concerns e-commerce, then you might want to explain it by using a relatively known concept such as trade or marketing.

2. Avoid jargons – When talking about a concept that we are knowledgeable of, Continue reading “Educate Your Investors: Effective Ways to Secure Business Funding”

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Planning for Change in Business Plans

Business plans are not etched in stone; yet that is exactly how some businesses treat them. The business plans are written and then put into a proverbial drawer where they never see the light of day. One day the plan is dusted off, updated for the Board of Directors, and then put back into the drawer. This does not make sense after so much time and effort has been put into developing a plan that is supposed to establish a clear path to success.

Viable businesses never stand still. They are movers and shakers as they interact with customers, develop new products and services, and adapt to good and poor economies. When major changes happen that affect your business, it is like a time warp because everything changes from that point forward. Change is always imminent today and largely because of technology. Businesses can enter the marketplace faster and roll out a marketing program quickly on the internet.

The business plan can quickly become an anachronism if it does not plan for change. This doesn’t mean doing multiple business plans addressing all the what-if scenarios. However, change should be built in to the business plan process. First you develop a business plan based on the most sensible goals using current knowledge and expectations for the future. You can include a decision tree analysis section, if desired. However, you plan to change by simply doing an honest and regular review of the developed business plan.

It is important to have the same groups involved in the original plan development also participate in review sessions. The business plan may need to be revised, but you have identified where and how which is good strategic management.

The real issue is whether management can develop the discipline needed to make sure the business plan is regularly reviewed. Developing business plans should not merely be an academic exercise. It needs to be an important management function.

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