Business Plans Handbook
Sample business plans, templates, listings, glossary and bibliography.
Comprising sample plans from entrepreneurs seeking funding for small businesses in North America, the collection includes diverse sectors such as manufacturing, retail, and services, with only company names and addresses altered.
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How to Write a Great Business Plan
Which information belongs—and which doesn’t—may surprise you. by William A. Sahlman
Summary .
Few areas of business attract as much attention as new ventures, and few aspects of new-venture creation attract as much attention as the business plan. Countless books and articles in the popular press dissect the topic. A growing number of annual business-plan contests are springing up across the United States and, increasingly, in other countries. Both graduate and undergraduate schools devote entire courses to the subject. Indeed, judging by all the hoopla surrounding business plans, you would think that the only things standing between a would-be entrepreneur and spectacular success are glossy five-color charts, a bundle of meticulous-looking spreadsheets, and a decade of month-by-month financial projections.
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Sample business plans, templates, listings, glossary and bibliography. Comprising sample plans from entrepreneurs seeking funding for small businesses in North America, the collection includes diverse sectors such as manufacturing, retail, and services, with only company names and addresses altered. Still need help?
People make business plans for all sorts of reasons — to attract funding, evaluate future growth, build partnerships, or guide development. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these plans are...
Strategic Planning: How, What, Who, When? What is a strategic plan and why is it needed? Financials (how do your financials align with your aspirations?) Evaluation (what will success look like?) Write this last!
A comprehensive, carefully thought-out business plan is essential to the success of entrepreneurs and corporate managers.
business idea or an idea about how to fi ll a market need—or even if you just think you’re interested in starting a business—how do you make sure that your venture is successful?
William Sahlman suggests that a great business plan is one that focuses on a series of questions. These questions relate to the four factors critical to the success of every new venture: the...